As usual, a must-read from Derek.

I thought it’s interesting that most online retailers reverse the priorities. Branding and style are often given premium findability, whereas fit and construction often require taking extra steps: emailing or chatting with customer service, or even ordering several sizes to try on a garment. It can make for a frustrating experience on both ends: I hate restocking fees and waiting for returns to clear off my credit card. I’m sure websites hate customers with high return rates—one online retailer recently revealed that I’m blacklisted from receiving promo codes because my return percentage is too high (“Well, if you provided garment measurements I’d probably only order one …”).

I think this isn’t so much retailers being nefarious and wanting to push merchandise as it is facing the very real challenges of translating the brick-and-mortar experience of dressing rooms to the online space. In my experience, the retailers who I keep going back to are the ones who make available garment measurements and knowledgeable, responsive customer service reps, especially via online chatting.