As social media presence and reader connection goes, Lucky Editor-In-Chief Eva Chen knows what she's doing. (Speaking of, if you aren't following her on Snapchat, make sure to get on that ASAP.) Even with Chen's hard-to-miss and effortlessly charming presence on social media, Lucky has struggled in recent years, just like loads of print magazines. But thanks to a creative new project (paired with Chen's invaluable social media skills) the magazine may be turning around and fast. Lucky launched Lucky Shops, an e-commerce and editorial combination, on Monday and just a warning: It's going to make you want to buy things. If you're like me, and you've been following Chen on Snapchat over the past few months and wondering exactly what this whole e-commerce thing is that she kept mentioning, well — it's finally here.
Lucky Shops is a simple, but brilliant concept; it combines editorial content with easy-to-shop products from 200 different brands. You can shop the magazine itself, read articles, or simply browse products. So if you're looking to catch up on some shopping advice, grab a pair of Eva Chen-approved shoes (that's been my ultimate goal in shopping for a while, anyway), Lucky Shops makes it easy to do one or the other, or both, if that's what you're looking for. Everything is smoothly integrated and it's hard to feel like either editorial content or product is being pushed in your face, which is a hard balance to achieve to be sure. Lucky Shops is easy to navigate and doesn't shove the for-sale items into your online shopping cart, but it is still very, very new.
While there are, according to Fashionista, around 1,000 different products for sale on the site, Lucky Shops still doesn't have the variety that you would find at some other e-commerce sites— and the price range definitely leans toward more expensive. For example, shop for sweaters and you'll find one hoodie at $54 and the rest of the options at $175 and over. Hopefully, as the site continues to expand, the range of products (and price points) will grow even more.
According to Snapchat, Chen has been choosing pieces individually for the site for months now. For a reader and shopper (and someone who will inevitably spend a lot of time and money on Lucky Shops, probably), it's been amazing to see the behind-the-scenes work on the product and now seeing it all come together. Here's to hoping it keeps expanding to include more products that I can actually afford, and not just happily dream about.
Images: Getty Images
