Online Apparel Shopping Supersizes
ShopForClothes.com, the new kid on the e-tail block as of last month, offers the consumer a new “Superstore,” or virtual mall, online.
For starters, it integrates comparison shopping on item categories in a more seamless style than we’ve seen before. There’s obviously some fancy database manipulation going on in the back end. Of course, that’s limited to comparisons between member merchant offerings (not the entire Web), but the retailers joining up are growing and substantial. The list includes Adidas, Alight, teen fave Alloy, large guys’ Big Dog, junior hipsters’ Delia*s, and classic/ budget women’s Chadwicks, Esprit and so on.
The site—created and owned by the Delaware-based company company, which has offices in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica, Calif.—claims to be “the No. 1 comparison-shopping site and one of the top-three retail sites overall.” No data are presented to back up this claim, but the site is big—“the Internet’s very first apparel Supermall.”
There’s an innovative feature called “My Virtual Closet,” which works like this:
You go shopping like there’s no tomorrow and no cash register. Fill up your closet with anything that interests you. It’s held there for at least two months. Then, you can automatically mix and match and compare, sort and buy, or not. Shoppers have to join, and preferences are noted, but it’s free, and notification of clearance sales and other developments related to the choices in the user’s custom closet are other handy features.
Chief Executive Officer Kurt Graves said, “Today’s typical clothes bought online are no different than purchasing an airline ticket, a book or an MP3 player. Our research suggests that most online clothes shoppers want options like mixing and matching items or putting items in layaway, exactly as they might do at an apparel retailer. We’ve made all these elements possible and all under one roof. Our shoppers can come and find those items they are looking for. Our Virtual Closet gives the public the chance to put products on hold while they shop for other complementary attire. They may then use our patented Mix and Match option to compare and select complete outfits.”
It’s a nifty idea, but there are a few navigation problems and other bugs to be worked out. For example, the Help page offers no help. It’s empty. Terms of Service yields a similarly blank page.
When we first checked the site upon launch, the link to the Forums page set off an error message saying that the page could not be found, though the Forums (in six categories) now are accessible and linked from some other pages. So, we’re giving ShopForClothes.com the benefit of the doubt and trust these other problems will soon be solved.
The site has a nice graphic interface (but requires a broadband connection to function properly), with good navigation overall, a superior refinement of comparison shopping in particular, and an excellent and vast selection of apparel—but just a few rough edges.
