Image via Style.com

Yesterday I wrote about the PPR group working on an e-commerce venture with Yoox SpA and now it looks like other big luxury brands are also embracing innovative online platforms. Last week the New York Times noticed that within 24 hours of images of the Oscar de la Renta resort show being placed on TheFancy.com, a green and white sequin silk baseball-style sweater had 500 people endorse it. While that may not sound impressive, the fact that the site had received several advance orders for the sweater, which is priced at $2,490 might get your attention.

'Selling five of those baseball tees is  not going to change our lives,' Alex Bolen, chief executive of Oscar de la Renta said, 'but I have got to say, I was surprised.' For me, the news doesn't come as a surprise. Recent research has unearthed the reality that these new social media platforms are having a serious impact on sales beyond simply redirecting traffic. Take Pinterest for example. Despite being the newbie on the scene, results released last week shows that people are 10% more likely to purchase something they see on the platform.

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Despite the prevalence of e-commerce today, many of the leading fashion brands have still been reluctant to sell online but it looks like that's about to change. Today PPR reportedly signed a letter of intent with Italian online retailer, Yoox SpA, to set up a site to see their brands' collections.

The letter is non-binding but what it does show that the fashion conglomerate is seriously planning to commit to an e-commerce venture, which naturally includes their brands like Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga. 'PPR and Yoox intend to continue negotiations with the aim of closing a definitive agreement in the comings months,' a source from the company told Bloomberg in an email. The new venture is part of PPRs bigger plan to reach 1 billion euros worth of online sales by 2012.