• Jo Gordon / 2 comments

The Resonance Guide to Shopping Online


A woman is shown typing on a laptop and holding a coffee mug.

Use these tips to get the most out of resonancefashion.ca 

Thinking of making your first purchase at Resonance? We’ve put together this handy guide for online shopping beginners and anyone who wants to get to know us better before ordering online.

Real humans on site

When you place an online order, a human being receives it at our bricks-and-mortar store in Stratford, Ont. A human being selects the style and size you’ve purchased. A human being wraps it and sends it to you.

We aren’t robots. We are real people! And we love to matchmake for our customers, helping them find the exact right clothing for their bodies, lifestyles and budget.

If you have a question about a product you see on our website, please feel free to reach out. We are here to help.

Relationships matter to us

We have the same personality in the Resonance online shop as we do on Downie St., and we offer the same level of personalized service.

By interacting with our customers, we learn about what they need and want. Then we either try to help them find it, or we steer them in the right direction and give them browsing space so they can find it on their own. We are helpful, but never pushy.

Some big e-commerce companies collect information about their customers by tracking online behaviour. Then, they analyze the data, write customer service scripts, and train AI bots to suggest items and provide digital customer service.

We don’t want to do those things. It can feel generic, and being chatted up by a bot can be a turn off to people who value their privacy.

Instead of using technology to get to know our customers, we gather information organically when our customers opt into a conversation. We think it leads to a longer, stronger, more meaningful relationship. And that’s what Resonance is all about.

We provide try-on service

The clothing we sell in our online shop is located in our store, not in a remote warehouse. We can see it, touch it, try it on, and send you a video!

If you email or message us with a request, we’ll find a person who is approximately your size and shape to try on the item in your usual size -- and the one smaller, or bigger, or both. We’ll snap a few pics or a video and send them to you as soon as possible.

We do this because we know it can be challenging to look at a few photos of a piece of clothing to determine exactly which size is right for your body. 

We also do it also because we notice that sometimes customers order two or more sizes in one item, then return the ones that don’t fit. We get the reason people do this. But we also know that packaging up the return, driving to the post office, and paying to ship the returns back isn’t ideal for the customer, our shop, or the environment.

Ways to avoid "bracket shopping"

Perhaps bracket shopping, as the practice is known, works when you’re buying clothing from a big website, where customer service is not an option. It’s sometimes impossible to tell what size is the right one from the product information given on the website, and there seems to be no way to find someone who can answer sizing questions. 

For example, a woman with a long torso may hesitate to click “buy” on a denim jumpsuit. An athlete with exceptionally strong calves might think it’s impossible to buy skinny jeans. Moms who are recovering from birth have no idea what size they might need.

Everyone has a body idiosyncrasy, and it can seem impossible to figure out the right size online. But Resonance staff know our inventory and can help customers order the right size the first time. It’s a win-win-win for you, us, and the planet. 

This process might mean you decide not to buy the item. That’s okay. And while we hope it fits you to a T, it’s also okay if you do buy it, then return it. (See below for more about our return policy.)

Can't find your size?

On our website, you might discover an item you absolutely love, but find that it’s sold out in your size. Message us! Often we can special order your size and have it in store within days.

An accessible shopping experience

We realize that people with physical and sensory challenges have special needs when they buy clothing online. We encourage these customers to call during store hours. We are happy to answer questions about the accessibility and functionality of the clothing we sell. 

In our web store, we provide image alt text for vision-impaired customers who use assistive technologies. But when it comes to buying women’s clothing, we know that more detail may be needed. We encourage blind customers to call during store hours. We are happy to answer questions and build outfits. It’s what we do!

For people who are hearing impaired, we are happy to have text conversations on Facebook Messenger.

A fair return policy

We offer an exchange, credit, or a full refund of the purchase price of unused and unworn merchandise within 10 days of your package delivery.

Goods must be clean, unworn, undamaged, free of odours and pet hair, and in original condition.  

We would will greatly appreciate it if you are able to return unsuitable items as soon as possible. Before the deadline is awesome!

For more about our return policy, Returns page.

Contact us

We are available on several channels, including phone (519 273-6617), email (info@resonancefashion.ca), Instagram DMs (resonancefashion), and Facebook Messenger (@spiritandstyle).

For an immediate reply, the sure thing is the phone. We answer during business hours. 

We also check email and social media messages intermittently during business hours. But if our store is busy, it may be a few hours before we see and reply to your message. 

If you contact us during store hours, we will reply the same business day. 

If you contact us outside store hours, we will reply the next business day.

Shopping from Facebook and Instagram

Some of our online fans follow us on Facebook or Instagram and discover items they want to buy there. 

While the Facebook interface shows product pictures, descriptions and prices, it’s not possible to actually do a transaction on Facebook. Instead, you’ll have to click on a button that says “Check out on website” and go to our website and buy. 

The selection that appears on Facebook is not up to date. Because of a slight time lag in the way our website talks to Facebook, you may see products on Facebook that are no longer available. That can be frustrating. 

For a view of the most up to date product selection, please visit our website. We work hard to keep it current and update the inventory available there daily.

Gift Cards

We sell gift cards on our website. Sixteen denominations are available from a drop-down menu on the gift cards page. You can also contact us for another denomination. 

Gratitude

Thank you for shopping at Resonance! We know online shopping for clothes can be a challenging, but we aim to make it a little easier.

Feedback is welcome

We welcome feedback on how our website works and your experience with our customer service. Call us at (519) 273-6617 or email info@resonancefashion.ca with comments and questions.




2 comments

MC
mena cashback

The blogs you produce are really of good quality. I love to read your writings and shall come again to check out the latest posts.

CH
Catherine Holmes

Once again you have demonstrated why Resonance is one of my favourite stores. Informative, practical, and customer-satisfaction-oriented blog post!

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