JENNY FROM THE Block wants the block to buy phones from her.
Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez says she’s opening a chain of cellphone stores and a website under the Viva Movil brand. The aim is to sell Verizon phones and services to Latinos.
“”As modern Latinos we do things differently. Including how we shop for wireless devices” Lopez told the audience at presentation for the brand yesterday.
“In this case for me it was eye opening” she explained, noting that “the US Latino purchasing power was $1.2 trillion in 2012 and is expected to exceed $1.5 trillion by 2015.”
Listing the ways in which she uses her smart phone to manage both her business and personal life she noted that “My wireless devices have become my greatest productivity tool”.
Although she described herself as a “wireless neophyte” she sees this new brand as “the first social shopping experience for wireless”.
Customers will be able to purchase phones via Facebook, Lopez explained:
From Facebook you’ll be able to select the right device, chose the accessories you want, even get the right Verizon wireless service, all why staying connected on Facebook
The use of social media to sell products comes from the fact that “there are 26 million US Latinos that are actively on Facebook today” according to Lopez.
She pointed out that:
On average Latinos spend one and a half hours more online than non-Latinos
This move to using social media to sell products is significant according to Lopez who claims:
Social commerce will transform retail today, much as online did decades ago
The first store will open in New York on June 15.
Lopez says the stores will have bilingual staff and provide a “culturally relevant shopping experience.”
This will include play areas for children and encouraging shoppers to bring their families, because according to Lopez:
We understand that shopping is a social experience for Latinos
Viva Movil will be an authorized Verizon reseller, with the same prices and plans as regular Verizon stores.
Marketing cellphone service specifically to Latinos has not been a winning formula so far in the U.S.
One company targeting Spanish speakers, Movida Communications, raised $40 million in 2007 and filed for bankruptcy the following year.
- Additional reporting by Associated Press
