Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
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We asked our reporters, who play so well with others, to choose a favorite story from 2024 by a Retail Brew colleague.
While working at Portable Restroom Operator Magazine no doubt has its perks and is immensely satisfying, one advantage to working at Retail Brew is that we are consumers like everyone else and constantly learn about the industry based on our own shopping.
Just ask Jeena Sharma. Jeena, who covers luxury brands, was putting her money where her beat was earlier this year. Jeena ordered a Bottega Veneta mini cassette bag (which apparently is a trendy handbag that has nothing to do with analog recording devices) that was marked down to just (!) $700.
So imagine Jeena’s surprise and disappointment when her package arrived and she opened it to find the box…empty. While Jeena didn’t get her bag, she still had her reporter hat (it’s made of mulberry silk, naturally), which she donned to get to the bottom of the possible reasons her package arrived empty.
Here’s the lede:
A few months ago, I excitedly awaited the arrival of a mini cassette bag from Bottega Veneta that I was able to get for ~$700 during a sale at a major online retailer. However, all my expectations were crushed when I opened the suspiciously light package to discover the patented box was…completely empty. I couldn’t believe I had just spent $700 to receive absolutely nothing.
After a lot of back and forth, a representative from the retailer told me they had conducted an investigation and decided to refund me.
One TikTok shopper reportedly received a dupe of a luxury item they ordered on Saks Fifth Avenue. Another got, in one now-infamous case, a can of tuna when the customer ordered a $275 Dolce & Gabbana ashtray. At the time of posting those videos, the customers alleged they had contacted Saks but were not refunded. (The customer who received the tuna did ultimately get the ashtray and a $100 gift card.)
So what might be going on?
Read the original story: Why are some luxury shoppers getting empty boxes when shopping online?—AAN