Online Shopping : 5 tips to shop better during COVID19 Quarantine

Hello Beautiful Fashionistas,

My Quarantine week 5 is officially over and I still can’t believe it has already been 5 weeks,

At least I still manage to keep myself busy around the house.

What do I do all day ?

besides working, cleaning, cooking, baking, doing laundry, netflixing, instagraming and raising a toddler ? well…I shop online 🙂

I have been an online shopper for many years now and I must admit, I did a lot more of eshopping these past weeks than I did during december holidays season.

What do I buy ? A little bit of everything :

household essentials, decor pieces, new season apparel and accessories, kids toys and even some of my grocery.

Back in July 2018 I published a post where I shared 10 tips to be a smarter eshopper (if you missed it click here)

As we are all stucked at home, some of you are probably doing more online shopping than usual just like me so I feel it is a good time for me to do a little update on this topic.

That being said, here are 5 tips that I truly believe can make a difference on your online shopping experience during this quarantine.

#1 Shop Local

I believe that more than ever now is the time to shop local and support our businesses. Not only you will do your part on their survival journey but you will reduce your risk of losing your money. We are living uncertain times where a business can easily stop operating and if you have placed an order with a company that suddenly closes, it might take you forever to reach their customer service or get your money back. It will always be easier to get in touch with the seller if the company is local.

#2 Free Shipping is the way to go

A lot of retailers/brands offer free shipping these days so I recommend you visit your favourite brands websites and see if they do because it might be the perfect time to get your hands on new goodies !! this is even more interesting if you decide to shop international.

#3 Return For Refund

Most of online retailers/brands have extended their return policies and some even offer free return so make sure you look for any updates on their policies before placing your order. If for some reasons you want to return or exchange a purchase, I suggest you ask for a refund because in most cases exchanges could take you forever and no one knows when things will get back to normal and that stores reopen.

#4 Shop all in One Place

Delivery delays are out of control these days and we cannot even blame sellers ! I like to think that they are all doing their best. So to reduce the frustration caused by those delays, I suggest you try to shop all the same items at the same company. For example, I try to shop most of my son toys on Westcoatkids, a canadian retailer that specializes in children essentials and toys. I shop most of my decor items on Simons and Bouclair, both canadian retailers that I really love. It is my way to avoid going crazy waiting for my multiple deliveries all week long . LOL !

#5 Look for Those Quarantine Sales

Who does not love sales ? anyone ?… that’s what I thought 🙂 If we have to thank Covid19 for one thing it would probably be for the SALES ! Many retailers/brands are having huge sales on their new season collections. Some businesses even offer payment facilities. I have the feeling that now is a good time to look for the best deals, to make a list of what you want and what you can realistically afford. The goal is not to get broke by the end of this quarantine, it is to turn this  unprecedented situation at your advantage while staying safe at home.

The best lesson I have learned over the years of online shopping is

The Less Brands/retailers The Better

What does it mean?

There is 50% of chances that your first online purchase goes wrong, especially if you shop for apparel : wrong size, wrong color, not the right fit, bad quality or just not how you expected the item to be.

But in my personal opinion, this is normal. You need to get familiar with the brand and this will only happen if you shop again and learn about their size chart, their way of describing products and how their clothes/accessories fit YOU ! To do so, you need to make your own list of favourite online stores and try to always shop with them, at least for big orders $$$. After two or three times you should be able to recognize what item will work for you and what item you should avoid shopping online. After a few bad experiences, I finally found my way on ASOS or Zara and I can tell you without hesitating if an item will fit me or not. This takes time, I will not lie to you but if you truly love a brand/retailers it can be worth it. I will let you be the judge !

I hope these few tips will help you make the best of your quarantine online shopping and don’t forget to let me know which one works the best for you.

PS : My phone case is custom made, from Kasemedesign using my own design and yes I am obsessed with the result 🙂

xoxo