ThisNext Buys Stylehive’s Celebrity Star Dust

Social Shopping portal ThisNext has just snapped up rival StyleHive, a few days after securing $1.2m funding.  The celebrity fashion-led StyleHive could add some Glitterati fun to the functional but dry style of ThisNext – increasing it’s aspirational appeal.

The deal may allow ThisNext/StyleHive (subsumed under a new holding entity, CurateMedia) to become a more powerful Social Shopping portal – driving more purchases (and therefore affiliate revenue), because it could combine functional peer reviews (customers, friends) with inspirational celebrity appeal.

No news on whether the sites will be combined or just learn from each other.   Whatever the plan CurateMedia looks like it’s laying the foundations for covering the four bases of social influence for social shopping = professional + celebrity + customers + friends.

Social Commerce & The Four Corners of Social Influence

The deal comes on the heals of Time Warner’s purchase last month of Social Shopping site, Stylefeeder.  Is industry consolidation through M&A the order of the day?

www.warren-knight.com thanks Social Commerce today