Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time, without an intermediary service, over the Internet. It is a form of electronic commerce. An online shop, eshop, e-store, Internet shop, webshop, webstore, online store, or virtual store evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a bricks-and-mortar retailer or in a shopping center. The process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. When a business buys from another business, it is called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. 

A good online store is a website that is easy to navigate and browse for possible purchases. It has a product catalog that customers can use to browse the search criteria (usually a type, price, material, age, etc.), and information about the products, the sellers, and the service center. Online stores may also discuss business conditions and a Complaints Procedure. 

If a shopper finds a product to purchase, clicking “send” will add the item to the shopping cart. The shopping cart collects all items to be purchased. Once a shopper is satisfied with their selections, the shopper makes a binding order and payment using a credit card or other financial arrangement. Therefore, implementing usability testing is highly important for an online store to avoid the reduce of overall performances of the online store [3] 

In the twenty first century, online shopping has become very popular, especially with the lifestyles of businesspeople who are always busy and are looking for a convenient way to shop. 

 An online store may also be called an e-webstore, e-shop, e-store, Internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online store, online storefront and virtual store. 

Online marketing strategies 

Fashion marketing 

Fashion marketing is unique because of its short cycle and is more than designing a dress. It inculcates the overall advertisement strategies that are implemented to position a product that resonate with the customer and motivates them to purchase it. 

Social media strategy 

If you are competing in the fashion space then you need to be smart enough to identify the latest trends and position your brand, such that people realises the fashion trend via your online store. There are a plethora of online apparel stores that have positioned their brand presence through social media. Through this effective social channel you can reach millions. Let people know about you, give them a platform to interact, engage, and talk about fashion, apparels, and clothes. 

Most brands fall into the pitfall of not realising that social media is not a channel to post an image and leave. You need to be there, interact with people, makes bold suggestions and recommendations, respond to peoples queries. 

Influencer marketing 

When comes to fashion, you will be able to plot a linear propensity with celebrity endorsements and trending fashions. There exist hardcore fan followers who are ready to replicate what their celebrity does. Most brands are made celebrities as their brand directors. If you are a start up, and doesn’t have the budget to reach out to a renowned celebrity its fine. Instead of reaching out to global personalities, narrow down to a local personalities. 

You can reach out to a beautician who has a descend list of loyal followers and can ask them to make use of your service. If he/ she is happy with what you provide then make sure that you get a testimonial from her, or ask her to do a small commercial for you. I am pretty sure to the least she will he happy to share your business entity on her social platform. 

Create a Facebook Page 

Facebook has evolved into a great market place, where you can find, inetract, and engage with potential buyers and sellers. When planning to start an online clothing store its a basic need that you start with a Facebook page. When creating a Facebook page make sure that you select the right template. For an online store that sells commodity of multiple variety its better to setup their page on shopping template. 

Basic requirements when planning to start an online clothing store 

• When planning to start an online clothing store there are few basic requirements that one need to consider. 
• Online Personality of your Clothing Store 
• First and foremost being an alluring online store. We all judge book by its cover. In the digital world your website/ e-commerce store becomes the first point of contact. Your virtual store acts as the digital identity of your establishment. So, thee first point of contact should convince the customers. Your web homepage should resonate the brand personality and the brand identity of your apparel store. 

• USP and Brand Voice 
• Highlight your USP. Be precise an clear when you detail the unique selling proposition. Your USP is the key differentiator. So make sure that its fine tuned and refined, the benefits are vividly explained. Most entities fail to identify their customer voice, make sure that you wont fall in the pitfall. Be creative, talk to you customers in the language they prefer. If your are targeting the local market, then filling your eCommerce store with keywords and jargon that doesn’t speak to the audience won’t make any sense. 
• CX of your eCommerce store 
• Hope you remember me mentioning about a customer centric approach. It’s true you own the establishment, but the strangers who land on your website drives your business. We all know the fact that the longer someone interacts with a system the higher the probability of a commerce. 
• Your virtual store needs to have a customer centric UI and UX. The digital era is often coined as the age of customer experience. Delight your customers. Most virtual stores fail to realise the fact that the poor UI (user interface) is acting as a blocker. Give your visitors a simple interface. An objective driven UI which is easy to navigate. The buyers journey is so pivotal that any inconvenience at its minuscule level can cause confusion among the customers. Confusion at this critical path will create doubts regarding the business entities authenticity, leading to higher cart abandonment. 

• Develop a responsive site 
• Online customers are quite impatient. They want prompt results. Develop a website which is responsive and gives quick results. The website design should be compatible with all the major Operating systems and devices.  

-Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product’s availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2016, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers,laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.

An online shop evokes the physical analogy of buying products or services at a regular “bricks-and-mortar”retailer or shopping center; the process is called business-to-consumer (B2C) online shopping. When an online store is set up to enable businesses to buy from another businesses, the process is called business-to-business (B2B) online shopping. A typical online store enables the customer to browse the firm’s range of products and services, view photos or images of the products, along with information about the product specifications, features and prices.

Advantages of Online Shopping :

Point-of-sale advantages include stores offering no shipping charges and free ship-to-store options. A lot of online stores do not pass on sales tax (unless required by the state) to customers, which can add up to substantial savings for those shoppers who buy primarily online. 

Other advantages of shopping online include: 

• The stores are almost never closed. 
• Shoppers can shop in their pajamas. 
• Online shoppers save on gas. 
• There are no parking hassles. 
• Online shoppers rarely have to deal with aggressive salespeople. 

• There are no annoying crowds. 
• Online shoppers do not have to wait in long lines to check out. 
• Many online retailers allow shoppers to post reviews about the products that they purchased. 
• There are more choices for buying refurbished products. 
• Online sales representatives often receive more intensive product training than those at the local stores. 

• Online sales representatives often have more flexibility in making decisions such as applying coupons, meeting competitors’ prices and expediting shipping at no extra charge. 

Disadvantages of Shopping Online :

Sometimes a deal that looks great falls short of what has been advertised. Communicating dissatisfaction can be difficult online and often takes enormous patience and tenacity to achieve satisfaction. Problem-solving face-to-face with local store employees is often faster and more satisfying. Contacting the next level of management is much easier at local stores than online. 

Other disadvantages of shopping online include: 

• Online shoppers do not have the ability to physically inspect or try on the items being considered for purchase. 

• Online shoppers sometimes lose the power to negotiate the price and payment terms that may exist in local stores. 
• Items ordered online are sometimes backordered, but shoppers may not find out until weeks later. This is particularly problematic when buying gifts. 
• Online shoppers do not always know if a site is a legitimate retail store and if is safe to shop. 
• Restocking and shipping costs are often charged on returns. 
• Online shoppers often do not have a person (or the same person) to talk to when dealing with a problem. 

• It is sometimes easier to get money refunded locally when the item purchased drops in price within the guaranteed price period. 
• Online shoppers do not get to take advantage of seasonal statewide tax-free shopping events. 

Apart from this there are some more prons and cons in online shopping like Many online stores sell products at really low prices because of the lack of money spent on overhead. Local stores have operating costs like rent, staffing, water, heat, and air that are figured, at least partially, into the markup of the products. 

On the other hand Online stores advertising free products will sometimes increase the cost of shipping so that they profit from the purchase. For example, shoppers may get three free software programs, but paying $14.95 in shipping or handling charges is higher than what would normally be charged and likely covers the cost of the three items plus shipping. 

 Final View: 

Shoppers will save money and frustration by taking the time to learn the policies of both online and local stores before making purchases. Sometimes there are hidden charges like restocking fees at some online and local stores. The restocking fee may increase the longer it takes the shopper to return an item. 

Since it takes longer to ship a product back to an online store than it does to return it to a local shop, this might be the deciding factor on where to make the purchase. 

The small print on return policies will sometimes state that shoppers must pay to ship products back, even when items arrive with a defect. It is also not uncommon for online stores to deduct the original cost of shipping the product from the return invoice. If a shopper is uncertain of a purchase they are making, knowing the return policy of the online store might affect their decision to shop locally instead. 

Another point to consider is how repairs are handled on the products being purchased. It might be easier to return a faulty product to the local store for repair, rather than going through the trouble and expense of shipping it back to an online store. 

Reading the customer service policies online and at local stores should provide shoppers with clear answers on all fees and guarantees. If a store’s policies are vague and employees seem uninformed, shoppers may want to shop elsewhere.