Ecommerce and Personal Shopping
Women around the world have loathed the concept of having to go out shopping for lingerie and swimsuits. The fight or flight feeling from shopping for these items has plagued women in the pursuit of finding something that fits and doesn’t make you want to cringe. Women have two options currently in beating the never-ending dread of shopping for these items either shop in-store or online. Shopping in-store can be tedious and come with the measurement from the infamous “bra expert” and series of uncomfortable interactions with other customers and sales representations while making personal decisions.
These personal choices that customers are making in store can leave you feeling judged and ultimately detached from wanting to do that type of shopping in the first place. Other women simply feel that they have a lack of time to shop for personal items because of their already too long to-do lists. Shopping online can also be a shot in the dark in terms of finding these items because of the variation of sizes making it hard to judge whether the item will fit. With all these obstacles to overcome the eCommerce business for lingerie and swimsuits is growing and yielding over 13 billion dollars annually according to research from Ibis World.
To understand why some brands are successful in selling such personal items one must understand the relationships they have built with their customers. Take for example victorasecret.com, probably the most successful eCommerce business out there today. This company has an advantage over other lingerie and swimsuit stores because most women have the understanding what their size is within Victoria Secret merchandise. Furthermore, they have an instructional video online to show how to measure for sizes and how it correlates to their merchandise.
Knowing where your size falls already makes it a lot easier in terms of committing to buying this type of item online. Furthermore, the company provides very easy exchange of items and a very automated process in terms of achieving an exchange or return. In fact, they have a Chat Now button right with their exchange and cancellation policy. This matters greatly for customers when shopping for these items.
A new startup called trueandco.com is making waves in the lingerie business. They are offering the very same thing that warbyparker.com offers for glasses but for bras. They allow the customer to order five different bras in their “home try-on program” and will ship the bras to their house. This is taking away the discomfort customers feels while shopping online in terms of buying the right size, and it also takes away the stress for those customers who feel discomfort of shopping for these items in public.
To win customers in this eCommerce battle it is up to the Internet retailers to provide a shopping experience that will give customers the confidence to complete the purchase online without thinking they are losing anything in the process. Reassuring your customers by showing them returns and exchanges are easy, sizes are clear, and the product has value will help the business to be successful. Being online isn’t enough for women to use online stores in terms of these products they need that extra push.
Purchasing these items is personal so giving personalized options and care will help build a customer base for your online store.
