Old Navy
Written: Jul 28 '01 (Updated Jul 28 '01)
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| Selection: |
 |
|
| On-Time Delivery: |
|
|
The Bottom Line
While Old Navy Online is a good place to find quality clothing at fair prices, it's not a great online website-but it could be
|
| Full Review |
I love Old Navy.
Old Navy, the store. This offshoot of The Gap carries a wide variety of quality, fashionable apparel for everyone in the family at affordable prices. Unfortunately, though, Old Navy Online has some room for improvement...
Before getting into the site's specific information, it seems appropriate to list the areas where I feel Old Navy is lacking.
SELECTION: While the Old Navy Stores and Outlets I've shopped at carry a wide variety of styles, the online store carries much fewer. Old Navy does not put out a catalog, so for those of us without close access to a store the Old Navy site is the only alternative to shop them. Online, there just aren't as many items to chose from-with some categories only offering a handful of different selections.
EASE OF USE: The site isn't difficult to use, by any means, but without an on site search, I find it much less convenient. When I shop online I'm generally looking for something specific, but at the online store it is sometimes necessary to click through several screens to find the item of interest. Once found, you can opt to see the different styles available on one page, which is something I do like. Call me lazy, but a site search would really go a long way towards helping me find what I want with the fewest clicks.
AVAILABILITY: Old Navy Online doesn't ship to locations outside North America. This really surprises me. I was aware that their stores were confined to the U.S. and Canada, but would've thought the online store would take advantage of the opportunity to broaden their customer base. Not yet, anyway. The online store is not available to other countries.
To be fair, I should add that these things don't keep me from shopping at the Old Navy site. I like the merchandise enough that I shop their stores whenever possible, but there have been times when I couldn't, and was able to find what I wanted on the site. My most recent purchase (swimsuit) had to be just right-and after looking practically everywhere-online and off, I was only able to find exactly what I wanted at the Old Navy online site, along with a matching pair of sandals. The price was right, the purchase went off without a hitch, and the order arrived within the expected shipping window-minus the sandals. I was disappointed that I hadn't been notified that they were out of stock, but relieved that I hadn't been charged for the sandals. Customer Service sent a small, 'whoops' gift, which I thought was pretty nice (even though it was an Old Navy T-shirt that would fit a chihuahua).
ABOUT OLD NAVY ONLINE:
Merchandise
Old Navy's product line includes clothing for Men, Women, Boys, Girls, Toddlers and Babies. In addition, they offer gift items and things for the home. The children's section has a full range of sizes and Adult sizes go up to 18-20 for women and XXXL/44 waist for men. Size charts are available, and helpful for getting it right.
Prices vary, but in general I find them to be very competitive for the quality of the products. Items at Old Navy tend to be a little less expensive than that of their parent company, The Gap. The online prices are pretty much in line with those at the stores, and a selection of marked down items available are comparable to the prices in the Old Navy outlet stores. I've seen discounts as much as 60-70% at the online store.
Membership
You don't have to sign up for anything in order to shop at Oldnavy.com, but doing so affords you more convenience. In addition to saving time, members receive advance notice of sales & discounts and information about fashion trends. Personalized services provided for members include: gift reminders, address book, and easy access to your order history.
Purchasing
Buying online has been greatly simplified by the use of 'shopping cart' technology. At Old Navy, it's called the "shopping bag", but like many online retailers this keeps up with purchases as you go, listing them at the virtual checkout along with the prices. Payment can be made with any of the big 5 credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover/Novus, JCB) or you can apply on site for an Old Navy Charge card. I don't have one, as store charge cards tend to have high finance rates, but charges paid within 26 days of purchase incur no charges with the Old Navy Card. Cardholders get a 10% the first credit card purchase (online or in the store) and
$5 off every $100 charged on their Old Navy Account.
Shipping
Orders are shipped standard delivery generally arrive within 7 business days. Prices are based on order amount totals:
$0 to $50 $6
$50.01 to $100 $8.50
$100.01 to $150 $11
$150.01 or more $13
Returns
Orders from Old Navy include a pre-paid shipping label for returns and exchanges. For items exchanged, no charge is incurred, but shipping is deducted from the amount of your refund if you return an item for money back.
Overall
While Old Navy Online is a good place to find quality clothing at fair prices, it's not a great online website. I hope I'm able to update this review in the future to include some changes that have made it more user friendly.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
About the Author
Reviews written: 252
Trusted by: 521 members
About Me: I'll get it together..eventually
|
