Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York & Los Angeles

Attention to the shoe-obsessed: if you haven’t heard about it already, the new kid on the online shoe block is Piperlime, the latest addition from Gap Inc. – as if they didn’t have enough brands under their belt with The Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Forth & Towne! It just launched last month offering a selection of over 100 different footwear brands for women, men and kids. There’s an assortment of brands – everything from Roxy and Steve Madden, to Ben Sherman to Kenneth Cole and even Betsey Johnson and Oscar de la Renta. The site promises to add new brands every week, with Adidas and Hugo Boss coming soon – if they add Puma, I’ll be in heaven!

Piperlime competes with other online shoe retailers, such as Zappos.com and Shoebuy.com, but what’s great about Piperlime is that it’s not just a store; it’s the ultimate shoe shopping experience – shoes, tips, and trends, all in one spot. Its first guest editor was celeb stylist, Rachel Zoe. The site also offers free shipping and returns as well as the convenient “quick look” feature like its other Gap Inc. Direct siblings – so you don’t have to keep clicking back and refreshing your search page.

Footwear News even named Piperlime.com “Launch of the Year.” "Because of its instant, undeniable impact on the footwear industry, Piperlime was our clear choice to receive this year's 'Launch of the Year' award," said Michael Atmore, Editorial Director of Footwear News. "The fact that Gap Inc. has put its resources and expertise behind this new footwear concept is also very significant. There's no question that Piperlime has the opportunity to fundamentally change the e-commerce landscape of the footwear industry.”

This holiday season, e-tailers broke sales records in December, which just goes to show that more and more consumers have avoided the crowded stores and long lines and are becoming more comfortable shopping online. Good news for Piperlime and other online stores!

Shop away shoe lovers at www.piperlime.com – there’s a Lime Tag sale going on now!