Presenting Ellen Grace Jones: a fashion journalist with an impeccable career and a distinctive vibrancy, who has left her mark in Vogue Arabia, Huffington Post, and with iconic brands like Harrods, Bentley, Jumeirah, and PUMA.
Presenting Ellen Grace Jones: a fashion journalist with an impeccable career and a distinctive vibrancy, who has left her mark in Vogue Arabia, Huffington Post, and with iconic brands like Harrods, Bentley, Jumeirah, and PUMA.
Known for her unique blend of professionalism and flair, Ellen masterfully transforms every story into an unforgettable experience, capturing the industry’s pulse and delivering it straight to the hearts of her readers. She brings that same expertise to the article below, crafted especially for you.
How Clothing Stores Can Do Better
Just a few weeks ago I was all geared up for what I like to call my “Retail Therapy Extravaganza”. It’s a bright August morning, I head out the door armed with nothing but my wallet and a will to conquer the last of the summer sales.
At first, the day seemed full of promise. The air was crisp, my coffee still warm, and the shops were calling my name like sirens on a rocky shore. But soon, shop after shop, reality hit harder than a high heel on a tile floor. My issue? The in-store shopping fashion baskets. Those insidious fabric or metal structures that insist on making my shopping experience into something close to a nightmare.
Let me set the stage. I’ve just stepped into the first shop (a popular high street store that shall remain nameless). But before I even get a chance to gaze at the glittering array of clothes, I’m faced with the first hurdle: that hulking net bag. Yes, the kind that looks like it was engineered to carry industrial quantities of fruit, not my precious garments.
Size aside, they are impossible to carry. The plastic poles on each of the double handles constantly slip and slide making it hopeless to carry them by hand or on my shoulder without slipping. And then when I load it up with pretty much anything heavier than a pair of pants, this problem is only magnified.
I pick out a stunning dress that catches my eye. As I lift it to my shoulder, the gigantic net sack turns into a bottomless pit. The dress is folded carefully, and as soon as it goes in, I feel the bag’s resistance, like it’s trying to hold onto the dress for dear life. It’s a power struggle, and I’m losing. By now, I’m beginning to suspect that my shopping bag is plotting against me.
When Shopping Bags Turn Against You
As two pairs of jeans, some shoes, and a few tops go in, it’s heaving like a bad case of the midriff bulge after a big lunch. The bag’s construction seems to be defying physics, with seams straining as if they’re on the brink of surrender. Meanwhile, I’m trying to keep my cool while the bag’s thin handles have been digging into my shoulder like a small, relentless vice for the last 30 minutes.
When I’m finally ready to pay, I make my way to the tills. By now, it’s not just the weight. It’s the sheer awkwardness. Like I’m toting a huge sack of wet laundry, the net bag keeps swinging into my legs and bumping into innocent bystanders. I start avoiding eye contact with fellow shoppers, praying they don’t notice my increasingly desperate struggle. At one point, I’m convinced that the bag itself is trying to make me trip. I mean, what’s a few more shopping-induced bruises, right?
In the next store, rather than a giant net sack, I’m faced with an old-school metal shopping basket. They’re perfect for a few oranges or apples at the supermarket, but for clothing, they’re not the best option. They’re so irritatingly shaped they clang into my leg constantly and the handles pinch repeatedly.
Fashion Baskets Don’t Have to Be a Pain: Better Options Await
Am I just being overly fussy? No. There’s proof that lugging around over-stuffed fabric bags is bad for your physical health, too. With the recent phasing out of plastic carrier bags in the last decade, shoppers now bring their own fabric totes to carry their items. Physiotherapists all over the world have been reporting a slew of rotator cuff injuries, triggered by the weight of their shopping bags.
My verdict? Clothing retailers could to do better when it comes to their consumer experience. Their customers need to be able to carry their items in-store using a sturdy fashion basket, with a comfortable grip, enough space for all their fabulous finds that does not weigh them down.
When shopping abroad in the past, I remember using a basket on wheels, the kind you sometimes get in supermarkets. It was spacious and no matter how much clothing I put in, it was like pushing a cloud. No fiddling with giant nets and no awkward collisions with strangers who think I’m plotting an obstacle course. It made browsing so much easier and I spent much longer in the store too, because when your fashion basket rolls, you can shop ’til you drop…without actually dropping anything. A true dream come true.
Above all, a good shopping experience shouldn’t come with sore shoulders or awkward moments. So I suggest to fashion stores that they offer practical solutions to free us from these issues—because we all deserve a good shopping therapy, without physical consequences. See you very soon!
If you’re ready to offer the best fashion baskets in your stores, download our Fashion magazine—your customers’ shoulders will thank you!
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