Shopping online can be quite a pain, with so many retailers that offer things that you want or need, but it’s so seldom that you find exactly what you’re looking for.  There’s several services and tools addressing the growing problem of e-retail overload, from curation to recommendations.  Social integration is key in this day and age, but there’s a fine balance to walk when it comes to socially-driven marketing, search and recommendations.

Want offers a new way for retailers to turn social interest and product curation into e-commerce purchase transactions, looking to give both consumers and retailers what they want–connection. Growing its network of partnerships,  Acer Computers, Calico Corners, Ritz Camera and Tommy Bahama have just joined Want’s network.

So how does Want work?

The Detroit-based company is the provider of the universal “Want” button for retailers to add to their websites.  The “Want” button allows consumers to instantly create “Want lists” of goods they intend to purchase.  Whenever a product’s “Want” button is clicked, the product is added to the consumer’s Want list, generating inbound links from Want’s site and is reflected to the retailer’s product details pages.  The goal is to positively impact organic search.  Products can also be shared on shoppers’ Facebook Timeline, incorporating the necessary social mechanism retailers need today.

“Adding the Want Button is the quickest, easiest thing a retailer can do right now that will positively impact their site,” said Greg Links, vice president of business development for Want.  “With virtually no development time involved, no added cost, plus instant access to Facebook’s Open Graph 2.0, the Want button should be at the top of every e-commerce director’s priority list; if it’s not, they are missing valuable sales opportunities every day.”

What sets Want apart from other invitation-only sites, individual retailer wish lists, or sites that curate “dream purchases,” is that it allows retailers to gain insight into purchase intent, a semantic metric that’s becoming an integral part of online retail. Want centralizes consumer intent with social sharing, giving merchants a single location to manage both ends of this spectrum.

Want more?

In addition to the above brands, Want continues to add a host of other partners to its roster daily, including musician sites such as Christina Perri, LMFAO, Trey Songz and Wiz Khalifa. Apparel merchants such as Ron Jon Surf Shop and Shabby Apple have also added the Want button.