It started with online shopping, and the ability to find goods and in many cases, sizes, that you may not find in your local stores. It seemed it was enough to be tempted by the endless bounty of beautiful things, amazing gadgets and more books than you could ever read. That was when most of us were intentionally shopping for what we need or desire. Today, retailers have new methods to show us what we're missing. There's Pintrest, where we can see all the lovely things everyone else is buying or hopes to buy. And flash sale sites, like Joss & Main, Wayfair, which present curated collections and a limited time to purchase. Now shopping applications like Keep and Wanelo (short for Want, Need, Love) host a steady stream of goodies that you never knew existed and didn't know you wanted.

What's more, retailers want to get in on the action by streaming images of all this consumer driven drivel in front of your face while you're shopping!

According to Business Insider, Nordstrom recently announced that they'll install video screens throughout more than one hundred stores, to allow customers to see which of the retailer's products are being featured on Wanelo. They believe it will help promote a good customer experience.

Other retailers, like Lululemon and Sephora use those shopping apps to keep track of what their customers are buying.

So it has come to this. Social media is influencing sales. But we knew that already, once mommy bloggers started getting kickbacks for recommending their favorite stroller or baby carrier. It takes "keeping up with the Jones'" to a new level where we have to keep up with not just our friends, but everyone on the internet. And there's no question that women are influenced most by social media when it comes to what they intend to purchase.

Here is one fascinating graph from the Business Insider article: