This week by Katy contacted us via Facebook and asked why we no longer sold boots online. We get asked this question a fair bit, so we thought we should let you all know our answer!
How do you measure up?
Calf measurements, foot sizes, length and width…there is a lot to consider when buying boots. It is not just a case of finding your shoe size and clicking add to cart. Can you be sure you have measured in the right place? Was the tape too tight? Or too loose?
Best foot forward?
What socks will you wear under your boots? Will this affect the fit? Leather will stretch but without trying them first, do you know how much you will want your boots to stretch out? How easy can you get your feet into them? Can you asses this online from a picture?
Returns and Exchanges
Can you afford to return and exchange them if they are not right for you? Lots of companies charge for returns nowadays. Can you afford to wait for an exchange? What about that show you are heading to? Will they be back in time?
Why we decided to stop selling boots online
In our opinion, the best long boots need to be tried on. With different foot sizes, calf sizes, lengths etc there is a lot that can go wrong. We held huge volumes of stock to reflect varying calf sizes and measurements, as well as foot sizes.
In our experience, boots were the most returned item each year when it came to online sales. Some customers had to buy up to four pairs before finding the right fit. This isn’t cost effective for the customer or for us. We want purchasing from our website to be a positive experience. With a high return rate we didnt feel this was giving people the positive shopping experience we wanted them to have. So we asked ourselves why?
In short the answer was simple. Somethings just need to be tried on and not ordered online. As a customer, you need to be confident that the item you are ordering online is suitable for you. With boots and so many elements to get right, we felt they were not a viable online product for us to sell online. You need to put the boot on, check the fit around the calf, the ankle and the foot. Assess the leather. Decide on the give in the leather. Walk and sit in them to see if you are happy with the length in the boot. All these things can result in you trying a number of pairs on and we felt that this is just not possible if you order online! So Selwood sensibly decided to bring the footwear option on the website to a close.