Sears Lays Groundwork for Second Life Investment

Sears has announced plans for an initiative that lays the groundwork for the creation of first major hybrid retail channel that marrys an online fantasy-based marketplace with brick and mortar retailing. And for good reason: NEW RESEARCH FROM MICROSOFT reveals that in-game ads have a positive impact on metrics like brand familiarity, ad recall and ad rating--increasing purchase consideration by an average of 41%.

First, some context. If you're a branded consumer products maker and not familiar with the online "gaming" phenom Second Life you should be; and quickly. We predict a new wave of retailing reinvention as these new social networking and "webreation" (web recreation) sites become more mainstream retailing channels.

Second Life is a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 8,679,536 residents from around the globe. The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the in-world unit-of-trade, the Linden dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden Dollar exchanges.

Take a look at an important, low-profile new Sears retailing initiative that is being developed with the Second Life channel option in mind.

Sears has launched a new E-Me online shopping experience for its younger
customers. After creating a personalized E-Me, or avatar, a site visitor can dress it in a wide selection of Sears apparel and shoes, and save the selections in his or her
closet. The Sears E-Me is all about making back-to-school shopping easier for mom and a lot more fun for kids," said Paul Miller, SVP of Direct Commerce for Sears Holdings. "The site also shows moms and kids that Sears has great looks for back-to-school, from The Cheetah Girls exclusive line and colourful camo skorts to hot jean looks and hoodies."

The strategic payoff of Sear's new hybrid retailing initiative will be significant as it builds momentum and acceptance:

"By printing the E-Me and closet and bringing a copy into the store, parents will not only know which clothing items their children want, but they will receive a 10% discount on those items." Hybrid retailing at its best. Anyone who has seen their daughter emerge from an American Gilr store with dolls, doll clothes and matchging child outfits (for 1,000s of dollars of course) knows the power of linking brick-and-mortar retailing to fantasy and imagination.