Shopping

lifestyle Shopping

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON CLOTHES & SHOES

With the cost-of-living crisis putting pressure on household budgets, many of us are looking to be more budget-savvy when shopping for wardrobe essentials.

Which? has rounded up ways to save money on clothing and shoes, while also being more environmentally-friendly. • Recycle old clothes in exchange for vouchers

Several High Street shops now run recycling schemes and offer vouchers in exchange for old clothes. For example, H&M and Schuh offer £5 to be redeemed off a £25 shop, Marks and Spencer offer the same when you spend £35. New Look offers 15% off if shoppers donate pre-loved fashion to a Hospice charity shop.

• Look for second-hand options

Expensive brands can often be found for a fraction of the price in charity shops, car boot sales, online marketplaces, or via apps such as Depop and Vinted.

• Buy children’s shoes

Those with feet size 5 or under might be able to buy cheaper children’s shoes, as children’s clothes and shoes are exempt from VAT. Popular brands including

Adidas, Nike, Converse and Dr Martens do children’s versions of their most popular styles.

• Hunt down discount codes

Shoppers can often save 10% on their basket by referring a friend or signing up for a newsletter. Coupert and Pouch are free online shopping tools that automatically find and apply every voucher available in one click, and apply them to the basket. Shoppers can also get offers by signing up for a loyalty programme.

• Try renting clothes

Clothes rental schemes have become more popular in recent years. Prices vary but renting an outfit could be cheaper than buying a new one. For example, prices for renting a dress from By Rotation begin from £9. Other similar sites include My Wardrobe HQ, Hurr, and, for children’s clothes, Bundlee. Most apps add a small usage fee, so check the terms and conditions.

• Try swishing

‘Swishing’ is the term for swapping items of clothing or footwear with other people. Instead of shopping for new garments, it’s worth getting a group of friends or colleagues together to swap unwanted clothes.

• Snap up ex-display shoes

High Street shoe chains Schuh and Office both have specialist websites that sell reduced, ex-display shoes that may have minor wear-and-tear. Others include Birkenstock, Adidas and Timberland.

• Get the most out of the sales

Sign up for alerts for restocks. For example,

BackInStockAlerts.com monitors websites such as

Amazon and Asos and sends an alert when a particular item is back in stock. It is also worth checking if the retailer has an app or scheme you can sign up to for early access to the sale. For example, Zara offers shoppers that use its app early access to the sale.

• Visit an outlet store

Outlet stores offer discounted clothes, often from past seasons. It could be worth checking if there are any nearby. Many brands now have outlet stores on eBay, offering savings of up to 70% on clothing.

5 E-COMMERCE TRENDS FOR 2022

According to e-commerce experts Optiseller, there are five new e-commerce trends that will affect all online sellers this year…

1 Online sales are increasing: According to a survey

by Credit Karma, about 70% of Brits say buying online has become their preferred shopping method. Research from Episerver also found that 38% of UK consumers buy online at least once a week.

2 Mobile shopping is growing: If your site isn't

optimised for mobile transactions (m-commerce), you need to step into the 21st century now or risk losing out. By the end of 2021 mobile transactions alone made up 72.9% of the total worldwide e-commerce transactions (Statista). 3 Social media impacts consumer buying: Similar

buyer journey. According to GlobalWebIndex, 71% are more likely to purchase products and services based on social media referral alone.

4 Environmental factors: More than 37% of

shoppers now say that they are more conscious of the environmental impact their online shopping habits have than ever before. Meanwhile, nearly 73% of consumers expect online retailers and brands to use recyclable packaging or minimise their use of packaging. 5 Supporting local on the up: The pandemic saw

nearly 50 chain shops close per day in the first half of 2021 on British high streets, retail parks and shopping centres. This scary reality has prompted the UK to shop local. According to Shopify, 57% of consumers expressed a willingness to purchase from new and independent businesses for the first time.