Social shopping is a topic we return to with relative frequency here at Mashable. Earlier this month we mentioned a budding service called TurnTo, for example. And one thing that remains among the most necessary elements for a successful startup of this kind is not abundant features, but smart design. Intuitiveness is key. And in that respect, Tribesmart delivers.
Yes, you’ll probably become very quickly familiar with the way it operates. The site layout is fairly traditional, with few surprises, as you’ll immediately notice. Yet at the same time everything seems in the right place, and it’s all pieced together very attractively. Granted, it’s pretty sparse next to the gigantor that is Amazon, but what it does show it shows well. (Bad phrasing? It’ll have to do.)
I can’t really emphasize the utility of Tribesmart enough. Take the presentation of the homepage, for instance. Whereas some services might relegate product tags to some region around the bottom half of a page, Tribesmart positions it in the top left of the page. This fits nicely against the main menu and its submenus situated along the top of the window. It invites the user to look around as one would a new store. You might know what you’re searching for at Amazon the moment you arrive, but if you prefer an extra bit of spontaneity, Tribesmart does you that favor.
You can do a number of things besides browse products, of course. Write reviews, assemble personal lists to share, maybe. If you bring a group of friends along through the registration process, which takes only seconds to do, or alternatively find new contacts through the service, you can assemble tribes to discuss various things in the consumer realm. That’s where the social side of the equation really kicks in. For things in the land of technology - gadgetry in particular - groupthink is natural. It happens in places like Engadget and Gizmodo. Now Tribesmart, too. There’s even a chat window nestled along the bottom of the page, Facebook-style. However, this one is far less complex, and easy to ignore. If you don’t want to trouble with such a thing, well, you’ll hardly notice its there.
Getting back to the core shopping and sharing elements, Tribesmart presents users with tools to add to Firefox and Internet Explorer 5, 6, 7, and the 8 beta browser. Which are supremely useful as they allow users to quickly add just about anything one might want to highlight. Like iPods. Or digital cameras. Or summer garden sheds. Yes, sheds. The kind of contraptions that run homeowners thousands of dollars/pounds.