In our highly tech-savvy society today, shopping has taken a whole new form on the Internet, a convenient, sophisticated and accessible platform that can satisfy even the wildest demands of the most hopeless shopaholics.
With a simple click on the mouse (or your iphone), you can buy anything from clothes, make-up, shoes to jewelry, food and the latest prada bag, all from the comforts of your home.
However, some traditional shoppers would complain that such an impersonal, one-way form of exchange takes away half the fun in their shopping. If you are one of those who prefer to have that personal touch when you indulge in your favourite shopping, you might find the solution in a blog shop.
A blog shop is where sellers put up pictures and descriptions of their merchandise on a web log and buyers make their purchase by leaving comments on the webpage itself or via emails. The seller will then email the potential customer before money is transferred and the desired item is sent to the buyer’s very doorstep.
Sounds complicated? Not to young fashionistas nowadays who are well-versed in technology and incredibly resourceful in seeking for the best bargains and latest fashion online. And this trend is in part, the result of the hard work of three ambitious and determined young girls, who not only like shopping, but are creative, bold and far-sighted enough to also make it their career.
Two sisters, Viola and Velda, as well as their good friend, Rachel started BonitoChico three years ago and have within this short time span, made it one of the most well-known blog shops in Singapore.
About end of last year, I actually got a chance to interview them both Viola and Velda. They are both very pretty and talented young lady.
Considered as one of the pioneers in the blog shop business, BonitoChico is Velda’s brainchild, initially used as an outlet to sell the girls’ pre-loved clothes. To their surprise, they had received more replies than expected and soon, the livejournal account started gathering its own strong band of followers.
Today, the girls’ creativity and willingness to take risks have finally paid off. BonitoChico has been awarded the Best Blog Shop 2009 by Nuffnang and on average, receives 15,000 to 20,000 views per day. On launch days where new collections are put up, 30,000 to 50,000 loyal fans would camp by their computers, flog to the site right on time of the launch, and play fastest-fingers-first to snatch the lovely and affordable apparels on sale.
Even with the intense competition posed by many other emerging blog shops, BonitoChico remains steadfast in its position as one of the most popular blog shops in Singapore. The secret to its success lies in how the girls consistently put in effort to maintain and improve their site to provide the best shopping experience for their customers. Collections of apparels on BonitoChico are updated frequently and a strong credibility is established when accurate measurements, clear photos and descriptions of the clothes, as well as prompt replies to enquiries are provided.
BonitoChico’s self-manufactured, original designs; friendly and efficient customer service; reasonable prices and pretty models are also some of the many reasons why BonitoChico continues to top the list of bookmarked sites for thousands of fashion-loving girls in Singapore.
Also, unlike an ordinary online store, BonitoChico allows more interactions between the girls and the buyer. People who are interested in the items can post comments and enquiries before making a decision. Often, they can also take a sneak peek into the blog shop owners’ personal life, via the URL of their personal blogs included in the BonitoChico’s website.
This inevitably closes up the gap between the girls and their customers. Instead of being merely a channel for a cold, faceless transaction, BonitoChico has built a connection between them, and made online shopping much more fun and interesting.
A short tour through the personal blogs of Viola, Velda and Rachel would easily reveal to their readers how friendly, fashionable and fun-loving they are. Furnished with pretty photos of their overseas trips, shopping “loots”, friends’ gatherings, fashion shows, their blogs make an interesting read and are no doubt a source of the latest fashion tips and inspiration for many girls.
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, and are interested in making your passion or hobby your career, the way these girls have done, Velda and Viola have the following success formula to share with you: Be original, be yourself and not be afraid to follow your passion.
To get more ideas or to simply indulge in some good old shopping, check out bonitochico.livejournal.com, and if you have any enquiries, you can always approach the friendly ladies through their email addresses stated on the website.
Listen to my audio interview with them 
(simply click the picture below)
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