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Is this the fashion version of Farmville? The folks over at PopSugar have unleashed Retail Therapy, the game, onto Facebook, and so far there are 780 monthly users. The object of the interactive game? To open a small boutique, stock actual seasonal merchandise from the games sponsors—retailers including Banana Republic, Barneys, Diane von Furstenberg, Juicy Couture and Tory Burch (as well as bags and shoes from, omg, Lanvin and Christian Louboutin)—and grow the virtual store into a mega-retailer, order by order, sale by sale.
So how does PopSugar and its parent company Sugar Inc. benefit from all this shopkeeping fun? Gamers can click on the virtual version of any available merchandise and they'll be taken directly to the real online store. Sugar gets a cut of the purchase when players buy the real thing, real-time. Pretty cool, huh?
· Retail Therapy [Facebook]
· The Fashion Game [WWD]