Published in Women’s Wear Daily on December 12, 2007.

New online shopping service Storeadore.com invites women to shop and share insights about the best fashion, beauty, accessories and furniture boutiques in the country.

Visitors can virtually browse specialty stores in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington and offer tips and reviews to others.

Storeadore was founded last January by Meredith Barnett, who serves as the company’s chief executive officer, and Cristina Miller, who is president. Miller’s experience in management consulting, sales and marketing complements Barnett’s expertise in the fashion and editorial worlds.

Storeadore.com went live on Oct. 22 and the Web site covers 1,700 boutiques and specialty stores around the U.S. Barnett and Miller employ one full-time staff member and 20 freelance fashion writers who update Storeadore.com daily with new content and work to expand the online shopping community. Within the first two weeks of its launch, Storeadore received more than 80,000 hits, 72 percent of which explored the site beyond simply the home page.

When looking for shops to feature on Storeadore.com, Miller and Barnett scout stores that carry popular, contemporary brands, as well as smaller, undiscovered designers.

“Most importantly, a store has to be customer-friendly, innovative and charming — a place where you would want to spend time,” said Barnett.

Storeadore.com’s store profiles include a map of the shop along with directions, a picture and an informative editorial review that touches on everything from the store’s history and design aesthetic to the labels it carries and its vibe. Any fashion or beauty search can be further refined by location, product, price and special features of the store, such as celebrity favorite, green/environmentally friendly, a user-friendly Web site and hard-to-find sizes.

With that technology, Storeadore has created shopping experiences that are not only led by “fashion experts” but also by other shoppers’ insights. Storeadore members have their own home pages, dashboards and personal profiles, where they can highlight their favorite stores, products, style preferences and include notes about themselves. Members are encouraged to post reviews and create custom shopping guides, such as “Best Denim Stores in New York City” or “Thrifting the Best Vintage Stores,” to share with other members.

- Sarah Perpich

Featured on the Storeadore.com blog.