Canadian Apparel Online support can take the pinch out of
picking a bra The best websites, like the best bras, make it easy to find a fit and generate brand loyalty Straps. Wires. Hooks. Bands. Cups. No wonder women burned their bras to signal their newfound liberation. Advances in textiles and technology have made Otto Tittsling's over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder a more comfortable product but some problems remain the same. Despite the passage of time since the patent for the brassiere was issued in 1913, over 70 per cent of women are still wearing the wrong size. Finding the "right fit" remains a Herculean task - Is a 34B really a 34B? Does the 'large' actually fit like a 'medium'? - with each brand appearing to have its own sizing variations. As a result women develop strong brand loyalty for the one bra that fits well and are hard to move to some other brand that might not measure up. In an effort to answer questions and lure retailers and consumers to their product, manufacturers have developed websites that provide detail on style and fit and even make it possible to purchase online. Not surprisingly, U.S. brands, in general, have been faster to hone their online presence than have Canadian makers and retailers offer more effective sites than manufacturers. We take a look at all of them.
This comprehensive site stays true to its brick and mortar roots. The brand image is consistent with the retail experience. Beautiful models pose stylishly in a wide array of designs, lines are logically organized, and browsing through the products is clean and easy. Though the site could be optimized with color-coding or clearer navigation bars, it is still very user-friendly. It is also a fully functioning e-commerce site, with a simple purchasing process that can be completed in surprisingly few clicks. This is largely because the site harnesses the power of the Yahoo store network. Though an effective means of getting your online store up and running, it means the user gets redirected to a different URL (http://store.yahoo.ca/lasenza) which could lose some buyers if they are not comfortable shopping through Yahoo. On the other hand, Yahoo's reach is great and likely works in the store's favor. Lastly, the site is informative. The fitting guide is extensive and very easy to use. Whereas most sites seem to use carbon copy fitting guides, La Senza highlights some of the most important things to keep in mind (like adding five inches to your ribcage measurement in order to get your band size) and makes their guide truly informative. The site has other excellent features including aft ideas organized by budget, sale items, a section for men's items, and ties to its offline promotions.
The site itself is challenging to navigate since it is not intuitive to the viewer. Going from section to section is accomplished only after you find the text options at the bottom of each page - not ideal in the online world. The site gets kudos for being multilingual, which is great for market reach. Contact information is readily available as well. Unfortunately, it appears not to have been updated since Spring 2002. Even if the product line hasn't changed dramatically, an annual update is expected.
Not long ago, Sears Canada acquired the rights to the Vogue Dessous and Vogue Bra brands, which have a loyal following for their consistent fit and comfort. Visitors to the Sears site will find the Vogue collection by taking the following path: Fashion & Accessories > Women's Wear > Lingerie and then select Vogue in the Brands drop-down menu. Despite this circuitous route, it's not hard to find the section on the e-commerce site. Once there, however, you're on your own for size and fit. The site is excellent for anyone sufficiently familiar with Vogue to simply go in, get her size and get out -consistent, perhaps, with the expectations consumers might have of the retailer. Sara Lee Corporation encompasses a number of brands, all of which can be located through the "mother" site: www.saralee.com. Montreal-based Canadelle produces huge numbers of bras under the Sara Lee labels, but there is no Canadian web site and little attention is paid to Canadian consumers on the U.S.-based pages.
Bali, which promotes its line exclusively to U.S. residents, has many interesting features Canadian sites should consider. For example, after you've gone through the bra sizing process, a selection of bra styles appear that are recommended for your fit. It's as though the site automatically narrows the selection for you to save you time. Of course you can still browse the rest of the styles, but this personal touch takes advantage of information that users are willing to provide. The site also includes the simple option of e-mailing a friend with details of the site. It's an easy way to grow word-of-mouth awareness, especially when the e-mail is your own personal Wish List that you can create as you browse the site. How simple! Shop for your birthday, but send the list to a loved one for purchasing. It's an informal gift registry that provides a great deal of information the manufacturer can use to develop a relationship with the customer (e.g. special offers on selected merchandise that matches her profile).
This site provides a tremendous amount of information for its extremely diverse line, in a refreshingly clear format. We're all guilty sometimes of not understanding something the first time it's explained and online audiences are no different. To counter this, Playtex repeats itself, using variations of the same links. If someone doesn't notice the right fit calculator on the home page, it's offered again on a subsequent page in a different location with a slightly different look. This approach is used successfully in the site to make sure the reader "gets it". With a wide array of styles and target audiences, the design accommodates each of the product groupings with consistent photography and varied choice of models. This website is a wonderful example of an online brand extension that will complement the company's offline efforts.
According to its News section, this site won the 2001-2002 Golden Web Award for creativity integrity, and excellence on the Web. However to us, the site looked a little dated. Everything you need to know about Wonderbra, from the fitting guide through to Wish Lists and store locations, is available in this site. It even includes a survey and testimonials from satisfied customers. But there are weaknesses. Navigation is not very intuitive. A subtle glow used to highlight text appears too far away from the corresponding images, making the site come across as disjointed. Design and layout are clean and easy to browse but the look is not consistent with the brand's offline image and might leave a customer feeling disappointed.
Like Bali, Lovable caters to American customers only and has many excellent features. Though it is not an e-commerce site, it provides a wonderful fitting guide, complete with tips on fit and on caring for your purchases. There is a web poll to entertain visitors, links to promotions, and events featured prominently throughout the site. There's even a Web Log (a.k.a. "blog'). The site has recently been redesigned so it is too early to tell how the Blog will be utilized, but it is clearly an excellent effort to reach out to a young, hip audience.
Victoria's Secret has taken advantage of its catalogue-retailer roots by making its merchandise available in an online format. By tapping into its distribution system with an online interface, Victoria's Secret has efficiently allowed both American and Canadian customers to purchase their merchandise. They have also been making advances in the industry with ideas like their now famous streaming online video simulcasts of their runway shows. Further investigation of the site reveals more finely tuned details such as a simple and easy-to-use color selection feature. Not happy with your style in the color featured in the photograph? Simply click on the color of your choice and the product changes to match your selection. This is likely the result of time-intensive processes in the development of the site that pay dividends by making the site easy to use. The site's product choices can be overwhelming so a recommendation based on fit (see Bali and Lovable) would help shoppers to a quicker decision. Even with the large volume of merchandise the site has to offer, it maintains its balance in navigation, making it easy to use, and more important, easy to shop. The tools the web offers to help companies develop a personal relationship with the customer are numerous. Some sites, more than others, have taken advantage of these tools and now have databases to mine and deep relationships with distributors and customers. Sites should also provide detail on return polices, exchanges, refunds, and quality assurance. A legal disclaimer should be a link available throughout the entire website. As with any fashion site, is important to stay current and to display the late trends. (One of these sites even made an astonishing overnight metamorphosis as we were assembling this article.) So this is an industry that will continue test new approaches. It will be fascinating - revisit these sites in six months time to see how thev have progressed. |
La
Senza - 
Padded
Attraction - 
Vogue
Bra and Vogue Dessous - 
Bali
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Playtex
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Wonderbra
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Lovable
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Victoria's
Secret -