Social Shopping
Bargain Hunters Go Online
What: Instead of combing the sales racks for discounts and deals, more and more shoppers are going online to compare prices and take advantage of free shipping and other incentives. A new survey conducted by Cotton Incorporated found that 73 of women have browsed for apparel online, while 20 percent of women said they “regularly” buy some of their clothing on the web and 5 percent said they do “most” of their shopping online. To keep up with the demand, brands like Quiksilver, Levi’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue are increasing their online presence by joining social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
What They Say:
“Women are considering their purchases very carefully these days, and that thought process starts before they even begin shopping online,” said Melissa Bastos, Manager of Market Research, Cotton Incorporated. “But retailers have stepped up their online marketing campaigns, with discounts and other incentives to encourage skittish shoppers to complete their purchases.”
What We Say: Who isn’t shopping on the web these days? With online-only discounts and easy price comparison tools, it’s easy to save money and check out a variety of styles that may not be available in your hometown mall. If nothing else, we’re surprised that the statistic about 20 percent of women “regularly” buying clothes online isn’t higher.
Check out our Coupon and Deals section for great online coupons and deals.
Wal-Mart: the New Amazon for Apparel?
What: Dirt-cheap clothes. Check. Celeb fashion collabs. Check. Monopoly on the online shopping market? Getting there. Wal-Mart has just expanded its site to include one million new items, including apparel. The twist is the new inventory is from outside retailers. Like this $19 clutch from eBags.
What They Say:
Retail consultant Burt Flickinger III said Wal-Mart can use online sales as a growth area, especially considering how the company’s stores have saturated much of the U.S. market. He said Wal-Mart also can draw online customers from the European continent and South Korea, where it no longer has stores.
What We Say: Hey, anything that makes online shopping easy and affordable is very much welcome around these parts. We guess it’ll take a long time before we think of Wal-Mart as an online shopping search engine, but we’ve no doubt the retail giant will get there if it tries hard enough! Thoughts?
RedTagCrazy.com: Site Review
Okay, after spending waaay too much time navigating shopping sites that are trying to be everything to everybody, RedTagCrazy.com is a welcome respite. One item at a time please. Too minimalist? Maybe not, because one great item for an unbelievable price is worth far more to us that an offering of 6,000 mediocre pieces that should only cost half of what they’re asking . . . So does RedTagCrazy do it right? We aim to find out.
Our review: It’s so simple we may have to make up stuff just to fill the space (that’s a joke)—but here’s how it works: one item, on big discount (50-80% off), limited number, go. It stays on the page until the stock is sold, and gives you a progress bar to show you how many are left, and how long they estimate the sale to last. Once the item is sold out, the next item is posted, and the process starts all over again.
Obviously, this isn’t a site you shop when you need to pick up that (insert current dream item/wardrobe necessity here). It’s as hit or miss as it gets, but if you are a die-hard sale shopper or have a bare bones budget, it’s worth a look. You won’t waste a lot of time because you’ll know at a glance if the current item is anything you’re even remotely interested in. Even better, sign up for alerts by browser, IM, e-mail, mobile phone, etc. and you don’t have to seek the deals out, they come to you. And if you, like most budget sale shoppers, like to dish about your latest buy—or anything else—there’s a “chick chat” and blog for member participation, and contests too.
The verdict: Yea. No fuss, no muss—just potential savings that are clean, quick, and totally straightforward. We like. One caveat—we would always maintain that buying something on sale does NOT make it a bargain—be sure you’re comfortable with the price and it’s something you actually really want/need. It’s not a deal if it hangs unworn at the back of your closet NWT, natch.
Shopflick.com: Site Review
Based on the name alone, we’d have thought Shopflick.com might be a source for the latest movie star looks (and hopefully with no movie star budget needed). But while there is a celebrity focus, Shopflick actually is an outlet for indie (read: independent seller) fashion goods—connecting shoppers with indie sellers with an emphasis on—you may have guessed this—video. Plus you can create your own collections, share videos, and for sellers, create your own online store, use video commerce widgets, and more. Confused? Well, there’s a lot going on, but we’re going to sort it all out. We hope.
Our review: It took us a little while to get our heads around this site, because there really is so much going on. TOO MUCH GOING ON. But here’s the deal—there are two ways to use this site: as a shopper and as a seller. Looking around, the site is potentially a great way for indie sellers to get their goods out there. Not only are you listing items, but you can use video clips to tell sellers more about yourself and your products, giving you face time with a potentially limitless number of consumers. As a buyer, you have access to all kinds of cool, indie goods—even if you happen to live in the middle of the corn belt instead of New York City.
But, that being said, we’re budget shoppers, and while we always love a shot at something truly unique, can we afford it? Well let’s just say, overall, the stuff ain’t cheap. On the first page of “Women’s Clothing” we tally three dresses over $700. And a scarf for just under $600 (clearly we’re not at TJ Maxx anymore). On the same page, this Hera dress is listed on sale for $98, but the picture only shows the skirt (between waistline and knee-length hem, from what we can tell). Um, we’re just not feelin’ it. Time to find our way to the sale page, which we do . . . and find some slightly less painful pricetags, like this really hot Stop Staring! Vogue Glamour Blush dress, on sale for $119.25, which is slightly more palatable though still not cheap. And then there’s this Beard Head Knit Cap Pirate Edition, for $24.99. We have no idea what the point of this is, but at least it’s under $30. Sigh.
The verdict: We hate to say it, but for our purposes? Nay. Were we an indie vendor or high budget stylistas, we’d be on it like Lindsey Lohan on an energy drink—but as budget shoppers? In this economy? For the buyers, it’s good for a fun splurge but we just don’t have the disposable cash right now . . .
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