Online shopping is gaining more and more popularity these days, and this is not surprising. Specialized sites offer a wider variety of choices than traditional points of sale, and an ever-growing number of shipping and payment options make this way of shopping more convenient. However, when it comes to buying clothes or shoes, many people have doubts. How to choose the size? How to determine the quality of a fabric? What if a purchase doesn't suit me or I don't like it live? If you are also tormented by these questions, take a look at our small guide on how to buy clothes online with minimal risks.
Types of online clothing stores
To begin with, an online store is an extremely broad concept. The Internet gives us access to millions of sites, but not all of them are trustworthy. For example, if you open an unknown page and find there a sale of luxury brands at suspiciously low prices, then this is a reason to be wary. Before making a purchase, be sure to look at the 'contacts' section of the online store, see if it has an officially registered legal entity where the office is located. Study the terms of delivery and payment, type in the name of the store in the search and look for reviews. All these simple actions will protect you from transactions with scammers selling fake or low-quality goods.
Choose large, proven online retailers for safe shopping
As for serious online stores, there are pitfalls here that should be taken into account: different types of e-commerce points require a different approach. Let's consider the main ones and analyze their pros and cons.
Multibrand online stores
The most popular type of online trading is multi-brand stores. They are virtual department stores where you can choose from both brands and types (eg pants, t-shirts). They often allow you to sort products by color, size, price and other parameters, so if you know exactly what you are looking for, you will probably spend a lot less time than looking for the right model in an 'offline' mall.
As a rule, multi-brand online stores have a convenient interface for finding the right products.
Another big plus of multi-brand online stores is that, as a rule, these are large offices with a well-established logistics network: courier services, pick-up points, checkpoints, etc. Many allow you to try on the product before buying or return an unsuitable one for a long time.
Pros: large selection, wide delivery and payment options.
Cons: there are no fundamental minuses, but carefully study the conditions offered by each store.
Examples: lamoda.ru, wildberries.ru, kupivip.ru, topbrands.ru, brandshop.ru, etc.
Mono-brand online stores
Mono-brand online boutiques are branded stores of a particular brand. They are easy to recognize: as a rule, the site address coincides with the brand name, and in addition to the products themselves, information about the brand, addresses of retail stores, etc. is provided. A great choice if you love a particular brand of clothing.
Another plus of branded online stores: as a rule, new collections appear on them the fastest.
Pros: the most complete range of brand collections.
Cons: Generally fewer logistics options than multi-brand stores.
Examples: finn-flare.ru, ostin.com, henderson.ru, adidas.ru, reebok.ru, ru.benetton.com, ru.mustang-jeans.com, etc.
Overseas online stores
If you love fashion items or are looking for a particular brand, overseas online stores may be helpful. Many of them, both multi-brand and boutiques of individual brands, deliver items to Russia, but several factors must be taken into account. Firstly, there is a limit on duty-free purchases in foreign online stores: at the moment it is 1000 euros for one calendar month, otherwise you will have to pay customs duties. Secondly, it may take several weeks for delivery and new postage will be incurred to make a return. However, there are these points to take into account, in foreign stores you can find a lot of interesting things.
Many large foreign online stores have added an interface in Russian
Pros: you can find various interesting things, including from collections that are not supplied to Russian stores.
Cons: long delivery time, difficult returns.
Examples: asos.com, farfetch.com, yoox.com, mrporter.com, etc.
Chinese online shopping
Separately, it should be said about the Chinese Internet giants, which are gaining more and more popularity in Russia. On these sites, you can find a lot of various goods, including at more than favorable prices. At the same time, the quality can be very different: from quite decent (after all, many large brands also sew in China) to withstanding one wash, this is a certain lottery. To increase your chances of winning, you need to carefully study the photos and characteristics of the item, as well as the seller's rating: these stores are built on the principle of 'marketplace', that is, items are sent directly by different manufacturers. If you choose a seller with a high rating and a lot of reviews, most likely your purchase will arrive on time and will match the declared description.
Online shopping in China is famous for the most incredible items
Pros: Huge selection, prices for most products are noticeably lower than in any other sales channel.
Cons: long delivery, everything is not easy with a quality guarantee and return.
Examples: aliexpress.com, jd.ru, taobao.com, etc.
How to choose clothes on the Internet
So, we figured out the security and features of various types of online stores, you can go directly to the choice of clothes. This also has its own peculiarities. In advertising images, many things look a little different than in reality, but you can reduce the percentage of disappointments to a minimum if you follow certain rules.
Cut
The safest way to shop for clothes online is to choose from a cut that is already familiar to you. For example, if you have worn regular shirts your whole life, then it is better not to take the risk of ordering a slim fit online, especially if the item cannot be tried on before buying.
You need to be especially careful with trousers, jackets, outerwear. Here knitted jumpers and T-shirts most often fit any figure, if they are, of course, the right size.
Both classic jumpers and fashionable sweatshirts can be ordered online quite safely
If the thing is photographed on a person, look at his height and size of clothes (large stores indicate this data), and mentally make corrections. For example, if you are significantly shorter than the model, then the thing on you will be longer, etc.
The size
'What size should I choose ?!' Is the main question that all buyers of online stores are tormented over. If there is such an opportunity, it is always better to order two borderline sizes at once (for example, L and XL), try on and redeem the one that fits. If delivery is carried out by mail or is associated with other difficulties, you need to arm yourself with a centimeter. Examine all the data provided on the site: what Russian size does this mysterious M or L correspond to, what girth of the chest and waist the thing is designed for, what is its length. And now (preferably with someone's help, of course) measure yourself: chest, belly, height … Surely it will become easier to answer the question about size.
Fabric and quality
Don't forget about such an important point as material. It is to assess its quality that most serious sites, along with the photograph of the whole thing, publish macro photography of individual details. Look at the composition: sometimes in the photo, a polyester sweater may seem woolen, but the seller has no right to indicate incorrect information (unless you indicate it in small print in a corner, but if you are careful, you will definitely find it).
Delivery and return conditions
If you live in Moscow and other large cities of Russia, then you can often come across several delivery options at once in online stores. Let's consider how they differ from each other.
Delivery terms are the first point to pay attention to when buying online
1. Express delivery. One of the most convenient ways: a courier arrives at your home or office, you can try on clothes and shoes and redeem only what fits. Of the minuses: you need to coordinate the time with the courier, well, in some stores, an additional fee is taken for this.
2. Pickup points. In this case, you yourself pick up the goods from the pick-up points at a convenient time for you. Large Russian stores, for example, Lamoda or Wildberries, organize convenient pick-up points, almost real stores, where there are fitting booths and all the conditions for choosing the right things from the ordered items. For my taste, the most convenient delivery method.
3. Postamates. Checkpoints are special mailboxes installed in shopping centers and other similar places, where you can pick up your purchase using a code from an SMS message. Convenient, as checkpoints are located in most cities of Russia, and in Moscow – in every district. However, this delivery method does not involve fitting, if something does not suit you, you will have to return items separately.
4. Mail. Russian Post is not very famous, but in fact, most of the parcels safely reach the addressees. The disadvantage of this delivery method lies in the longer terms, and also in the fact that you will have to go to the post office for the parcel when the notification arrives. However, if the product is coming to you from another city or country, this method may be preferred.
Conclusion
The volume of online trade, including in the field of clothing and footwear, has grown several times in recent years, and this is no coincidence. Of course, there are difficulties in buying things that you see only in the picture, but modern technologies and new logistics solutions gradually reduce the risk that you will end up with unnecessary things and will not know where to put them. So if you haven't mastered online shopping yet, it's time to get started! The main thing is to read the terms of delivery and return. Enjoy the shopping!
