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Being able to shop online is a great convenience. In addition to the ease of being able to browse and pick something out from your chair, there’s also no shortage of outlets available on the same computer screen, it’s a snap to compare prices, and there’s little worry of one particular store being out of stock.
There is one product for which it’s a little more difficult to shop online, and that is clothing. Unlike a DVD or a bookshelf, one size definitely does not fit all. It’s important to be able to try clothes on, to see not only whether they fit at all, but whether you like how they look on you. There is no way to replicate that in the online marketplace (at least not yet). As such, buying a shirt or some pants online is a bit of a risk – the size listing may be yours, but there’s no guarantee when the clothing shows up that you’ll be pleased with the results.
Fortunately, online retailers recognize this and realize that no one would buy clothes online if they couldn’t return the disappointing ones, so they offer generous return policies. If you try a shirt out and don’t like how it fits, you can return it and get your money back, within a certain set of criteria. The inconvenience of having to return the product and order another (which might also disappoint) balances out the convenience of the initial online experience.
This all being said, it seems likely that even as consumers buy more online, they will continue to shop for certain products in brick-and-mortars, and clothes are one example.
