These days, the sun seems to have only three moods – hot, hotter, hottest. And no matter how much I enjoy shopping, stepping out of home to go even to the neighborhood market requires quite an effort of will power, and dire necessity.
At such a time when even necessary shopping keeps on getting postponed, walking around the market for window shopping is simply unthinkable. But thanks to the advent of online shopping portals, window shopping has taken up a whole new meaning. Now all it takes is a computer and a mouse to browse through thousands of products right from the comfort of your home.
Till a year or two ago, the online shopping websites in India were few in numbers, and as most still depended on online payment options, very few people took advantage of the comfort they offered.
However, the scene has totally changed now. More and more online shopping websites are opening up in India. And almost all of them give their customers the comfort and assurance of free shipping and Cash On Delivery payment options. So now, even the customers who don’t want to use credit cards can shop online easily and comfortably.
One such website is called jabong.com. I saw it being advertised on TV. The name caught my attention. Jabong– it has quite a mighty and mysterious sound to it, don’t you think?
Well, I visited the website and found it quite mighty too, in terms of the variety and brands it offered. Let’s take a look at its offerings one by one:
1. Fashion Megastore
Jabong appeared to me like a fashion megastore. The variety it offers is enough to meet all your fashion needs. It’s not just clothes that you can buy here, but also shoes, watches and other accessories like sunglasses, scarves, belts, bags etc. The store also offers a wide range of cosmetics, perfumes and deos by several top brands. Not only that, a whole range of home decor items are also available.
2. Variety
The variety offered in every section of the website is extensive. For example, in women’s apparel, you get not just western choices like t-shirts, and skirts, but can also browse through a wide variety of Indian apparel like sarees, suits and even kurtis.
3. Browsing options
One thing I liked a lot about Jabong was the various alternative options available to browse through the products. For example, while browsing through clothes, I have the option to browse by sections, brands, price range, colour, size, and even sleeve size. While looking for shoes too, I found it most handy to have the option of browsing by heel shape and size. Having such options to fine tune your browsing makes the process of selection far more convenient and less time consuming. Jabong even has a separate section titled ‘Sale’ where you can go and easily browse through the products that are being offered at discounted rates.
4. Convenience
Jabong offers free home delivery and Cash on Delivery options within India. The website also has ‘No Question Asked Return Policy.’ If you don’t like what you bought, you can return it and your money will be refunded. Of course, you’ll have to do it within 30 days. This is one thing that I found different from the other online shopping websites that I had so far used. All have a return policy, but they come with several limitations. However, since I have never taken advantage of Jabong’s return policy, I can’t say for sure whether it works as efficiently as it is promised.
5. Price
Well, Jabong is like a fashion megastore, and fashion does not come cheap. Jabong does have options for budget shopping, but they are not many. In my experience, while browsing for kurtis, whichever option interested me was above 800 rupees. And upon closer look, most did not seem worth that price tag, despite the vanity value of brands attached to them. However, there were quite many options in T-shirts available for below 500 rupees. The price does not matter for the brand conscious, of course. But buying a simple cotton shirt for 600 rupees might not seems like a good buy to many customers.
Overall, it was fun browsing through jabong.com. It offers a wide variety of branded and unbranded clothes, shoes, watches and other accessories which you can browse through using several convenient browsing options. The ‘budget buying’ options are a little less though. It’s ‘No Question Asked’ 30 day return policy sounds great.
I just ordered my first purchase from the store. Let’s see how the website’s service proves to be in terms of efficiency of delivery. Would let you know!
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UPDATE – To know how the experience went, check out the second half of this review here
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