To be tired of clothes shops selling so many brands other than their own

[CheeseandMarmiteToastie]

Does anyone else get sick of visiting the website of a shop they like only to find a search for anything brings up all kinds of random brands like Long Tall Sally, Mountain Warehouse and Roman. I know you can filter but it’s really tiresome when actually you just want Next or M&S or whoever clothes. I wish it wasn’t a thing now 🙄

I agree, it’s putting me off internet shopping, I’m buying less as I give up looking for stuff after seeing the same brands on different websites, takes up more time than popping to shops, but of course most are shut now, what have we done, bring back the high street.

OMG i thought it was just me!

Doesn't bother me
I don't look at the brand. I just filter by size, style colour etc

Now when the filters don't work... that's a different issue

Yes I hate it too!
orderd a load of stuff from Debenhams a while back and had to return each brand separately filling out a separate form online for each return - they’ve lost a customer as it was such a faff!

It offers more choice but if you only want Next or M&S then use the filter. It only takes seconds.

If it actually works like that and you can filter black dresses down to a sensible short list of no more than about 50 items in price order and you can see that the filter worked correctly then it's fine.

If the list comes up with 800 results that are a mix of black dresses not matching your criteria, mixed in with red swimming costumes and paisley trousers as seems to be the case, then no thank you.

I'd have thought that M&S and Next would have realised that the way to increase sales is to make their website work for time poor middle aged women who know what they want and are willing to spend a bit more on good quality basics as long as they can find them quickly as opposed to young people happy to scroll all day browsing hundreds of fast fashion pieces.

More sustainable too if they actually believe in their own publicity on this.

I agree. The websites drive me insane. It’s fine if the filters work but they often don’t and by the time you’ve waded through pages of stuff that doesn’t match your criteria and get towards the middle or bottom, the Next website gets glitchy and difficult. If you use filters, they fail to pick up a lot of the items you are searching for.

And another thing, you really have to check any return charges, I’ve been caught out a few times recently, I don’t mind a couple of quid but I ordered some trainers direct from Hoff that didn’t fit, £8 to return to a UK address, won’t be ordering from there again.

Not clothes but B&Q’s website lists thousands of third-party online only items and you have to scroll down and pick the sold by B&Q filter every time you enter a different search term. So tedious.

But there are literally a million other sites you could shop from.

In the late 1980s I bought my first graduate interview suit from Next, and it was perfectly lovely. But this century? I don’t think I’ve stepped into a Next branch for about fifteen years, and I’ve never once had any reason to go to their website. And 99% of my shopping is online. With M and Spencer it’s hard to avoid the odd food shop, or running in for emergency socks - but again, they’re just not part of my online clothes shopping world. If I want a multi-brand site, I go to one. (Matches RIP) - if I want a specific brand I go to the brand’s own site.

Same. I don't want 20000 t shirts to look at either

I like it. It’s convenient, now department stores barely exist (and the Debenhams website is terrible). I pay for next’s delivery pass and can use it across all their brands.

Wow filtering I never thought of that 🤦🏻🙄
It’s clunky though and doesn’t always work.

I think it’s having to get past the brands I wouldn’t buy from in a million years that annoys me as well as the randomness of it. There’ll be some crappy cheap stuff from Blue Vanilla or stylish Regatta numbers next to Reiss items that cost hundreds of pounds.

I generally go to a site because I like their styles and they fit my budget. I don’t want nylon tat from In The Style or overpriced Jaeger stuff when I was just looking for a black jumper.

It’s about time these sites knew their audience but I appreciate it’s all about the cash not customer experience.

I prefer it as I order lots of branded things from Next and M&S using their delivery and click and collect service. I pay for yearly delivery from Next and use it to buy branded stuff, if they didn't sell it I would have to pay extra on delivery elsewhere, also very good branded bargains in Next sale

Totally agree, I buy mainly from Next and M&S online. I find the amount of choice now too overwhelming and end up not buying anything.
I used to like the Next 'edits' to help put outfits together but now I'm left to my own devices I'm clueless.
I also used to like the old directory as well, much easier to browse through.

And yes OP, the brands are so random. From cheap tat to super pricey.

I just search for the brand I want in Next and M&S, I am not so keen on actual Next and M&S clothes and footwear

It’s about time these sites knew their audience

Well, isn’t it fairly obvious then that you are not their target market!

@Nasyan - I’m really curious as to why you don’t just go to those brands’s own websites?

I'm their audience and spend quite a lot so I think they are doing right by selling branded goods

Yes and then there are the brands that are actually the same brand. So Yours clothing which Is all samey anyway now own Evans, M&Co, Wallis and LTS So that's all the same stuff with different labels. Then Next who own Fat Face, Joules, Laura Ashley and more .. same clothes different labels.

M&S own Jaeger so it's an M&S brand.

I quite like it - it means you get an idea of the wider market and can see what else is out there without visiting multiple websites.

Yeah, I shop on sainsbury's website a lot and then leave with nothing. Don't have the money to buy the premium brands it keeps showing me, that's why I am buying supermarket brands in the first place! It then shows a millions things that are out of stock. Why show if you won't sell them to me?!

So asda gets my money instead 90% of the time.

Yes! Also, Tesco have started doing it with "marketplace". Went to amend my food shop before it was delivered a few days ago, searched for something and there were marketplace results interspersed with the normal items, not immediately obvious if you're scanning down the search results but are "fulfilled and delivered by X partner". I'm amending a food shop coming in 2 days, I'm not on Amazon. Huff.

I have a Next delivery pass and Directory account so it is much easier to buy and usually get next day delivery, also any returns I just take to the local Next store when I'm at the shops. Much easier than using different websites and maybe paying for delivery and returns which would also be more faff. It all just goes on my Next account which I just pay off each month. Most shoe websites charge for returns which can be quite a lot as they are bulky.