A quarter of the shoes purchased in the United States every year come from an online shoe store.
Purchasing shoes online has its perks. You don’t have to leave your home, you have more options, and it’s often cheaper. Yet, when you buy in person, you get to see and touch what you are buying.
Not being able to touch the shoes leads to online shoe buying errors. You can receive an unwanted color, style, or durability when you get your shoes in the mail.
In this guide, we’ll teach you how to avoid these errors. Keep reading to learn all about common shoe buying errors online.
1. Disregarding Online Customer Reviews
Reviews are often disregarded by many online shoe buyers. However, they are the best way to find out if the shoe will work for you. Customer’s rate and review their experience with the shoe.
If many say the shoes have minimal arch support and that’s something you struggle with, find some new shoes. Make sure to read plenty about the shoes. See what people are saying about color, durability, and comfort.
Additionally, you can read what people are saying about the company. If the brand has slow shipping, rude customer service, or bad products, you should know. It can help you stay clear of scamming or dishonest companies.
2. Assuming the Color and Material
Never assume the color or material of a shoe. One way to make sure you know what the shoe looks like before buying is to find a brand with good images.
Choose a site that offers clear and large photos of their products. They should be accompanied by detailed descriptions of the fabric and color. If a site provides neither of these, you can look at the reviews for direction.
Don’t buy the shoes if you can’t get a clear picture of their quality or color. You’ll likely be able to find a better pair on a more reputable website.
To see a good example of an online store that shows its products, you should visit this site.
3. Buying the Wrong Size
Sizes for shoes can often be confusing. Of all the online shoe buying errors, buying the wrong size is the most frustrating. Standard measurements fit most people, but many shoe stores don’t follow that standard.
Always measure your feet and check the store’s size guides to find your perfect fit. Measuring will hopefully allow you to decide exactly which size to get for your length and width.
To make shopping easier, set your filters for your measurements. The website will show you all the shoes available in your exact size. Try not to settle for shoes that are almost your size. You might never wear them.
4. Not Shopping Around
If you have one online shoe store that you know and love, you might stick with it. Yet, when you are shopping for one type of shoe, you should do some shopping around.
You must look for sites that have quality shoes proven by their buyers. You can do some research about their history and their values. Look at their customer satisfaction as well as how long they’ve been in business.
You’ll know when you’ve found the right online shoe store. They’ll have quality images, customer reviews, and helpful FAQs.
5. Buying too Many Shoes
Buying too many shoes is a problem many of us have due to the easy access to online shopping. It’s easy to convince yourself that you need the same pair of shoes in five different colors.
For some, they may wear all those shoes all the time. Yet, many more will shove those shoes to the back of their closet to be found months or years later.
To avoid buying too many shoes, look at all the pairs you own now. If you already have a pair of white sneakers, consider deleting similar ones from your cart.
6. Not Checking the Return Policies
In online shopping, a return policy is the most important thing to look at before checking out. Even after much consideration of the shoes you are buying, they may not work out as well as you think.
Checking the return policy helps you make sure that there will be no surprises if the shoes don’t work out. If a store doesn’t allow returns, you might rethink your order.
Packages often go missing in the mail or the shoes could show up damaged. If anything like that happens, you’ll want to be able to return them.
7. Not Considering Practicality
Always consider shoe practicality before buying them. High wedge sandals can make an outfit. Yet, how often will you wear them? Do you already have something similar in your closet that will work just as well?
If you can’t think of somewhere you will wear these shoes, take them out of your cart. More than likely, they will end up collecting dust.
Before buying shoes, look at the rest of your closet. Find outfits you can pair with them easily that you know you will wear. Additionally, think of places you can wear them to. Will they be good for the grocery store or a dinner?
Skip Online Shoe Buying Errors
Buying shoes online can be confusing and frustrating. It’s especially true when the shoes that come in the mail don’t fit or don’t look like what you saw online.
You must be aware of common online shoe buying errors, so you can make an educated purchase. Check out the rest of our page for more articles like this one.