Lowes Foods Is First With MyBaby

CAROL ANGRISANI

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Lowes Foods hopes to make a connection with the coveted young parent demographic with the launch of a networking website.

MyBaby operates along the lines of myspace.com by letting users share stories, tips, blogs, photos and videos. Message boards, local event listings and news are also available.

“MyBaby is a tool to enable Lowes to have a concrete discussion with its customer base,” said Alec Newcomb, vice president of MyWebLink, the Colchester, Vt., company that operates the site and other e-commerce vehicles, including mywebgrocer.com.

Located at lowesfoods.mybaby.com, the site went live last month. Lowes declined to comment.

Lowes is the first retail client to tie in with MyBaby, although other retail partnerships are in the works. Retailers can customize the site based on their objectives.

Customers who create an account get a variety of Lowes-related information, including the retailer's recipe of the week. Lowes can also target specific offers to certain shoppers, as all users are asked to state if they're interested in coffee, wine, pets and other categories.

Newcomb said that young moms typically spend more time online than reading a newspaper or watching TV. “More and more buying decisions are being made online. MyBaby helps retailers become part of the process.”