Online Shopping: Top 5 Compared

The majority of my online shopping is done at Amazon.ca - why? Not only because of the variety of products, but also because they deliver right to my rural, country living, door. I do, however, spend more at Lululemon, most likely because their site is prettier. Below you will find my likes and dislikes with regards to my top 5 shopping sites.

1. Lululemon

• yoga and running gear
• easy to search - fit, style, size, colour or activity
• one click cart adding
• you can checkout as a guest
• favourite feature - newest reviews are at the top
• disappointing feature - lack of inventory

Lululemon's online shopping site is well organized and easy to navigate (like most sites I shop at), however, the major disappointing feature is their lack of inventory. Often I will find the item I am looking for on the US site, yet they will not ship it to me, not even for an extra cost. Bummer.

2. Amazon

• books, clothes, tools, electronics and so much more
• easy to search - categories and departments
• one click cart adding
• you need to have an account to checkout
• favourite feature - shipping options
• favourite feature - no backorder policy
• disappointing feature - site is full of noise

Amazon's best quality is the amount of variety it has - you can purchase a garden hose and a camera in the same visit. Moreover, you can select to have some items shipped to one place, and others to another - perfect for holiday season. Also, if you are ordering many items and one is coming from Japan, then you can select separate shipping as to not hold up your order. The downside to this site, it is not visually appealing - I am on and off as quickly as possible.

3. Etsy

• homemade, vintage or repurposed/recycled items
• easy to search - categories
• one click cart adding
• you need to have an account to checkout
• favourite feature - the whole concept
• disappointing feature - custom items require time

Etsy's site is beautiful, quite a contrast from the noise of Amazon. They feature different sellers and highlight individual stories which is inspiring. The concept is one I love. The downfall is time. If you are looking for a custom item, it can take weeks or months for it to be made for you.

4. forever 21

• cheap clothes, accessories and shoes
• easy to search - categories
• one click cart adding
• you can checkout as a guest
• favourite feature - the quick view
• disappointing feature - photos are often not quality

I dislike stores that do not offer adequate mirrors when trying clothes on, especially when combined with an exchange only policy - this is Forever 21. Augh. Why the site? Because you can return (yes, for you money back) any items you purchase on the site at the store location. This way you can try on those 9$ shoes and see if that 7$ scarf will indeed compliment your green jumper in your own natural light, I might add.

5. iTunes

• music, books, apps, movies, TV shows and games
• easy to search - search bar
• one click download
• you can checkout with your iTunes account
• favourite feature - multiple devices, one account
• disappointing feature - limited inventory

iTunes, oh, how I love iTunes. The best feature - you can checkout without navigating through a bunch of pages. Click and sign in. Done. The only part of this site that lets my heart down is their limited inventory. The Newsroom is in the middle of its third season and HBO has not released it to iTunes yet, which is disappointing. Some series release the episodes as soon as they are done airing. Looks like I will have to wait.

Overall - those are some of my thoughts on my top 5 shopping sites. Thanks for reading.