Zara Gets Digital (Sort of)
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By Casey Kettleson
in Fashion Features
on September 03, 2010
In 1975, Zara opened its doors for the first time in Spain. Now, in 2010, the fast-fashion retailer has hit the world wide web – sort of.
It's no secret that we adore Zara. Once described by Louis Vuitton's fashion director Daniel Piette as "possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world," Zara is a shopping staple for everyone at StyledOn. We love their shoes, blouses, outerwear, dresses – everything, really.
The one thing we haven't liked about Zara, however, is their lack-of-presence online. But times are finally changing for the Spanish mega-retailer. Yesterday, the company launched their e-commerce site and it looks good. With a clean format, the site is easy to navigate and products are well displayed. The left navigation breaks down the merchandise by New This Week (a feature we love and think every site should have), Woman, TRF, Man, Kids, Lookbook, Magazine and Catalogue.
Within the world of Woman (for example) you can then shop for coats, jackets, dresses and so on. The images on the shopping pages feature the garments styled on a model, which you can then sort by way of, color, size and price. There is also the option to view all. So far, so good...
Now, with an intuitive navigational structure and a simple layout seemingly modeled after NET-A-PORTER, we feel highly compelled to make a purchase (especially for the items currently sold out in the store below our office) - but this is where the problem lies. Although prices are listed in USD, you can't actually shop the site right now from the United States. There is no 'purchase' button on the specific product pages (see below) or any actual garment descriptions beyond the composition and care recommendations.
The site is also experience some technical troubles, which we hope will be ironed out sooner rather than later. So what's up, Zara? Online window-shopping is a bit better than nothing, but we're ready to spend our hard-earned cash. For a company that is able to turn out so many styles a week and has a physical presence in over 73 countries, why can't they nail down e-commerce? And H&M, hello, where are you?
Are you excited that you can (almost) shop Zara online? How much of your wardrobe do you purchase online?