Hey PLGbabe,
We don't have a clothing boutique but, we do sell handmade items made from fabric materials - seems there is a gene in our makeup that directs us to want to see and touch items in person. And in your case, folks will want to try something on to validate the fit. Note, most people will go out shopping to actually see and try on the item they have in mind - (hey we do that too) then return home, fire up the computer and search for the best price. Our friends in the clothing retail business tell us that people come into their stores, check out their items, scan the tags with their smart phones and leave - they then search the web for the best price. It's a bummer for the small mom and pop owned shops as they can't compete with the larger businesses when it comes to price. Sadly this is how shopping works today. Since you are a specialty shop, perhaps selling unique or one of a kind items, one option would be to encourage customers to stop by and take a look or offer different prices for online purchases. We actually want people to purchase in our shop as our online prices are more (we're not Amazon and shipping costs for small shops is expensive and time consuming.) There's no magic solution, else we would all be making tons of money. It's all about finding what works for you.
JK
