Shoppin' All Over the World

The last time I went shopping at Banana Republic, I scored the trench coat I had been lusting after for a while. I slung it over my arm while I continued to peruse the racks of jersey wrap dresses and cotton chinos when suddenly a woman stopped me dead in my tracks.

Crazy lady: "WHERE did you find that trench coat???!!"
Scared Lindsay: "Up by the front...by the main entrance..."

I'm not sure she even heard the last part of what I said because apparently the glossiness of the black buttons on the coat took over her and whisked her away. It's a known fact that we all like to check out what other people are buying. Whether it's at the grocery store (I particularly enjoy the people that buy diet soda and piles of frozen TV dinners) or a fancy little boutique, watching real-time purchases around us could ultimately impact on our decisions as well.

ThisNext.com, a "social shopping site," recognizes this consumer pattern and has tapped into it with their ThisWorld shopping activity map. Based on registered users (and visitors!) and their browsing patterns on ThisNext, bubbles will pop up in real-time, showing what people are shopping for in certain areas. Genius. Following somewhat in Twitter's footsteps, who paved the path for micro-blogging, ThisWorld is an interesting peek into popular products around the globe.

Now, I'm just waiting for it to get chilly enough to wear my trench coat.