The first time that I went into Zara I was in Barcelona, Spain. I wanted to buy everything. When I returned to the states, I kept thinking that I wanted to shop at this store but didn't think that there were stores here. When Zara opened stores in DC, I was over the moon with glee. It is absolutely one of my favorite stores. So when I found out that Zara was launching online shopping in the U.S., I almost lost it. All I can say is "someone please hide my credit cards!!!"

Fashion concept Zara is launching online shopping in the United States tomorrow, September 7, at Zara.com, offering free delivery to all 50 states. Zara’s online platform will sell the full range of women’s, men’s and children’s clothing that are also available in-store. All products retail online at same prices as in Zara’s stores

Garment prices are identical online and in-store and there are two classes of delivery: standard and express. Shoppers opting for standard delivery will receive their orders at home for no charge within two to four days. Similarly, purchasers can opt to pick up their orders at the store of their choice, also free of charge, within a period of three to five days. The other option is express delivery: home delivery within 24-48 hours for a flat rate of $9.95. Regardless of the selected delivery option, product orders will be wrapped in purpose-designed eco-friendly packaging which keeps purchased garments in an optimal state until delivery.

Payments can be made using all the standard e-commerce payment methods such as PayPal plus all major credit cards, including Visa, Master Card and American Express.

FREE EXCHANGES AND RETURNS

The exchange and return policy is identical to that offered in-store: during a 30-day period and free of charge, unwanted items can be picked up at home or returned to Zara stores. Zara has hired a logistics operator with a proven track record in the field to handle nationwide distribution.

www.zara.com users can also call toll-free customer service (855-635-9272) or write to a dedicated e-mail address for help with order-related queries or problems.

The US online platform is Zara’s first outside Europe, where shoppers can already buy online in 16 countries. Zara recently celebrated the first anniversary of its online shopping launch on September 2. Zara is also very active in social networks. Of its over 10 million Facebook fans, more than 400,000 are located in the US. In conjunction with this launch, Zara has recently opened up a Twitter account, @ZARA_US, and the #DearAmerica and #ZARAShopOnline hashtags in order to keep its followers up to speed on all the breaking news in this market.

Zara’s business presence in the United States dates back to 1989 when it opened a store in New York at 750 Lexington Avenue. Along with Paris (France) and Oporto (Portugal), New York was one of the Spanish group’s first international location choices when it began to expand abroad at the end of the 1980s. Today Zara operates stores in over 30 US cities, including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Houston, where it has flagship stores. In Manhattan, there are seven Zara stores, located along some of the Manhattan’s best shopping streets, such as Fifth Avenue, SoHo and Broadway. In Chicago, the Zara store is located on the city’s Magnificent Mile, Michigan Avenue, and is the retailer’s biggest store in the US, while the Boston store is located on Newbury Street.