The Resonance Guide to Shopping Online

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 shipping 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

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 ecommerce companies collect information about their customers by tracking online behavior. 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.

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.

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 AN ITEM?

We post photos frequently on Facebook and Instagram, showing items that are currently in our bricks-and-mortar store. 

If you see something you love on social media or in our bricks-and-mortar store, but can’t seem to find that exact item or colour on our website, that doesn’t mean it’s not available. It just means we don’t have great photos of that item. 

You can purchase any item you see on social media by contacting us. We’ll email you a custom link that will allow you to shop for that item using our website. 

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.

FAIR RETURN POLICY 

We offer an exchange, credit, or a full refund of the purchase price of unused and unworn merchandise within 14 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, check out our Shipping & 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.

NAVIGATE OUR SITE

Here are a few helps tips for finding what you need in the Resonance web store.

How to use a drop down menu

When using our website, you might notice a small downward facing arrow in some places. This arrow indicates a drop-down menu.

It looks like this: 

Place your cursor on the arrow and click to see a list of options. Then, click on the option you prefer.

You’ll notice drop down menus in our main menu on the front page. You can use these drop down menus to browse our site by category, by brand, or sustainable brands only. 

From a phone

The menu bar on a mobile device looks a little different and can be hard to locate, You will find it in the upper right corner your screen. Hover on it and the menu bar will appear.

Browse a category

Categories are different types of clothing available at Resonance. To browse a certain type of clothing, click on the Categories drop down menu in the main menu on the front page. Click on “jackets” or “skirts” or “footwear” in the Category drop down menu to see only items of that type. 

Browse a brand

Brands are the clothing designers and manufacturers available at Resonance. Click on the word “Brand” in the main menu on our main page, then scroll down to find the brand you’re interested in. When you click on that brand, you’ll only see items in our store that are made by that brand.

Browse sustainable brands

Sustainable brands are clothing designers and manufacturers that attempt to reduce the ecological impact of their processes and products. Click on the word “Sustainable” in the main menu on our front page, then click on the brand that interests you to see only items in our store that are made by that brand.

Browse sale items

If you’re a fan of buying things at a discounted price, you can filter our site so you see only items that are on sale. Click on the “Sale” menu option on our main page.

Browse new arrivals

If you’re a frequent visitor to Resonance, you may want to see only the newest items in stock. Click on New Arrivals to see our latest stock.

Search for a specific item

You know what you’re looking for, and you don’t care which brand made it. You can use our search bar to filter the web store according to your heart’s desire. Find the search option by looking for the universal symbol for search: a magnifying glass shape, or a circle with a diagonal line coming off of it.

It looks like this:

When you click on the symbol, you will see a box where you can type any search term you can imagine. You can use this box to find the precise item you’re looking for.

For example, searching on “cashmere” will show you everything we have in store made of cashmere, including items made by Brodie, Eileen Fisher, Lisa Todd and Part Two. It’s a great way to compare prices.

Searching this way means you’ll also find blog posts that include your term. That can be helpful. For example, when shopping for a cashmere sweater, you might be interested in reading our blog post entitled “How to buy and care for a cashmere sweater.”

Read our blog

Our blog provides fashion tips and shopping guidance. To read past articles, click on “Blog” from the main menu at ResonanceFashion.ca.

SOME BASIC ONLINE NAVIGATION TIPS

How to click on a hyperlink

Do you know what hyperlinks are? Hyperlinks are found in nearly all web pages, allowing users to click their way from page to page. Text hyperlinks are often underlined, but they don't have to be.

On our site, you can tell where hyperlinks are located by moving your cursor around. If a word changes colour when you place your cursor on it, that means it’s a link. For example, on our main menu, hyperlinks turn from dark gray to light gray. Clicking on those words will take you to a different page within our website.

In our newsletter, hyperlinks are underlined. If you see underlined text in our newsletter, try hovering your cursor over the text, then click. It will take you to a product page or a blog post on our website.

How to return to previous page

When you click on a link, you may find that, after reading, you want to return to the web page you linked away from. 

To return to the previous page, hit the “back” button at the top left corner of your browser window.

Sometimes when clicking linked text, you will find that a new browser window opens and you can’t use the back arrow at the top right of your browser to return to the previous page. Try closing the window. The previous page should still be open in a separate window underneath. 

MAKING A PURCHASE

Zoom in on a product

To zoom in on a photo on a product page, place your cursor on the photo. You will be able to see more detail, zoom in on patterns, closures, textures etc..

Select your size

Did you realize that you must select your size when shopping? The smallest size available always appears at the top of the drop down menu. To select another size, click the drop down arrow and click on your preferred size. 

Select your colour

Products that come in more than one colour appear as separate products in our webstore. That means that when you are looking at a particular product page, you may not be able to tell if it comes in another colour. 

If you’re wondering if a particular sweater comes in other colours, try using the search bar. Type the brand name and the style name in the search bar. All the colours available on line should appear in the search results, but in some instances we have more choices in the store. If you have seen it in another colour in a social media post but it doesn't appear on line, please message us and we will send you a custom link.

Select your shipping method

When you are making a purchase, you will be asked to select a shipping method by using a drop-down menu.

During the checkout process in our webstore, you will be presented with options for shipping. You must select the option that you prefer. 

We find that some of our customers do not understand that they need to make a selection at this point. Be sure to click the circle next to your preferred option.

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. 

DIGITAL GRATITUDE

Thank you for shopping our webstore! 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 webstore works and your experience with our customer service. Call us at (519) 273-6617 or email info@resonancefashion.ca with comments and questions.