Online vs. In-Person Shopping: Which one is right for me?
If you’ve worked with me as a Personal Styling Client, you know that I offer two ways of getting clothes into your closet - either through in-person shopping or sourcing clothing online. There are often two camps of people with strong opinions on each end - one group who loves going into the store and trying things on before they buy them and a 2nd group that is constantly ordering new items online. Of course, there are those who are happy with either and may even switch tactics each season. And while there is no “right” or “wrong” way to shop, I want to outline the pros and cons for each and when I suggest you look exclusively online or in-person.
PROS OF IN-PERSON SHOPPING
The most obvious (and very real) benefit of shopping in-person is the ability to try items on before you buy them. Clothing has only gotten more expensive and so many people (understandably) want to be more cautious when investing in new clothing pieces. Going into a store, pulling a variety of items and only selecting the 1 or 2 pieces that work, is definitely a responsible way to shop in terms of your pocket book. Additionally, there is something to be said for getting to feel and see fabric in real life. Unfortunately, things like opacity, itchiness, and quality aren’t easily discernible from shopping online. If feeling fabric is important to you, in-person shopping is definitely preferred.
Another benefit is the support of in-store stylists. If you aren’t able to hire a personal stylist for yourself, you can take advantage of the expertise in-store. The stylists know all of the inventory, what is new for the season and often have a good eye for the pieces that are desirable.
While we may feel put-off by someone pushing us constantly (see cons below), the good in-store stylists are really cognizant of your needs and have a lot of knowledge because they see so many shoppers daily and have really deep brand expertise.
The major benefit of in-person shopping is that the process is straightforward! When you walk into a store, you see their inventory, determine what you like and walk out with what you love (or empty handed). If you need to return, you can simply drive back and provide them with the item and receipt. While our fast-paced environment doesn’t consider “in-person” events to be convenient, there actually is something very easy about the old way of shopping. Additionally, you only have access to whatever stores are around you so in some sense, your shopping experience is already curated for you.
The real benefit of in-person shopping is that you usually are only walking out with things that you know fit well and that you really love!!
CONS OF IN-PERSON SHOPPING
Now that was a pretty robust list of “PROS” but there are definitely some cons when it comes to shopping in-person.
Inventory is my biggest concern when it comes to in-person shopping. Starting with the rise of online stores but worsening during the pandemic, stores tend to carry fewer and fewer items, even big department stores. I personally find that the quality of the in-store buyers has gone down and we’re not seeing the strongest pieces make it to the store floor. This manifests in fewer sizes of each piece, stores that are bursting with sales racks (because last season’s inventory didn’t sell) and overall, lower quality items. So while in-store shopping is great for basics like denim, tees and other casual-wear - it is really challenging to find special pieces like dresses for events, great jackets and unique finds. There have been some shopping trips where only 2 things resonate with the client over the span of a shopping day. This largely has to do with lack of inventory.
Within the inventory category, is the limited availability of extended sizing. If a client is petite or has plus sizing needs, I never recommend shopping in-person as we will seldom find such sizes in-store. While it is great that many retailers are now offering new sizes, they tend to only carry them online - making a visit to the store completely useless. The irony is that people with extended sizing often feel more comfortable trying on clothing in-store because they struggle with fit so much - leaving everyone frustrated that they can’t find what they need and the frustrating that shopping online is the only option.
The other con can be the overwhelm of navigating a store. As I wrote in my Shopping Tips blog over a year ago, many clients don’t go into a store with intention and then feel frustrated when they can’t find things. There is a skill to having a productive shopping trip and this is just a hard thing for many people to execute on their own. With seasonal items always rotating, new brands being promoted in department stores and so much staff asking you what you need help finding, it doesn’t feel like every shopping trip to the mall is ever the same. People appreciate ease and predictability and with the constant rotation of people and inventory, that predictability has been lost.
PROS OF ONLINE SHOPPING
Now, onto the pros of online shopping. I think online shopping has absolutely revolutionized the way we think about clothing (which is both good and bad). We are no longer letting the store buyers dictate what we’re wearing and there is a lot of freedom in that. That notion really highlights two main “pros” of shopping online.
Back to the point of Inventory - what we see as a con of in-person shopping has become the blessing of online shopping. Because we can shop directly from each brand, we actually get their whole slate of options - from extended sizing, to out-of-season items to the brand favorites. This completely opens the world of what is available to us at any given time. I’ll give you some examples on how this manifests:
1) Tall female client (5’10) who gets frustrated she can’t find pants or dresses long enough to be flattering. When she shops online,
she discovers that brands like Abercrombie, Banana Republic, J.Crew, Madewell and Paige all carry “tall” length pants and dresses. This opens the world of consistent brands she can count on to search for her clothing - and even if these are standard brands they would have at the mall, they will rarely (if ever) stock these sizes in-store.
2) You are going on a beach vacation in the dead of winter and desperately need some flowy dresses and denim shorts. No where in the mall will you find a summer dress in November (mark my words) but when shopping online, you can find whatever you need at any season or time.
I love that online, you have the ability to find unique pieces that you wouldn’t necessarily find in-store. Again, because the barrier to entry is less with having an online store, small designers and brands have the ability to sell you things that you never would have found in-person. This also goes along with finding international brands! Perhaps you have traveled and sourced items from stores there. With online shopping, you can often shop at those places and have a more varied and unique wardrobe than you would if you had to go in-person all of the time.
Customer reviews are often overlooked but so helpful when shopping online. In store, you could never get real-time feedback about the quality of a piece of clothing yet online, you can sift through comments which talk about everything from feel to fit to color. When you hear how others view the item, it helps you identify what pieces are not worth the investment.
CONS OF ONLINE SHOPPING
Now while I LOVE online shopping, there are definitely cons. People often feel the hassle of ordering and returning to be annoying and inconvenient. They are not wrong - there is some organization needed if you are shopping online - remembering return windows, keeping boxes, taking the boxes to the post office, etc. Especially for those clients who are not as tech savvy, don’t have a lot of experience online shopping or have very little time to stay organized, shopping online can feel really really annoying. Not to mention, the spending feels especially frivolous if you don’t end up returning the unwanted item or the return fees add up because you do it so often.
Unpredictable fit and feel of items. When I source online for my clients, I always make sure to be upfront that sometimes, up to half of the items we order won’t work. While I do my best to make sure I know the fit of the brand, there are some things we just can’t predict when it comes to fit. Additionally, things like color, weightiness and opacity of fabrics are especially challenging to discern from the online experience. If you have the patience and fortitude to stay organized, return what doesn’t work and source better, then this minimizes the frustration -
but it’s a lot to ask! There is really no replacement for feeling and seeing things on your body and that is the main downside of shopping online - that you have to spend the money before getting to experience it in-person.
Just as we can feel overwhelmed with the in-store experience, many clients also experience an overwhelming amount of websites and clothing options. If you don’t know what you are looking for, the internet is just a vast expanse of “new” items popping up on an endless number of brand websites. My rule for shopping with intention also applies to online shopping because without knowing what you’re looking for, you end up wasting a lot of your precious time browsing for things that don’t appeal or aren’t serving a purpose in your wardrobe.
THE HYBRID
If you come away from reading this thinking there is no perfect solution to shopping, you’d be correct! Both in-person and online shopping have their own inconveniences and benefits and it’s really up to you which of these inconveniences you’re willing to tolerate or not. That said, I hope this has provided some clarity on when it may be right or wrong for you to shop in-person. Just remember:
If you have any sort of extended sizing need - petites (under 5’2), tall (over 5’8), plus (over size 14 or 16), wide feet or narrow feet - shopping in-person will be an extremely frustrating experience for you
If you are shopping off-season - for example, going on vacation in the winter - online is really your best option
If you are “average” size and need some basics like jeans, going to a department store where they carry a variety of brands is a great way to test and trial the fit is a really great idea
If you need something specific urgently (like a blazer for a conference), going in-person and leaning on the in-store experts to help you is a great hack to help find what you need efficiently
If you want to try unique and fun pieces from brands outside the norm, peruse online and see what you can find
Just like everything in style, there is no “right” or “wrong” answer nor are there concrete rules - but taking some of these things into consideration will help you navigate the shopping experience a little bit better and help you understand what to expect.