The Fall Online Shoe Shopping Guide

The average person spends about 1/3 of their life sleeping. The other 2/3′s is spent in shoes, with the exception of beach time and foot massages, of course. That’s a lot of time on your feet! And that’s why it’s so important to find the perfect pair of shoes.

It’s also officially back-to-school shopping season and students everywhere are looking for their brand new kicks. To account for the limitless shapes and sizes of feet, there are hundreds of sites that offer various brands, sizes, styles and colors of thousands of shoes. But with so many options, it’s not easy to get that Cinderella-like fit. Do you really want to pay for return shipping if they don’t fit? In this day and age, shoe shopping should be painless, and your kicks should be delivered with excellent customer service. There’s no reason to buy from a site that can’t deliver on that promise.

To help you find the perfect online shoe shop this fall, STELLAService has evaluated 19 different sites that hopefully carry some of your favorite shoes, and as usual, we have specifically highlighted the shops that deliver a truly top-rate customer experience.

Overall STELLAService Scores

Competition is fierce within the shoe customer category. In fact, there are now more companies in this category that achieved Elite and Excellent STELLAService Ratings than any other apparel category we have evaluated.

Shipping

Do you need your Oxfords in a hurry for that weekend wedding? Just a few select sites offer shipping on Saturday. Not in a hurry? Check to see how long it took our footwear to be delivered. We all get a little anxious to receive our new shoes!

Returns

The ease and convenience of the returns process for online shoe companies is essential to the overall service proposition. Just think about how many pairs you had to try on the last time you were in a store…I’m always at least 2 or 3.  If you answered anything except “0″ or “1″, then you understand why shoe sites must make it exceptionally easy for customers to return products. See how your favorite e-retailers stack up when it comes to the returns process.

Featured Sites

Zappos.com is a breeze to navigate online. Panning the mouse over the product changes the angle view of the shoe, revealing the front back, side, bottom, and top. Check out the STELLAService Elite seal they proudly display!

RoadRunnerSports.com has a very knowledgeable customer support staff that will help you find the perfect sneakers. Customer service is available via phone, email, or live chat!

Need more info? OnlineShoes.com offers hundreds of videos that provide customers with a detailed look at popular products.

Customize your own shoes with NikeiD. Many other shoe types are available.

Thanks for reading! If you liked this, you may also be interested in the STELLAService College Shopping Guide. If you’d like to receive this blog via email, sign up in in the top right of this page. You can also follow STELLAshopper on Twitter (@stellashopper)!

The Online Shopping Guide for the Trendy Online Shopper

For the average online shopper, designer clothing sites are pocketed in the “wishful thinking” category. However, with sample sale websites and their incredible insider discounts and daily boutiques at up to 80% off, high fashion doesn’t have to mean high cost. Here at STELLAService, we love a stylish steal as much as the next person, but top quality customer service still tops our list. For your convenience, we have investigated 5 of these “secret sale” companies to give you an idea of which sites to hunt down and which to steer clear of. Hopefully this guide will make your shopping experience as dapper as your new threads!

Shipping and return policies can make or break a shopping experience. Free shipping and pre-paid return labels are just a few of the perks that give one company a leg up over the other. In some cases, the fine print of these policies can go unnoticed before you press “confirm purchase”. We are here to be your personal magnifier with tips such as who will refund your credit card and who will hand you a “store credit only” certificate. Read on!

If your only spare time to shop is on a weekend and you find yourself having a few questions, who is capable of offering you a live CSR rep to assist you? Who can you be confident in that will provide you with a knowledgeable CSR representative? Live customer support and services are a very important aspect of each company…so who holds them at the highest standard?

Hopefully, this guide will spark your inner fashion flame and have you dying to land some affordable designer apparel. However, all of these sites (except ShopBop.com) are by invitation only. Thankfully, you are only a click away from becoming an exclusive member yourself (if you aren’t already!) Click the links below to become a member and enjoy!

• Gilt.com
• RueLaLa.com
• HauteLook.com
• Ideeli.com