It doesn't take a genius to figure out that for most of us nowadays spending money has become something we have to think very carefully about. In recent years we have experienced recessions, job losses, redundancies so much so that these words have now become part of our everyday vocabulary. It is not all doom and gloom thankfully, we can still enjoy looking good and keeping up with fashion without putting extra strain on our every limited budgets. Indeed the current financial climate has forced us to be more vigilant in finding those bargains; we want value for every penny of our money spent.
In turn the major retail chains have responded by offering us more 'discounts', 'promotions' and 'sales'. As consumers this competition between retails for our pennies has given us a very strong bargaining tool. We decide what we buy and how much we want to pay for it. There is however, a slight catch. Some shops sell items very cheaply simply because the quality of such items is poor. So the questions becomes, how does one spend little without compromising on quality? How does one avoid missing out on fashion without getting into debt? The answers are simple, if you know what you want, what your budget is and where to get what you want. Here are my top three websites that carter for all budgets and give you value for your hard earned cash.
1) Boohoo.com (http://www.boohoo.com/)
This is a great site for women of all ages! Boohoo combines up to date fashion, good quality merchandise and very competitive prices. On the site you can shop for anything, from accessories to shoes. The site is easy to navigate, easy to search for your specific needs be it type of clothing (e.g., dress) or size. This allows you to see only what is relevant to what you want, which makes shopping less stressful and quick. Ordering is straight forward, simply click on the item you want and the amount then go to checkout and process your payment. Delivery is usually within a day or two (depending on where you are in the country and what time you placed your order).
Pro:
a) Easy to navigate site and ordering is easy and straight forward.
b) Good customer service
c) Most items have been reviewed by other customers so allows you to see if you really wish to buy that item or not.
d) Delivery is very fast (usually a day or two) and you have a right to return items if you change your mind afterwards (please check for terms & conditions).
e) Innovative designs, most of the designs are inspired by on trend celebrity looks. The site also features a unique viewing aspect in which the customer has an option of either looking at the photos of the item on the models or watch a short video clip of the model wearing the item on a mini runway. You can of course do both! This allows you to see how the item actually looks on something that is useful because as we all know, some items look better on the hanger than when worn and vice versa.
f) Fraud protection is something that is very strictly applied by boohoo.com. Although you can shop as either a registered member or not, when you receive your first order from boohoo.com you must provide a form of photo identification in order for the delivery man to verify you on their system. This means that no one else can shop with your card without your approval and if they did they won't be able to receive the actual order on delivery day. This is only done for the first purchase as once verified there will be no more requirements for proof of identity.
Con:
a) This site only carters for women and so if you wish to find equal bargains for the men in your life or children, I am afraid you will have to look elsewhere.
The ideal customer: Boohoo.com is best suited for women of all ages. It is also better for the fashion conscious women or women who enjoy keeping up with the fashion world.
Overall rating: 9.5/10
2) M&MDirect (http://www.mandmdirect.com/)
MandMDirect is another brilliant site for grabbing those fantastic quality bargains. Just like Boohoo.com, this site is easy to navigate even for those not too familiar (or comfortable) with computers or Internet shopping. Items are clearly displayed and the site allows customer to narrow down the search to suit their needs. MandMDirect offers a wide range of designer wear for everyone. Their vast collections ranges from top everyday wear, to smart and sport wear. You can also find bargains on accessories, shoes and much more. MandMDirect features an impressive array of collections from the top designer labels including Timberland, Fred Perry, Ted Baker, Bench and many more. To sum it up, here are the pros and cons of shopping at MandMDirect.com
Pro:
a) User friendly website with clear item display and easy navigation.
b) Vast range of collections including major brands and designer wear.
c) Carters for everyone including young children and men.
d) Good customer service and no quibble return policy (see also their terms and conditions)
e) Very competitive prices on quality products making it easier and affordable to buy top brands.
Cons:
a) Delivery is usually fast but can take up to five days so if you need something to wear the next day it could be tricky. However, they do provide an 'express delivery' option but it does cost a bit more.
b) The website lacks innovative graphic ideas, unlike Boohoo.com, however this is a very slight 'con'.
The ideal customer: MandMDirect's powerful aspect to it's rival is that it allows affordable, quality merchandise to be available for everyone. This makes it ideal one-stop-shop for the whole family!
Overall rating: 9.7/10
3) QVC (http://www.qvcuk.com/)
QVC has been a powerful brand in the Internet shopping world for years. It is clear to see why that has been the case when you look at the benefits QVC brings to its growing customer base. Shopping on QVC can be done both on the Internet as well as from watching the QVC television channel. Recently QVC has also added an app feature and mobile text, both allowing customers to shop on their phones. In this regard QVC has, perhaps, an unfair advantage to the other two sites mentioned above. In order to compare these retail stores fairly, I will stick mainly to the Internet shopping aspect of QVC. What are other pros and cons of shopping Online with QVC?
Pro:
a) Again the website is pleasantly laid out and products are easy to find, so too is the ordering process. Like Boohoo.com, QVC utilises visual aspect to advertising their products Online as well as giving their Online customer a chance to see items on actual models. This however, isn't a feature on every item on QVC unlike Boohoo.com where every item has a video option to view.
b) Good customer service and provides a 30-day money back guarantee on every item purchased so making it easier to return or exchange items one isn't satisfied with.
c) Has more payment options including a chance to spread the costs over several months for their members. However, this aspect isn't on every item, still it is a good feature to have when you need to spread out the costs. QVC is also among a very few online shopping sites that accept cheques!
d) Has a wide range of products and also some brand names on QVC are exclusive only to QVC! This means that for some items/brands you will not be able to purchase them anywhere else in the UK.
Cons:
a) Despite having an impressive range of brands on their books, QVC doesn't carter for men or children especially when it comes to fashion and accessories. The men selection is extremely limited whilst the kids' is almost non-existence.
b) Delivery usually takes up to 7 days although orders can arrive earlier sometimes but as a rule expect to wait up to 7 days!
c) Pricing on fashion and accessories isn't as competitive as other places like Boohoo or MandMDirect. Also having exclusivity sometimes makes it harder to get the prices much lower than they are.
The ideal customer: This one is a bit tricky because QVC sells more than fashion and accessories so in a way you could buy stuff for your home (e.g., candles), car or even food with your clothes! However, just simply looking at QVC as a place to shop for fashion and accessories, I would put it's ideal customer as a woman with knowledge (or a fan) of certain brands especially those that are harder to get in the UK.
Average rating: 7/10
***Updates: Boohoo.com has now introduced a section for men! ***
Very informative!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
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