PayPal Introducing "Social Way to Shop"

PayPal has decided it’s about time to break into social e-commerce, following the lead of just about everybody. I received a user email today introducing PayPal Shoptimist that linked to a Facebook page of the same name. The page says it will include both group buying deals and sweepstakes offers, though it’s not fully live yet, so the only things users can do so far are “like” the page and complain about how it’s not live yet.

PayPal spokesperson Charlotte Hill said via email:

Shoptimist is PayPal’s first foray into serving our customers in a social media environment. The site combines the fun of shopping with your friends, with the big savings and convenience of shopping online. Shoptimists Unite, a component of the Shoptimist page, will allow customers to invite their friends to purchase group deals which reduce in price with more buyers, or enter sweepstakes to win popular items. The site also has a blog where customers can get the scoop on the latest news and trends in online shopping.

The Shoptimist rollout appears to be somewhat haphazard; I found a blog post announcing Shoptimist from last month. PayPal told users today it is working through technical issues and will be making deals live soon. Hill added, “The site is currently in beta and we’re working on rolling out these new features to our customers in the coming months.”