sunglasses; aldo galodia in pink* c/o octer

It’s been a while since a haul, hasn’t it? Not that I haven’t been buying things here and there, but they’ve not really been substantial or season appropriate, and I’ve been a bit out of love with anything I’ve seen recently. Then an email from Octer landed in my inbox, and I thought that it’d be rude not to take them up on treating myself a little before the end of uni. Maybe find a graduation dress, and if not then some things that’d be fab in my wardrobe.

Octer is a platform that has really grown to something sizeable since starting in November, featuring thousands of products from 200 UK stores and 8000 brands at multiple price points, from ASOS to Farfetch and Net-A-Porter. They aim to make online shopping ‘as simple as possible for all devices‘ be it from a smartphone, tablet or desktop/laptop. Bold claims there, how did I find shopping with them?

My first impressions were that the interface was really clean. Very swish and easy on the eye, from a shopping perspective that’s something I adore. I’m really not a fan of cluttered or noisy websites that flash or distract from the clothes they’re trying to sell me. I also noticed that Octer stocks pretty much… everything. Fashion, beauty, technology, interiors, stationery, food, books, travel related items; the catalogue is extensive, making it a pretty decent place to gift shop if you’re struggling. You can also choose to browse by store (very useful) or by department to find exactly what it is you’re after.

skirt: missguided faux leather a line skirt* c/o octer

Deciding that I’d be looking for fashion related things, I started off shopping by category. The sheer size of their product catalogue made me realise that this probably wasn’t the best way to start off, even though I wasn’t shopping for anything specific, the sheer amount of choice to scroll through was a little overwhelming. Quickly switching from categories to stores, it was a lot easier to browse through things and pick out items I wanted to compare.

pieces that I chose were: missguided faux leather a-line skirt in blue* // missguided strappy skater dress in blue* // boohoo alex fluffy crop top in grey* // boohoo tanya contrast trim crop top* // aldo galodia sunglasses in pink*

top: boohoo alex fluffy crop top* c/o octer

You can also select price range, sale items only, and search for specific things which throws up a variety of options to fit the parameters. It’s a really nice idea, especially if you’re wanting an incredibly easy comparison site.

I was thinking that the rest of the process would be similar to other shopping apps/platforms like wish, where you add everything you want to a basket and buy via the platform. But Octer directs you to the actual website (they use affiliate links), so you can buy, well, direct. I found this to be a little confusing to start, especially if I wanted more than one product from the same website, but it did cross my mind that some shoppers are very wary of buying expensive items through third party sources and would rather buy from their trusted sellers, which does make perfect sense. So once again Octer ticks some pretty sweet boxes. Not sure if I like the idea of paying postage for multiple stores though – I’m very much a one-fee girl.

All in all, I thought that the Octer experience was pretty easy. I managed to find things that I’ve been after for a while – the faux leather a line skirt, and a fluffy top!!!!!! – as well as some pieces that I probably wouldn’t’ve tried beforehand. I know I’ll be using Octer as one of my first stops when it comes to gift buying in the festive season.

What do you think of my choices? And do you think you’ll be giving Octer a go in the future?

♥

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