Shopping Tips: Browsing Online
Shopping online is convenient, fun, and puts everything at your fingertips (doubly true when browsing on your phone). But it can also be overwhelming! When I shop online, I’m rarely looking for something specific (which is dangerous, but that’s another issue entirely!). Here are some of the ways I use filters to manage the experience.
Pick a place to start.
Most retailers encourage you to pick a starting point, whether that be new arrivals, an edited collection of offerings, or a category. Check your shopping list (mental or tangible, or perhaps digital) and see what you feel like looking at. Depending on the site, you can be very specific in this starting point (like button-down shirts) or general (tops).
The below screenshots from Anthropologie show that you can browse all of a category, or significantly narrow down your choices from the beginning.
Know yourself and your closet.
The filter I use most frequently is size. Even if you don’t know your exact size (because it will vary across brand and category of clothing), narrowing down the selection this way will help you see only pieces you might actually buy. It’s very frustrating to find the perfect top, only to realize that it isn’t available even close to your size.
If you have a specific color palette for your closet, using those colors as your filters will help you keep your browsing to pieces that will transition into your wardrobe well.
Identify what you like.
Anything that you know you like, select it! For example, when I browse for booties (which is often because I love them), I usually select sizes 7.5 and 8 (my size and one bigger for more possibilities, whole size only options, and to account for socks), pointed toe (my preference), from flat to 3” high (my lower and upper limits). Sometimes I also limit by color, depending on how many options pop up from my initial filtered search.
These filters took the results from 2,345 options to 109. I find the latter amount much easier to navigate!
And use what you know you don’t want.
Maybe you don’t know what you’re looking for, but you do know you don’t like or aren’t looking for something (like maxi skirts, open-toed shoes, bomber jackets, or wide-leg pants), select every filter but those so they’re weeded out.
Using a lot of filters (both selecting what I like, and pointedly not selecting styles I’m less interested in) while browsing ASOS for skirts gave much more manageable results.
I hope these filtering tips improve your online shopping experience!