Many of us know of at least one online clothing store. Comb through the social networking sites, and you will see how it has seeped into the world and found its customer base. Like for everything else, the networking sites are a boon to these stores. In Nepal too, we’re seeing a change in the way people are shopping for clothes and accessories. The small shops and big malls are no longer the only paradise in the shoppers’ heaven. Online clothing stores are making their presence felt. [break]
For instance, Fmirror (www.fmirror.com) has been operating since the last two years. Srawan Shrestha owns the store with his wife, Anju Rai, and says that the response to the store has been ‘overwhelming’. “The range of our customers starts with 12-year-old children and they go up to people who are 60-years-old. Today, we’ve got around 2500 customers,” shares Srawan.
Anju was in London where she saw the boom in the market for online shopping, and decided it was worth a try in Nepal. While the majority of their customers belong to Kathmandu, they do receive their share of orders from customers in Dharan, Pokhara and Chitwan.
Online stores see more feasibility in retaining their online identity instead of branching to a store in a mall. There’s no need to undergo the hassle of scouting a perfect location or forking the monthly rent for the space occupied. A social networking site demands no rent, there’s much more interaction and feedback from shoppers. Sanjay Shrestha, 27, owner of Up&Sass (www.upandsass.com) confirms this.
“There’s no need to worry about the perfect location and its rent or the decor of the shop to impress and attract customers. That capital can actually be invested to develop other aspects of an online store business,” he says, adding, “Facebook is an effective and a cheap marketing tool.”
The terribly reality of load shedding is, without a doubt, the biggest nemesis of most businesses and entrepreneurs here. With their core existence depending on online visibility and online reach, the frequent and long hours of load shedding leads to trouble. “It’s a big hindrance as it prevents us from updating our page and our customers, too, will not be able to frequent Up & Sass as often as they would like,” he says.
Since online stores generally order their products from abroad and from different shops and websites, there are minimal chances of meeting your outfit doppelganger while you are out and about. That is the biggest advantage and what really draws in customers to online stores.
It is what led to the launch of Up&Sass. Sanjay fondly recalls his wife’s complaint about the difficulty of finding clothes her size in shops and the high chance of bumping into someone else wearing the same stuff. On September last year, Up&Sass started its operations and three months later, www.upandsass.com was launched. He says that he wouldn’t categorize the store as a success just yet, but is happy with the response and support it’s been generating.
“All our products are from the UK. We offer high street brands such as ASOS, New Look, Topshop, and Miss Selfridge. We specifically hand pick all of our products through the brands’ websites and we select the latest trends to hit the UK so our customers can be the first ones to strut them in Nepal,” he says.
Customers also seem satisfied with this shopping experience. It’s the quality of clothes, the chance to wear something not found in every other store in the capital not to mention the latest trends that has made online shopping a favorite with Rubeena Dutt, 39, ex-editor of Wave Magazine. Apart from the basics, she’s turned to online stores to provide her with everything else the past year. “The quality of clothes is just so much better, and with that guarantee, it’s no hardship to put in the money for clothes I like. Anyway, the products we get in the shops here are not available for less than a couple of thousand rupees and it’s wiser to shop from online stores,” she extols the virtues of online stores.
Customers can leisurely flip through the photos of the latest offerings in their favorite online store, and can also get their orders delivered at a convenient time and place. Up&Sass accepts its products if they’re returned within three days in good condition with the tags intact. Full refund is also possible.
Work is hard for owners of the stores, however. Attention to detail is required in running the stores, just like in any other stores. Sanjay speaks to people thinking of opening up an online clothing store, “Just because it is an online store doesn’t mean one is allowed to be laid back and just upload photos of the products. The amount of effort and time you put in reflects your store. You have to keep yourself updated with new trends. Also, be wise when it comes to pricing the products. Don’t over price thinking about the profit you’ll gain. Customers will be turned off by exuberant prices. Lastly, give importance to how you display your products as it’s the only way to attract people since they are not able to touch and feel.”
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