Online shopping, once associated with dodgy sites and credit card scams, has come a long way since Pizza Hut started online ordering on their webpage in 1994. It’s now considered normal to purchase entire outfits in your pyjamas, send gift-wrapped goodies from your smartphone and order cheese plates direct to your door (#yesplease).
As digital and in-store experiences blur into one, it’s undeniable that the way we find and purchase items has changed forever. Here are some of Australia’s best online retailers who are delivering the goods.
La’Quar
Need a gift for someone? Have no idea what to get them? La’Quar lets you create freakin’ awesome personalised gift boxes for business and personal use. All you have to do is pick a box then pimp the contents with goodies like chocolate, wine, baby shoes, jelly snakes and giant Jaffa balls. There are some really cool DIY card options, and all orders are dispatched within 24 hours.
Clique Arcade
This online shopping arcade boasts a community of over 100 Australian designers who are all selling direct to the public. Clique Arcade provides a great alternative to the big multinationals and department stores, and also features an awesome blog with fashion edits and opinion pieces from photographers, designers, stylists and bloggers. Did we mention free shipping anywhere in Australia?
Hard To Find
Hard To Find houses gift suggestions for pretty much every occasion under the sun. Think housewarmings, weddings, christenings, anniversaries, babies, colleagues and pets – whatever you need, you can find it here. Most of the range comes from small creative businesses and there’s even an option to search by personality type (i.e. style guru, art lover, green thumb, frequent flyer and caffeine addict).
Dear Gladys
Shop and make your conscience feel good at the same time. Dear Gladys is owned by Fitted for Work, a not-for-profit organisation which helps women experiencing disadvantage achieve financial independence. It stocks gorgeous quality vintage gear as well as contemporary and on-trend fashion. The website is easy-to-navigate and full of dreamy, sundrenched photo shoots.
Lazybones
This beautifully edited site has a quirky mix of fashion and homewares, and provides a sizing chart, laundry advice and a wallpaper calculator to take the guesswork out of online buying. Its bedding, ceramics and wallpaper are consistently covetable, and there’s a lovely online library of Lazybones street mags and back catalogues.
BNKR
BNKR offers collections from C/MEO COLLECTIVE, Finders Keepers, Keepsake and The Fifth as well as a well-rounded selection of clothing, accessories and footwear. It has plenty of customer reward programs and a pretty cool blog section with designer interviews and style notes.
Sunday Somewhere
Although it sounds like the name of a bar, Sunday Somewhere is your new go-to destination for summer shades. Its tightly-curated range of sunglasses focuses on quality, detail and simplicity. The website also takes you on a whimsical journey with beautiful fashion editorials and wanderlust-inspired advertising campaigns.
Birdsnest
Birdsnest stocks an enormous range of fashion, jewellery and accessories for women and has a friendly approach that allows you to shop by colour, by occasion or by body shape. There are heaps of online extras for shoppers, including style guides, prize contests and fashion sneak peeks.
Image credit: Clique Arcade