Is anyone buying more clothes in person rather than online?

[IffWhite]

I bought 3 dresses this year.

2 in store that caught my eye and i now love - from m&s and a department store. Both under £50.

I tried on many others that didnt work.

1 from online - almost £300 and it is just ok.

I have gradually cut down and down on online shopping because so much just disappoints on quality or simply doesnt suit me.

Anyone else upping their in person pu4chases?

Well you're right it is a factual statement in sense of how many years one has been on the planet but equally it is a state of mind for the posters who said I'm old (62) so I buy all my clothes in person and Maybe it's because I'm an old gimmer in my mid-late 50s

Real life shops? There are a small number of good independent shops in my city. I buy from 3 of them. It's almost impossible to buy shoes in real shops. I want a low kitten heel, black patent or gold, closed toe, closed heel, pointy shoe. They only exist online. They exist in Michael Kors but not in my branch.

Me too.

The only time I bought clothes online was during the pandemic.

Unless one is out in the sticks or ‘in the trenches’ with little children and no one to mind them for an hour or two…. why bother with the ‘online-doesn’t fit - return’ palaver?

Yes, totally this, I love being out and about amongst other people (I'd hate to WFH), also like driving so heading off to the nearest big town for shopping is something I look forward to. Online is for if I really don't have time, or repeat buys, I agree it is easier with lockers now and Vinted is great but I have never lost my love of shopping in person.

I went into M&S on Sunday for a look around and it was like a jumble sale. Sales racks as far as the eye could see, teaming with people hauling through it like a US-style Black Friday Sale. Not to mention the amount of husbands littering the floors, getting in the bloody way like petulant teenagers.

I was looking for some nice workwear but everything had been moved around to account for all these racks and the 'normal' clothes were looking very bare.

I went home and shopped online.

I love the idea of in person shopping and being able to touch/feel/try on before buying but the reality is normally very different - long queues for changing rooms which are often a bit grubby and poorly staffed, not enough stock out so you stand waiting for ages to see if someone can find your size, when they do find your size it’s got a massive foundation stain round the neck from the previous shopper and in the winter most shops are heated to approximately 1000 degrees making it a horrible experience for everyone who has come in from outside with their winter coats on!
I will only shop in person if I can go on a Tuesday morning in term time, when it’s dry and about 20 degrees (so basically never!)

All reasons why I go shopping.
I really enjoy clothes shopping, but don't buy many clothes these days. I always pop into Uniqlo when I'm in Liverpool.

If there is something I particularly want I will window shop online before going to my nearest shopping mall. My gripe is the number of shoe shops that have closed. We used to have Charles Clinkard, Ecco and Hotter, but they have gone. (I have awkward feet and am just happy to find footwear that doesn't hurt).

I really wish I could buy all my clothes in store. I miss going shopping, it's mostly a disappointment, rarely have the right size or a poor selection available.

Now I just buy far less clothes which has to be a good thing!

I find sizing these days very confusing. Some brands vanity size, others don't. How are you supposed to know without trying on. And I really don't want to order 2 of everything.

I never wear a winter coat to go shopping (unless I have walked into my small town but then I don't do clothes shopping) but recognise that that is a privilege because I can drive. One of the towns has an undercover shopping centre, the other the shops are close enough to the car parks that you don't have time to get cold. I tend to go early on Saturdays before the crowds build up, no queues for changing rooms and the shops are as stocked as they are going to be and tidy / not too busy.

All the shops in our nearest shopping mall (Meadowhall) have aircon. It's a pleasant place to be when it is 30 degrees outside.

A mix. I often find that what I want isn't in the shops, or is a fraction of the price online. I bought two pairs of linen trousers on Amazon because I was sick of all the drawstring waists in M&S. I wanted a proper waistband fitted with a zip, and super-lightweight linen for the heatwave. On Amazon they were around £12 a pair. In the shops about £80. Same quality. Probably from the same factories. Fewer overheads. Also, I am short and find that clothes that come from China or Japan fit far better. UK clothes are too long in the leg or the body.

I do more clothes shopping, in person, when I am on holiday in Europe (Spanish mainland, The Netherlands). Much bigger choice of shops, much better quality and a wider range of styles.

Sadly, with people in the UK choosing online shopping, especially cheap, poor quality clothing from the likes of SHEIN and other online Chinese suppliers, the high street in the UK is generally poor. No customers, no shops.

Here I tend to search very hard for exactly what I want (fabric, pockets, style, colour) on Vinted.

I am in London so I guess I could go to Westfield. I generally detest it but in this weather, it has its advantages.

No, I prefer on line. There is way more choice than in store.

i know the brands I like, the sizes I am in them, and how they will look on me, so browsing on line is my go to,

I like me and em, Reiss, farm Rio, studio Nicholson, as my go to brands, and I know the shapes that work for me, I often buy in the sales, or new on vinted, and full price price from the retailer if I particularly want it, I’d have to pop into London really if I wished in store.

I think if you know what you want, know the brand, know your size, know your style, on line is better, but if you’re unsure or want to try new brands or styles then in store is better, but again, often size is limited.

I did wander round markies a couple of weeks ago, on line their clothes look fantastic and they’ve upped their style game, but in store it was clear the quality is cheap and low, in terms of material and workmanship and the sizing is very odd. Small waist massive hips in their clothes. In addition I’m an 8 and my local store had very few items in that size available. So for me it was simply a wasted time, and not one I was keen to repeat.

on saying that, I did buy some great jeans in H&M as I wandered round, they fit perfectly and cost me something like 20 quid in their sale and I’d not have considered them on line. I’m hugely impressed with them. And I then ordered a similar pair on line, in a different colour and the fit was completely different.

I love shopping, as in going to actual shops and buying things. I do order the odd thing online, but I don’t get much joy out of it!

In Colchester, there is only TKMaxx, Primark and H&M left

Edit to say I've just remembered there is River Island and New Look

None of them are shops I want to shop in particularly. There are no interesting shops!

Definitely. I shop differently in person. Either there is something I ‘need’ so in person lets me check fit, fabric etc or I buy things because I see something which appeals to me and is my aesthetic.
I am lucky to live near a good range of shops and happy to rake a bit. Three of my favourite purchases this summer have been from TK Maxx and all have been when I wasn’t in to look at clothes.
Online is fine for taking advantage of sales to repeat buy staples, Birkenstock Arizona, Seasalt fruit jumpers etc.

Sometimes I prefer buying online and trying on clothes in the comfort of my own home because I am used to the lighting and mirrors. The trying on rooms in some shops have awful lighting and inadequate mirrors which can make it difficult to decide. At home, I can walk around and look at the clothes in several mirrors and take my time.

However, buying clothes in shops means there is no guesswork involved with the fit and material. Buying online can be a lottery.

No. A few times I’ve saw something online but when I’ve looked in store they don’t stock it. I find there is a much better selection on line

I don't buy much and these days it's always online. Traipsing round shops that often don't have the style or sizes you're interested in is over-rated. Instead of paying for delivery I was paying for a reviving coffee part way through the process. Like others, I don't have much choice anyway (and I live in a large city - all the surviving clothes shops seem to have migrated to the out-of-town shopping centre, which is my ideyof hell).

I've got quite good at judging whether something will suit me from photos. I'm very reluctant to buy from sites that don't show plenty of views, including flat layout. Sites that provide garment measurements are good and I always consult the size guide, rather than assume. The biggest frustration is not being able to judge fabric from descriptions and photos.

My gripe is that the rise of online shopping seems to be driving charges in designs to minimise returns. Everything seems to have 1 or 2% elastane and the non-elasticated waistband is threatened with extinction.

Yes I always buy more clothes in person

Nope.

Going into my town costs about £15 to park (over 2 hours)

The variety of shops is awful and the last three times I have seen something I like in store, they havent had my size in stock and have told me to "look online".

I am not wasting my time and money on that when online is more convenient.

I'm old (62) so I buy all my clothes in person
Whats age got to do with it?

Im 61 I buy on line. There's so much more choice and options.
Its more relaxing than going into town where there is a Next, H and M and Primark and charity and vape shops or drive to the Trafford centre which is horrendous.

I have found now I am a bit older and not a small-boobed size 8 - that I have to be really careful about what I buy. So I would rather try on 10 pairs of jeans in a shop and pick 1 for £100 that I love than buy 10 pairs I that will just 'do'.

Same with underwear now. Never used to try a bra on - now I need to get in that cubicle and jiggle.

I’m older than that - mid sixties - and have bought probably 90% of my clothes online for the last 15 years. I’ve lived in or close to cities throughout that time (having lived in London and Edinburgh previously). After fifty years of haunting physical shops with pretty single minded dedication, when shops were shops - I’m completely delighted to be able to replicate the best bits of in person shopping through the internet.

The shops / brands I’m interested in mostly don’t have a High St presence anyway … But in addition to experience, I have a tape measure, and, now, the enthusiastic ear of ChatGPT who never gets bored with discussing the ins and outs of a prospective purchase.

I never experience poor or disappointing quality when buying online. I hardly ever have to return anything - though shoe sizing can still surprise - and I have plenty of clothes centred interaction in real life when relatives, friends, colleagues, and complete strangers comment on, or ask about, what I’m wearing.

'the enthusiastic ear of ChatGPT who never gets bored with discussing the ins and outs of a prospective purchase.' @SeditiousPam

Love this. There's only so much prevaricating over a potential buy you can do without boring someone else! I have been the person who is bored shopping with someone else because they took so long to decide. Also, I have shopped with a person who looked like they were going through torture by looking at some clothes!