IT'S FLAT TIME OF THE YEAR...

I am constantly searching for a fashionable pair of flats, and these are my preferred shoes during the summer, particularly for the increased walking I do in New York City compared to winter.

Ballet flats, a classic have been my choice for years, but I am willing to explore new styles. This season, slingback flats are trending in both stores and online, and I have now embraced this style! Here are a few that have captured my attention.

Square toe shoes have been trending in the past few seasons, but I only bought a pair this season. Even more fashionable are the ones with a slingback design.

This two tone pair, with a great gold embellishment by Balmain looks to be versatile. With a sophisticated patent toe cap, you can wear these with a casual or a dressy outfit. This is the Eden style in two-tone leather The cap is patent leather.

The price is $795 Here is the link: https://tinyurl.com/yhd4upek

Balmain's website shows an all black version that is also available.

Sheerness is a popular fashion trend that you can incorporate into your footwear collection, especially perfect for warm weather! This mesh (polyester upper and leather trim) slingback with a square toe is by Rag & Bone, known for their stylish clothing and shoes. This shoe is named Astra. The price is $328 The link is here: https://tinyurl.com/y3j7sjf2

Having a metallic shoe in your shoe collection is fantastic. This particular pair is made of silver leather and features a two-tone buckle. Mixing various metal colors is an excellent way to add some flair to your outfit. This slingback, in laminated leather is named Voyou and is by Givenchy. The price is $950. The link is here:

https://tinyurl.com/2s3nuvww.

A similar version of this shoe is available, a sling back pointy toe with a three inch heel. The price is $1,095. The link is here:

https://tinyurl.com/3jej7k7u

One final item to mention is a pair of recently purchased slingbacks from my favorite shoe store in New York City, Diane B. Shoes which has two locations - one situated on East 73rd Street and Third Avenue, and the other on East 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue.

The majority of this store's shoes are private label; but I believe a good number are created through collaborations with renowned brands like Roberto Festa. Additionally, the Diane B. Shoes collection includes highly regarded brands such as Pancaldi, Giuseppe Zanotti and Fratelli Rossetti.

Season after season, Craig Blattberg, the owner, consistently presents shoes that are current without being excessively trendy. The issue I have with Diane B. Shoes is that I adore nearly every shoe I try on!

Denim remains a popular fashion trend, and I was delighted to come across these adorned black denim slingbacks. The style, named Cally is also available in navy and in beige. The Diane B. Shoes website does not have these posted to click on. In the website ,these shoes are found by scrolling to page 16 in the pdf and page 28 in the Spring 2024 Catalog . The price is $398. The link is here: https://tinyurl.com/yc4e3nx6 (I'm sure you will find other pairs of shoes you love on your way to seeing Cally!)

There is a wide variety of styles, colors, and price ranges available for flats. Which ones do you prefer?

WHY NESPRESSO DIDN'T HIT THE SPOT FOR ME TODAY

The majority of my blog posts focus on sharing positive experiences with a product, a brand, or a shopping experience. Spreading positivity is a key aspect of my content. Nevertheless, occasionally I also write about less pleasant experiences that have room for improvement.

Today I learned the buying process at Nespresso's Madison Avenue New York City boutique changed. The new way of shopping is not an improvement. It was fine the way it had been for years. Today's shopping experience left me wondering what Nespresso was trying to accomplish with these changes.

Prior to today, buying packages of coffee

pods was simple. I walked in, stood in an organized line and waited for my turn. The process was smooth and the wait was not noticeably long. The sales associates who helped me were efficient and to the point, answering all my questions quickly and clearly.

Today's Nespresso shopping experience was more of a hassle than a pleasure. I believe it went against the brand image that Nespresso believes it has.

Rather than standing in a line to be helped by a sales associate, you are asked to go to a board and scan the image. The image to scan is shown here.

Once completed, you then wait to be called. There was a problem with my scan and it did not register on the main greeter's iPad. (I don't know what the main greeter's official title is). She noticed her list did not include me so she entered my name in her iPad and I waited.

The wait was not long. However, these are the two most off-putting aspects of the new way to buy in the Nespresso boutique:

(1) There is not much room to wait in the front of the boutique. The previous buying process had people in an organized line. Now people are standing around, as if waiting for the track announcement at Penn Station.

(2) When it was my turn, my name was called. While Nespresso might be glad I came, I don't want everybody to know my name! Please, no need to hear names being called.

After I approached the sales associate, the transaction proceeded normally without any issues. However, I am wondering why Nespresso now requires customers to complete additional steps to gain shopping privileges.

Additionally, how does the new approach of having people standing around and being asked to move aside for others to reach the sales associate improve upon the previous organized waiting line?

NEW SHOPPING HABITS

Shopping for a basic household product, such as paper towels, for me has changed when compared with just a month ago. While shopping in a local store such as Duane Reade or CVS, I would pick up the package of paper towels and continue shopping. I had been aware of the fact some retailers are charging different prices for the same item, and until recently this pricing strategy did not bother me.

A retailer may sell the same item for different prices

A retailer may sell the same product via different distribution channels and the price could vary. The different prices depends on how the item will get to your home. These are typically the different options buyers have for a range of product lines:

• Pick out in store and take it home yourself.

• Buy online and pick up in store (BOPIS).

• Purchase online for delivery with the retailer shipping it.

• Purchase online for delivery through a third party, such as Instacart and Uber Eats. (Note: Shoppers should also consider if there are additional fees, such as a monthly fee for an Instacart+ membership of $9.99 and /or if there are fees for each delivery.)

Third party delivery services typically lead to the item costing more; but not always

I appreciate that shoppers are willing to pay for convenience and will not be budget minded when using a third party shopping service. But, there are notable price differences. For instance, Fairway sells Fage yogurt in the store and it is available through shopping Fairway via Instacart.

The other day there were different prices for the same Fage yogurt. When I was in the store I saw it was $2.69 and when I looked that day on Instacart, shown below, it was $3.55, about 25% more. I recalled other prices of a few other items in the store and compared them with Instacart and Instacart showed higher prices for all of them.

Paper towel purchases

Getting back to the paper towels --- Last week while browsing through an email from Walgreens (The name of the store brand in New York City is Duane Reade) I saw Bounty paper towels in the list. It showed the BOPIS price is $5.49 and the in-store price is $9.49. Calculating that is a 42% price difference and living two blocks from Duane Reade, I immediately decided I could not pass this up.

I ordered a few Bounty packages online; the order was ready within a short time and I picked it up. The wait though was longer than it should be. But that is the case with Duane Reade. Unlike Target, there is not a separate line for pick-up and with typically one cashier, sometimes two, it is a long wait to pick up the internet orders as well as to pay for in store purchases.

A few days later I decided this $5.49 price was a super bargain and ordered more. While in Duane Reade to pick it up, I first went to the paper goods aisle and was surprised with what I saw. As shown below, the shelf price was $9.99, higher than the in-store price listed, $9.49 in the email. That was a 45% difference.

On the one hand I was glad I took advantage of the BOPIS bargain. Yet, on the other hand I was annoyed about this big difference and wondered if there were other items with such a large price gap. But determining that information would be time consuming and decided not to proceed with the idea.

Rather than spending time looking for other Duane Reade deals where the prices are much lower with BOPIS, I decided going forward I will try my best to stop impulse shopping there and at other stores while picking up my orders. When I have time I could look online for possibly better BOPIS pricing.

Buying online and picking up in store for certain products could continue to be a good shopping choice for me. It is a nice option because the purchases are picked up at stores that are a few minutes walk (thus no transportation costs) and the stores have convenient operating hours.

Financial results, comprehensive studies and thoughtful strategy contribute to retailers implementing BOPIS, and in many cases this results in the retailer charging different prices for the same item. As a shopper I'm puzzled and bothered. My over arching question regarding this strategy: Isn't a person who visits a store considered to be a stronger candidate to be an impulse shopper when compared with one who is stopping in just to pick up an online order? Given I know there could be such a range in prices, in this Bounty paper towels example, over 40% difference, I am going to stop impulse shopping and spend time on researching prices on household and other staples that I buy. What about you?