Ooh La La Boutiques goes social with Villij to attract customers

Long Beach, N.Y. – For five-store women’s specialty retailer Ooh La La Boutiques, maintaining strong customer awareness is critical for successfully competing with larger, more established brands in its crowded vertical. Add in the impact of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath on this chain which is located in and around Long Island, and you have a business in need of personal connection with its customers.



Looking to pull more people to its e-commerce site, Ooh La La launched a page on the Villij social network last month. According to Ally Gugliotta, social media analyst for Ooh La La, since going on Villij the retailer has pulled more traffic to its e-commerce site and developed personal relationships with shoppers.



“Customers ask us questions,” said Gugliotta during a phone interview. “They may have an event and ask us what they should wear, and we’ll send them links to items on our site. It’s more interactive than other social networks and other customers can make recommendations, as well.”



Since launching its Villij page, Ooh La La has seen a roughly 15% boost in site traffic. In addition, with two stores in the coastal New York communities Of Ocean Beach and Long Beach that are still reeling from the devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy last fall, Villij has played a crucial role in maintaining and increasing visibility.



“It’s hard to get customers in those communities back,” said Gugliotta. “The towns are still being rebuilt, and people’s top priority is not shopping. With Villij we can reach a bigger audience beyond our normal customers.”



Gugliotta said Villij even helps Ooh La La, which fills national orders from its e-commerce site, develop new customers around the country. Ooh La La hopes to continue growing its presence on Villij and is promoting its Villij page both through messages to customers on its email list and advertising at the point-of-sale.