The holiday shopping season is quickly coming to a crescendo. Online shopping has changed the way we serve up holiday gift giving. Long gone are the days of rushing from store to store to chase the elusive size or color variation. The entire world of shopping is at our fingertips.
As a matter of fact, over the past year, we’ve ordered items from a series of European sites and have been astonished by how quickly shipments arrive. Luisaviaroma, MatchesFashion, and Farfetch have delivered purchases in just more than a day and that’s without paying for additional expedited shipping. We also love receiving a purchase that arrives wrapped in delicate tissue paper and tied in a pretty bow. The presentation and experience make a small purchase feel like a luxury experience.
J. Crew, on the other hand, has been a disaster. We placed an order for kids’ leggings on Black Friday and only received it on December 16. That’s 21-days to receive a domestically shipped item. Needless to say, that was completely unacceptable.
You can always count on Net-A-Porter to offer solid customer service. The site is a dependable destination for the season’s hottest items. We also love that they carry enough inventory that the site doesn’t sell out too quickly. Check Ssense if you’re looking for small discounts on items not usually found on sale.
Melijoe is another wonderful online destination for kid’s gifts. Like, Luisaviaroma we received our items incredibly fast and our gifts came wrapped beautifully. The downside is that shipping is $19 and there aren’t free returns. That means that exchanging a wrong size could mean almost $40 in shipping, which often isn’t worthwhile.
We would love to hear about your online shopping experiences. Feel free to share stories about retailers doing it right those who are stumbling. Speaking of online shipping and shipping, below is your guide to getting your gift there on time. You can use the product scroll above to see the great stuff we found on sale while assembling information for this post.
Net-A-Porter
Shipping: Free three-day shipping
Returns: Free
Rush: Next day shipping $20
Super Rush: Same day delivery (New York) $25
Gift Wrap: Free, sale items come wrapped in tissue paper but full-priced merchandise is eligible for their iconic matte black boxes
Discount: Up to 70%
Obsessing over: Palm Angles pool slides $52 from $130
AlexaandAlex
Christmas deadline: December 19
Cost: Free standard and express delivery with orders over $99
Returns: Free
Gift wrap: Option not available
Discount: 50% off
Obsessing over: Girl’s Moschino bear dress $155 from $222
Melijoe
Shipping: 24-hour shipping $12
Return fees: $10
Gift wrap: Items delivered wrapped in tissue paper
Discount: Up to 70% off
Obsessing over: Gucci girl’s dress in candy pink $315 from $1047
Luisaviaroma Shipping: Free express shipping
Returns: Free
Gift wrap: Items delivered wrapped in tissue paper and ribbon
Discount: 30% to 50% off on most items
Obsessing over: Fendi cashmere sweater $1183 from $1690
MatchesFrashion
Shipping: Free express shipping
Rush: Next day $15
Returns: Free
Gift wrap: Marbled boxes
Discount: Up to 60% off
Obsessing over: Self Portrait balloon sleeve sweater $231 from $330
Farfetch
Shipping: Free Express
Rush: Same day and 90-minute delivery available in many cities
Returns: Varies
Discount: Up to 60% off
Obsessing over: Valentino glass and velvet heels $358 from $995
Ssense:
Shipping: Free over $200 purchases or $12
Rush: Not available
Retruns: Customer pay for returns
Discount: Up to 60% off
Obsessing over: Fendi- Fila sweatshirt $737 from $1100
