Tips For A Stress-Free Online Shopping Experience
Knowing how to buy clothes online is almost mandatory as every store now has a website, with many pieces becoming exclusively available online.
It comes with its pros and cons. This post breaks down each one and helps you make online shopping an easier and more convenient experience.
For your convenience, all sources used as reference for this post can be found here.
Let’s get started!
Why buy clothes online?
Shopping for clothes online is:
Easy. You can create an account in less than 5 minutes. Just add your address for delivery and payment method.
Convenient. You don’t have to go from store to store to find something you like.
Varied. From shoes to accessories it can all be found online. Local stores are limited in space and don’t always have every size available. You don’t have these issues while buying clothes online.
Worldwide. You can buy from stores located in African and European countries and all over the world. Many stores offer worldwide delivery. This way you will be wearing unique pieces not available in your location.
Cheaper. You can get more discounts, and clothes are usually less expensive than store-bought.
Accessible. As long as you have the internet, you can buy clothes from anywhere around the globe.
Besides the reasons listed above, most online shopping is secure. Delivery is fast and returns are easy and free, with the right stores.
There are also disadvantages to online shopping. But with the tips below on how to buy clothes online, you can avoid most issues that may occur.
How to buy clothes online
There’s every reason in the world to shop online, but it can be scary if you haven’t done it before. I leave you with a few tips that have helped me.
Know your size in cm
Know your size in cm for both clothing and shoes.
Sometimes an S in a brand is an L in another. But all online stores show the clothes size in cm or inches to make sure the fit is correct.
From now on, knowing your body measurements is a necessity for getting clothes in the right size.
Begin by taking notes of your measurements in cm of your neck, shoulders, bust, waist, hips, and height. Anytime you shop, refer to these measurements instead of just buying clothes based on size.
Focus on how it looks on you. Do not be afraid to size up, or down as needed.
Pay attention to clothes that explicitly say they are oversize or one size for all.
Refer to a size chart to get the size right from different country websites. When in doubt, buy a size bigger.
Don’t forget you can always return if the clothes don’t look good.
Research the website
Avoid losing money to fake online stores. Either buy from well-known brands or research the store before making a purchase.
To research a store you can go to Youtube for lengthy reviews and see the product for yourself.
Go to websites like Trust Pilot or Google reviews to inform you about the quality of the products, speed of the delivery and efficacy of the customer support.
Before you make any purchase, always read the return policy. See how many days you have to return a product, if you have to pay to return it, how long to be refunded and any other relevant information.
Use internet banking
Safety first. Avoid any payment mistakes or being billed more than once by using internet banking.
Services like Paypal or any app that helps you create a virtual bank card are helpful.
Always make sure the website you are buying from is secure.
Pre-shop
You may have never heard of this concept, but it works very well. The idea is that you find the clothes you want before you buy them.
This way you save time and you can evaluate your options better. Also, when buying online most discounts have time limits and you don’t want to search the whole website at once. It can be overwhelming and you’ll probably end up buying something you don’t need or love just because it’s cheap.
Simply go to the website you want to buy from and begin to add clothes that you need and like to your wishlist. Do it when you are bored or when you have free time. By the time you want to buy, you only have to choose from the selected few.
To find the exact clothes you want online, you can:
– go to Pinterest for direct links to sites.
– the store’s Instagram account allows you to see how clothes look in different body types and skin colour and you can now buy directly.
– If you have a photo/screenshot of your clothes, you can use google one to search online for where it is available.
– many online stores these days allow you to upload a photo of the clothes you want, and show you similar choices.
– get familiar with fashion terms to help you find what you want. Words that describe clothes like ruffled, sweetheart neckline, and flared. Type the description of the clothes on Google, and you might find exactly what you want in the results.
Subscribe
All stores have subscription options. If you are planning on shopping a few times on a website, consider subscribing to receive exclusive promotions and discount codes in your email box.
Add your birthday to receive special offers.
To avoid spam, simply manage your subscription. Choose which emails to receive and avoid marketing and commercial emails.
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After online shopping
After you receive your package, there are a few things you can do to keep safe and improve your experience.
Disinfect the package.
If a pandemic has thought us anything is that we can never be too careful.
Packages go through thousands of hands and storages before they reach you. A spray disinfectant allows you to disinfect the whole packaging.
Leave a review
Leave a review. Frequent reviews will give you advantages like discounts on websites. It is also a nice thing to do.
Did you ever go online shopping and had no idea how clothes would look on you and then you see a really helpful comment that makes you wanna buy? Or even better, stops you from buying.
Remove all personal information
Before throwing away the package remove all your information. Your name, address and phone number should be disposed of separately from the package.
Safety is important. Shred it or cut it into tiny pieces to make it unreadable.
Recycle and reuse
There is a lot more awareness these days of the impact fast fashion has on the environment.
Although not all of us have the financial possibility to buy clothes outside fast fashion, we can do our part in protecting the Earth.
If you can recycle the packages the clothes came in. Alternatively, you can reuse the bags and shoe boxes for other purposes.
Hope that you learned how to buy clothes online. Do you have any other helpful tips? Let me know in the comments.
Disclaimer: This article is informational only. I am not an expert in online security. The knowledge presented is from my experience throughout the years.
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