After months of speculation, ready-to-wear retailer H&M has finally announced the upcoming August launch of their online store. H&M currently has over 200 stores in the United States and over 2,900 worldwide, so the necessity of an online market for its customers has been fairly cumbersome. The launch of H&M’s online store has met many roadblocks, but the main issue has been with managing the retailer’s large sales volume. With some American stores literally as big as a Wal-Mart, the amount of in-store demand and revenue can be tricky to translate into online sales. H&M is also known for a higher-than-normal return rate for its garments, which can pose further issues for the online market. The issue of sales tax also comes into play, especially if a customer were to purchase an item online and return it in-store. H&M’s introduction of online shopping comes days after news leaked of the retailer using a collapsed factory to produce its garments. Combining the news of factory conditions such as these with the fact that their clothes don’t appeal to me anymore (read: cheap), I’ve given up om H&M for more higher-end, ready-to-wear retailers such as Zara. But still, there’s a large (gay) market of shoppers wishing to wear the same T-shirts as their friends seven days a week. Read the full story on H&M’s move to online shopping here.