Urban Outfitters is the e-commerce platform of the American retail and wholesale fashion company. Three persons including Richard Hayne started Urban Outfitters in 1970. They were college mates at the time; a topic was needed for an entrepreneurial class, and the decision was made to open a retail store.
At the time, the store operated as Free People; and its mission was to provide second-hand clothing and some other home collections to college-age customers. It was in 1976 when the company was incorporated that they started going by the name Urban Outfitters.
Currently, Urban Outfitters is part of the URBN Group which consists of other brands such as Anthropologie, Free People, BHLDN, Terrain and the Vetri Family. In 1993, the URBN Group (together with its entire brand which includes Urban Outfitters) went public 1993 and has been trading ever since as a public company.
Urban Outfitters is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When the URBN Group started the international expansion, Urban Outfitters was the first brand in its portfolio to cross the Atlantic into Europe. This was with the opening of a store in London. When businesses started moving online, Urban Outfitters joined the bandwagon in other to reach more customers around the globe. Thus, in 2000, they launch their online shop.
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The shop can be found at www.urbanoutfitters.com. Urban Outfitters accepts customers who are 13 and above. If you’re in the accepted age range and live in a region that the shop supports, you can visit the website and place your order.
Alternatively, you can download, install and shop from their fashion apps. Urban Outfitters have Android and iOS app that can be gotten at the respective app stores. The advantages of using the app include personalized service, getting alerts of exclusive items and offers, and more.
The company advertises itself as a “lifestyle brand”, “the fashion destination for customers who define their own sense of style”, and a shop that holds “an updated mix of premium basics and on-trend fashion pieces”
Urban Outfitters is a legit fashion store. It does not scam its customers because it is a very popular and highly regarded store online. You will get your item just as you ordered it from the store.
But do they deliver quality materials?
That sounds like the go-to place for your fashion needs. But are their claims true or just advert-speak? In the first place, is Urban Outfitters genuine?
This Urban Outfitters review will examine Urban Outfitters in order to provide the information that will help you determine if the online fashion store is legit and worth going to for your online shopping.
When shopping in brick and mortar stores, you’ll want to be able to walk into a store and get all your related items instead of going to multiple stores to shop for different items. It’s no different when shopping from online stores. Apart from the convenience that visiting only one store has; there are cost savings associated with it.
You can save costs when your order amount is large and qualifies for bulk purchase discounts, and you can save costs by shipping only one order from one store, as against shipping different orders from different stores. Thus, the ideal online fashion store should hold a wide range of products, so that customers can get all their fashion needs in one place.
In this regard, Urban Outfitters comes out strong. They provide men’s and women’s clothing and accessories, as well as home and lifestyle collections. The different product categories in Urban Outfitters and the products you’ll find in each category are as follows:
Bedding, Furniture, Art and Décor, Rugs and Curtains, Lighting, Kitchen and Bar, Bath,
Vinyl and Cassettes, Audio, Cameras and Film, Phone and Tech items, Books and Stationery, Fun items and games, Pet items (dog toys, leash etc), Wellness products, Skateboarding products
Gift sets, Makeup, Skincare, Perfume and Fragrance, Bath and Body, Haircare, Nails and accessories, Wellness products, Men’s grooming, etc
Some stores may offer a wide product range by having all the different clothing categories (such as dresses, skirts, jeans etc), but they have only a few items in each category. As a result, when you open up their listing, you may not find a style that you like. Thus, it’s not enough that a store has a wide product range; it’s also important that they have a large number of items within each product type. With a large inventory of the different items offered, you’re more likely to find something that you like.
In this regard, Urban Outfitters also comes out strong. For example, at the time of writing this review, in the women category Urban Outfitters held over 350 different styles in the Dresses + Rompers section, over 740 styles in the Tops section, almost 200 styles in the coats and jackets section, over 500 styles in the Bottoms section, and over 380 styles in the Intimates section.
One of the very first considerations in purchases, whether in online stores or in brick and mortar stores, is price. No matter the perceived quality of merchandise, there is a price range that will be considered unreasonable and unacceptable. Thus, this section of the review will examine whether the prices of items in Urban Outfitters are in the reasonable (read as; affordable) range.
In terms of affordability, Urban Outfitters ticks the box. All their listings are in the purse/ wallet-friendly range. For example, you’ll find a lot of elegant women’s dresses and rompers at the full price of $49 – $79. A lot of Camis and tube tops were under $20, and a lot of sweaters, sweatshirts, cardigans and blouses had full prices of less than $60. Many of the women’s Coats and Jackets were priced at $69 – $130 (full price). And you’ll find pants and skirts starting at $39
In many online fashion stores, you’ll only get these prices if promos have been applied. However, in Urban Outfitters you can shop full prices comfortably from any section as they are largely low and affordable. Where promos are applied and on the sales page, you’ll find that prices are slashed to very low ranges. You’ll find classy strappy heels at $39, mules at $14, dresses under $30 and more.
That said; if you’ll be shopping on a budget, you’ll find Urban Outfitters an appealing fashion store, because they have lovely pieces at very good prices.
You want the best deal when you make any purchase. Because prices are volatile and fluctuate; sometimes an item that you buy is marked down almost immediately following your purchase. You don’t have to worry about not having waited to get a better deal, because Urban Outfitters offers one-time price adjustments.
If the price of an item you buy in the online store is marked down within 14 days of your purchase, all you need do is contact the store and they will credit you with the price difference via the original payment method.
Every business offer promotions as a strategy to induce sales. To the customer, promotions represent opportunities to get items for knocked down prices. As a result, customers are always on the lookout for promotional offers of stores Thus, a review of an online fashion store is not complete without examining the promotions that they run. As a generic rule, the more promotions a store runs and the bigger the promotional packages, the more appealing the store will be.
You’ll know the promotion-rich fashion retailer the moment you get to their landing page. However, we didn’t see any of the price discounts and other such promotions on the landing page of Urban Outfitters. That does not mean that Urban Outfitters does not run promos, for we saw an advert for UO REWARDS (daily deals, sales and offers).
The sales offer are not the crazy price slashes that some stores offer, but bothered by the conservative. To be fair to Urban Outfitters, their prices are already on the low side, so it’s understandable that there are no crazy discounts. However, we didn’t see a student discount, a referral program/ bonus, a loyalty bonus, and other such offers. That said; it’s safe to say that Urban Outfitters is low on promotions.
The ideal store should offer convenient services, and part of that is the payment system. You’ll want to be able to easily find a means to pay for your orders no matter where you may be shopping from. Therefore, you’ll want the store to support a wide range of options.
In this regard, Urban Outfitters accepts the following payment methods: Visa, Master Card, American Express, Discover, JCB, China Union Pay, Diners Club, PayPal, Urban Outfitters gift cards, and Urban Outfitters merchandise gift cards.
In online shopping, one of the first things to look at is the shipping policy of the online store. First, you’ll want o know what destinations the store ships to; you’ll also want to know the cost of shipping; and lastly, you’ll want to know how long it will take the store to deliver your package after placing your order.
When you browse a listing in an online store and make a purchase, you’ll want it to be delivered to your location. If the store does not ship to your location, you can’t make any purchase there because you won’t be able to receive your package. Therefore, the ideal store should ship to a lot of countries across the world. That way, they’re more likely to cover your location.
In terms of shipping destinations, Urban Outfitters comes out strong. They ship to countries in every region of the globe. Their coverage includes Europe, the Americas, Oceania, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
When shipping to the US, there are different delivery options; and the option chosen determines how much you’ll pay for shipping and how long it’ll take to receive your package. There is a Standard Delivery that takes 5 – 8 business days and costs $4.95. However, it is free for all orders over $50.00. There is also an Express Delivery which takes 2 – 3 business days and costs $14.95, and there is also a Rush Delivery which takes 1 – 2 business days and costs $21.95.
When shipping to Canada; the only two options are Standard Delivery by UPS and Express Delivery by DHL. The Standard Delivery takes 7 – 10 business days and costs $7.95; while the Express Delivery takes 5 – 7 business days and costs $24.95.
For Australian orders, Standard shipping also takes 7 – 10 business days, but costs $10.00. Customers will have to pay duties and taxes upon receipt of their package, but the good thing is that standard shipping is free for all orders of $50 and above. The Express shipping also takes 5 – 7 business days and costs $40.00. Gladly, there are no additional charges to be paid upon receipt of the package.
New Zealand standard delivery cost $40 and takes 7 – 10 business days, while Express delivery takes 5 – 7 business days and costs $60. In addition, there is an Economy Delivery option which will take 10 – 12 business days, and cost only $10. Orders above $50 qualify for free Economy Delivery. However, only Express Delivery is exempt from payment of additional charges (taxes and duties) upon receipt of the package.
For every other international country that Urban Outfitters ships to; they offer Economy Delivery which takes 10 – 12 business days at a cost of $30, and Standard Delivery which takes 7 – 10 business days at a cost of $40. Express delivery is available but only in some countries; where available it takes 5 – 7 business days and costs $60. Also, only express shipping is exempt from payment of additional charges upon receipt of the package.
Taking a closer look at the shipping cost and times for the different countries they support, you’ll find that Urban Outfitters does well in some respect but can do better. For example: in terms of shipping cost; you’ll want the lowest possible cost.
The lowest costs would be free shipping, and Urban Outfitters offers that. However, the free shipping offer is only available for the US, Australia and New Zealand orders. We’ll want to see free shipping available to more international countries. Also, where free shipping is not applicable, Urban Outfitters charges flat shipping rates. This is good because it means that your shipping cost will not increase with an increase in the weight of your package.
However, if you’ve checked reviews of other online shops, you’ll find that the shipping costs of Urban Outfitters are relatively high. Therefore, we’ll love to see a reduction in their shipping costs, especially for international shipping.
In terms of delivery times, you’ll notice that Urban Outfitters does not offer a guaranteed Next Day Delivery. Sadly, this is an option you’ll find in other shops; and it’s an option that will appeal to customers that want to receive their package in a blink.
The advertised delivery times for the other options (that is; 7 – 10 business days for standard delivery and 5 – 7 business days for express delivery) are also not the best we’ll love to see. This is because there are some online fashion retailers with better delivery times (e.g. Express delivery of 3 – 5 business days).
However, Urban Outfitters will still be a strong contender in the fast delivery podium if they’ll actually get the package to you within their advertised delivery times. But the evidence suggests otherwise. In many independent customer reviews platforms, Urban Outfitters is rated poorly and one of the major reasons is slow delivery.
For example, in Trust Pilot, Urban Outfitters is rated “bad” with an average rating of 2.8 out of 10. The reviews contain too many cases of packages never arriving or arriving far later than expected. Thus, it is safe to say that late delivery is one problem that’s plaguing the online fashion retailer at the moment.
When you purchase an item online, it means you’ll not have the opportunity to physically examine the item before making the financial commitment. Though the online store provides resources (such as product descriptions and product images) that can help in assessing the items, there’s still the risk that the item may not be totally satisfying when you actually see and feel it.
Since most fashion items are sized products, it could be that the item you order is too big or too small and does not fit. The point is; that you want to make sure that the online shop you’ll be buying from allows returns of items that you are not totally satisfied with. Like almost every online fashion retailer in the business, Urban Outfitters allows returns.
They allow in-store returns and returns by mail. You may return items to an Urban Outfitter store, but that’s available to only US or Canadian customers. For customers in other countries, even if there’s an Urban Outfitter store close to you, you’ll have to return the item by mail.
To return by mail, you’ll have to go to their website, initiate the returns process, print the returns label, pack the item appropriately and attach the returns label on the outside of the packaging. It is a good thing to see that returns label, which makes for easy returns, are provided.
With the returns label, you do not need additional postage; and you don’t have to worry about not having extra money for returns shipping because the returns label is prepaid. However, Urban Outfitters offers returns labels for only orders shipping to the continental US and to Canada.
Urban Outfitters allows 30 days from the date of delivery for you to return any item in your order to their warehouse. If you’ve checked reviews of online fashion stores, you’ll find that 30 days is like the industry average. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a store that will allow a returns window of more than 30 days. With a window of 30 days, you’ll have enough time to get your returns to the store.
Just as it is with every other store; the items you’ll be returning must meet certain conditions for them to be accepted by the store. The item(s) must be in their original new conditions. They must be unworn, unwashed, or undamaged.
The customers bear the cost of returns. Where a returns label is provided (the continental US and Canada), Urban Outfitter will deduct $5.00 as the cost of the returns shipping when issuing the refund.
After your returned item(s) gets to the store; you should allow 1 – 2 weeks for returns processing. After the returns have been processed, a refund will be issued to your original payment method. You should get your refund in 1 – 3 days.
This means that it is relatively fast to get refunded in Urban Outfitters. In some online fashion stores, one can wait for up to a month before receiving a refund.
Questions and issues are inevitable when using an online platform, especially an online shop. Therefore, you should make sure that the online shop you’re planning to enter provides for addressing customers’ questions and complaints.
Urban Outfitters provides the regular channels for contacting the support rep of an online fashion retailer. They have a chat feature where you can get instant feedback for your support submissions. The chat feature can be accessed on their website. You can also contact Urban Outfitters using their social media (Twitter and Facebook) handles.
If you’ll rather go the traditional route; they support emails. They promise to respond to all email submissions within 24 – 48 hours. Lastly, Urban Outfitters has a telephone support service. The number to call is (800) 282 2200. The service is available round the clock (24 hours a day, and 7 days a week). However, the telephone service is available to only US and Canadian customers. One dent in the support options provided is that the telephone service is not available in all countries supported.
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However, a look at the independent customer reviews platform shows that the customer support of Urban Outfitters is rated very poorly. It’s common that customers to label a support service ineffective if some of their issues are not completely solved, but this was not the case.
In many of the reviews, the customer service failed in doing basic things like communicating with the customer when that was necessary. Especially where customers cannot use the telephone service, not responding to emails can be frustrating; and that was one prominent complaint in the reviews.
It’s a long shot that all that many people will be wrong at the same time. Therefore, I’ll like to see Urban Outfitters take responsibility and improve the effectiveness of their customer service, starting with responding (swiftly, I must add) to email submissions.
An online fashion store cannot be more legit than Urban Outfitters. This is a company that has been incorporated for almost four decades and has been trading on a stock exchange for over 25 years.
They have hundreds of stores/fulfilment centres across the world, and they have the capacity and a history of fulfilling orders. They also provide a safe shopping environment with the use of 128bit SSL technology.
The company carries merchandise for men and women, as well as a range of home collections. They have a wide product range; as such, you’ll find every clothing piece and accessory you may need in the store. They have a large inventory that will serve your selection needs, and you’ll find that their prices are very competitive.
However, Urban Outfitters can see improvement in their delivery times and the effectiveness of their customer support. With the latter, telephone support service should be made available to all supported countries, and email submissions should be answered, and promptly.
Do you have any experience with Urban Outfitters? If yes, kindly use the review section below to give us your brief Urban Outfitter review.
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