Crowdsourcing fashion opinions through Facebook

Fashion retailer C&A may be a fading brand in much of Europe, but its Brazilian arm is doing what it can to stay on the pulse of social media, The Verge reports.

A new initiative called Fashion Like allows people to 'like' certain items of clothing on the company's Facebook page, and these clicks are collated and displayed on the relevant clothes rack in real-time. Customers are thereby able to view the item's online popularity in the real world to help them make their decisions.

According to The Huffington Post, the idea is to persuade prospective buyers of an item's popularity with a somewhat objective, quantifiable measurement through social media.

Though some customers will inevitably be convinced of a piece of clothing's quality by a fluctuating number of Facebook likes, others may be more cautious to accept the advice of self-appointed fashionistas whom they've never met. Others may debate the value of a popular item vs an under-the-radar item that has fewer likes.

Geek.com says the campaign all sounds well and good on paper; however, the success of these promotions often depends on how well they are executed and maintained. At a glance, C&A's Facebook Liking process on its dedicated page seems confusing. Without a well-labelled photo album, it's hard to determine where to go to take advantage of this new programme. Also, there aren't any 'Like' buttons for specific styles on the online retailer's site, just a general Facebook link to its page. So, the new initiative is off to a bit of a rocky start.

C&A is not the first to marry digital and real life in the world of fashion marketing, Mashable points out.

A Stussy campaign last month promised that a model dressed for winter warmth would shed clothing layers according to how many likes the campaign generated on Facebook.

Others have sought to crowd-source design feedback from the masses online. And Maybelline recently hired the star of the popular “Sh*t Fashion Girls Say” parody video for a stint as the brand's new spokesmodel.

As many have pointed out, however, there is one major potential stumbling block with C&A's Fashion Like: What if someone just walked into the store and switched items between hangers?