Nordstrom is a upscale chain store that specialises in clothing, accessories and beauty products for men and women. They offer a huge selection of products that include medium-range designers and upper-range ones, plus their own brand products.
The online store is one of my favourites on the Internet because of the range of products and styles they have, from very cheap to very expensive, from classic to fashionista, their extraordinary customer service, their clear details about the products and shipment, and their formality.
Their website is very well structured, easily navigable, clean, and with an instant zoom system that really brings the products to life. Their photos of the products are extremely accurate and you get a very close idea of how the product looks like, and almost how it feels like. They rarely beautify the product. Their individual pages have, beyond the zoom and multiple angle views, a great written description of the product with accurate measurements of the same. The customers can leave their review of the item, and they usually do, so you get a good idea of some of the issues or virtues of the product you are interested in. There is also a section called discussion in the same page, where you can ask other customers for advice or details about the product. As good as it gets.
The accessories section (bags, watches, wallets, jewels, etc.) is fantastic, classy and a real must to fashion aficionados on a budget. If you don't have budget restrictions you still can go to the designers section and pay a fortune for your favourite designers and products. Each section is updated weekly, sometimes daily, and the sales section is constantly updated, too, with discounts that usually go from the 30-50%. A reason to keep an eye on Nordstrom.
Their online chat and customer service is outstanding. Their operators are friendly, honest and so very helpful. The best customer service ever. The HR team really does a good job at selecting the operators, as you feel like a royal when dealing with them. So well they treat you!!!
Moreover, they have a free international return policy that allows you to return your purchase if you don't like it or are not completely satisfied with it. This means that you can return an item that is not defective or faulty any time. Besides, you won't be paying any return fees. How cool is that?!
They have regular customer surveys asking for your opinion on the website, your level of satisfaction on different matters, and asking for improvement suggestions. They do really care about the customer.
The first down of the company is that the shipping and payment is done via a third company, called Fiftyone, a fact that slows down the shipping, as the payment has to be verified before the shipment order is accepted and transmitted to the shipment place. It can take up to two or three days and you could find that the product you have ordered is no longer available. Furthermore, each item you order is processed and packed independently, as if they were sold to two different people, so the shipment fees sky-rocket. That is so, because Nordstrom is not doing the shipment directly. Therefore, you will be subject to the practices, polices and restrictions of the brands you are shopping from. As a result, you think twice before ordering anything, as some of the shipping fees can be very high. Other companies selling of the net wave the shipping fees if the purchase is over 100 or 200 dollars, which really incentives the sales. This should be the aim of Nordstrom, too.
The second down, derived of the brands restrictions, is that those brands decide if they want to ship internationally or not, and some don't. Therefore, some brands for which you pay double in Australia cannot be purchased online, while others with limited sale places in the country can neither be ordered from. This is a great inconvenience, and a short-sighted policy that harms the sales of both Nordstrom and the brand company that is not selling internationally.
If Nordstrom took charge of shipping their products itself, and had a direct control on that, their shipping fees, shipping and delivery would improve, and the restrictions for the shopper would minimal. Both Nordstrom and the international customer would benefit.
Still this is a model online shop, and a model company that treats with care its customers and offers an awesome service and a great range of products.
