Website more expensive than store

[ellequick]

Is it usual for clothes to be more expensive online then in the store? I saw a dress I like in the sale in & Other Stories yesterday. They didn't have my size in store but I found it online, then noticed it's £10 more expensive on the site, plus £5 delivery or click and collect. It's not just that one dress either as I checked another dress I brought from there last week, and that's £8 more online. Just surprised really as I never considered there process would be different!

Yes it's frustrating but & Other Stories store and online sales are different. Both in terms of the items that go on sale and the prices on the ones that do. Took me ages to work this out!

The same does not seem to apply to the other H&M group brands (eg COS, Arket, H&M itself) so not sure why &OS is different! IIRC, Gap does the same thing. Very annoying.

Just today I went to H&M to buy a dress in store which was OOS stock online at 50% off. Only to find it was still full price in store. However, the assistant told me if I showed the cashier the online page with the discount they would honour it. Which they did, even though it was OOS.

She said prices are different between the two, and that they didn't used to price match, but were losing sales to online where there were far discounts so they changed policy.

Like Gap, she said they are actually two separate companies behind the scenes, albeit owned and trading as the same brand. But yes, I've never seen Arket or Cos prices differ, ever, and I shop with both a lot!

I bought a jacket in Debenhams a few months ago only to find it £10 cheaper online an hour later. Rather than buying it online and returning the more expensive one to the store I emailed them and they told me that that was my tough luck. Also, they then corrected the price online as it had been a mistake.

Maybe my fault for not snapping up the mistakenly priced one but I won't be bothering with Debenhams again.

Wow that's interesting- I never realised! Thanks for confirming all

Retailers have so MUCH stock and constant turnover that it doesn't surprise me that prices don't always match.

I had this with And Other Stories. I was lusting after a £69 dress online. When I went into the store it was reduced with 40% off. It was still full price online. I was chuffed

FWIW, I always seem to find cheaper clothing at my local (small city) kids Gap than I ever do online or at the closest outlet stores.

I guess the local manager feels that more sales at a lower margin is better than selling very little.

I find a lot of terrestrial stores will pricematch if you are polite.