Everything now seems to be easily accessible. Paying bills, online shopping, food delivery, even medical results can be accessed online. You name it, the internet has it.

Not to be left behind, our favourite store that’s got it all now has its own online platform! Just the right timing, as recently, the most accessible branch just folded, which is like one short walk or a tricycle ride away from home.

Enter ShopSM, the newest online platform of our much loved The SM Store. Over the holidays, I got acquainted with this platform, and at the perfect timing: I was not able to grab Christmas presents for my husband and my daughter!

We had quite a busy schedule the whole of December, that we went last minute shopping for gifts for our families and friends. It was not a lot, but still took some of our time to think, shop, purchase, and pack those Christmas presents.

Unfortunately, we ended December and welcomed the New Year with Emergency Room trips and medicines. Both my husband and daughter fell ill, and I unfortunately got the bug few days after.

So, browsing the ShopSM store online became retail therapy for me, as I chose gifts for my husband and my mini-me.

What I liked about the ShopSM online? Here’s some reasons:

1. Easy to access website. The interface is easy to understand, and clearly broken down into categories: Women, Men, Kids, Home, Beauty, Sale, and New.
2. Quick processing of payment and item delivery. I was surprised to received the order on the first Monday of the year! I purchased the Friday before that, and surprised to have received the confirmation emails immediately, and the message from the courier on a Sunday.  Quick service there!
3. Return process is a breeze. I followed the instructions on my account dashboard on the ShopSM website, printed the return request form, brought the item to the nearest SM store’s Customer Service, and the return was easily facilitated. The item I returned was a shirt supposedly for my husband, unfortunately, I got a Teens Size whilst I was ordering. After the return process, I was given a voucher, which I can use until February to purchase another item. I decided to wait for hubby to be available so we could shop for his shirt together.

Some things that can be improved:

1. The site kept on hanging whenever I reach the payment and delivery options. I chatted with their online chat service, which advised me to clear my browser data and cache. Which I did, and to no avail. Ultimately, I opted for a COD and delivery, which has additional cost. Still better than going out and picking up the item which would cost additional fare also.
2. The size guide for teens and males are just the same. Here is where I got the mistake of ordering a teen sized shirt, which is also medium sized. Better check the brands and the exact name of the product before adding to your online shopping cart.
3. Less plastics and paper for delivery of the items. I noticed that there was just too much plastic to wrap the items. I understand this might be needed to secure the flask I purchased for my daughter in SM Kids. There were also lots of excess papers—copies of orders—inside the package, which ended up in the trash. Probably some other way to reduce these excess papers and plastics?

I do hope as well that they would add more choices soon! Shopping is truly a breeze when done in the comfort of your own home, and with ShopSM, it will be easier. There would definitely be a next time, especially that the nearest SM Store now is about 5 kilometers away, which I would only get to visit on weekends or when there are Novena Masses at church.

Have you done some online shopping lately? What items do you usually shop for online?

~ Touringkitty