We shopped at Forever 21 and H&M to see which was a better fast-fashion store, and the winner was clear for a key reason

Jessica Tyler,Jessica TylerJun 5, 2018, 21:26 IST

Business Insider/Jessica Tyler

Forever 21 and H&M are two of the biggest fast-fashion retailers.
As a private company, Forever 21 doesn't release its sales numbers, but the New York Post reported in 2016 that the chain was struggling to pay its bills.
H&M has had its own struggles lately. In the first quarter of 2018, its operating profit decreased 62%.
The stores are both very trendy and offer similar-quality products for similar prices, but after visiting both, we found there was a clear winner between the two.

Forever 21 and H&M are giants in the world of fast fashion.

Forever 21 doesn't release its sales numbers because it's a private company, but it started showing signs of trouble in 2016 when the New York Post reported that it was struggling to pay the bills. It also closed two of its biggest California stores. In 2017, the brand shifted focus towards its concept stores. It announced plans to open 70 more locations of its discount-store chain, F21 Red, in addition to launching its beauty concept, Riley Rose.

Unlike competitor Forever 21, H&M is a public company that releases its sales numbers. In the first quarter of 2018, operating profit at H&M decreased 62% following another massive sales drop in the fourth quarter of 2017. Business Insider's Mary Hanbury reported that analysts believe H&M has a brand issue because it's not the cheapest store, and its clothes are not the best quality nor the most fashionable.

We found this held true during a recent visit to both stores. While the styles were very trendy, they varied widely in quality and price. Business Insider reported earlier this year that thrift stores often end up cluttered with fast-fashion apparel that is inexpensive and goes out of style quickly, which certainly held true for a lot of the styles available at Forever 21 and H&M.

Here's how the shopping experience compared at the two stores:

See We shopped at Forever 21 and H&M to see which was a better fast-fashion store, and the winner was clear for a key reason >>

The first store I visited was H&M in New York City's Financial District.

The store had fluorescent lights and huge windows, making it a bright and airy space to shop in. At the front of the store were some basic casual and business-casual staples like t-shirts, blazers, and sundresses.

This was one of the nicest H&M stores I've been to. Almost everything was spotlessly clean and nicely displayed. Prices were generally below $50.

Some products were insanely cheap, like $4 swimsuits. That being said, the quality varied from one product to another. Some things felt like they were going to fall apart, while others seemed to be pretty high-quality.

Sale racks were scattered around the store, with items ranging from $7 to $25 or more. There were often only a few items on the sales rack at the lower price point.

Even though the store was in better shape than many other H&M locations, it still was pretty disorganized.

Floral dresses, hoodies, and jeans were all next to each other.

Parts of the store seemed to be organized by color, but the actual products were pretty random.

There were pairs of jeans displayed all over the two floors of the store, but there was also a designated denim section in the back of the top floor. The prices were generally below $20.

A huge part of the store was dedicated to accessories, with purses, hats, jewelry, and other small products on display in the areas surrounding the register.

The accessories were inexpensive and pretty simple.

The styles were hit-or-miss, but the store generally seemed very trendy.

There was a designated men's section on the second level ...

... but a lot of what was on display was pretty wrinkled and stretched out.

The store, overall, had a lot of trendy clothes at low prices, but quality varied, and it was confusing to navigate.

I went to Forever 21 next, which was in the same shopping mall as H&M.

It immediately felt like a different atmosphere. There were bright yellow accent walls, which stuck out compared to the stark white of H&M, and music was blasting. It was much louder and busier than H&M was.

Forever 21 was in the basement of the mall instead of the ground floor, so it didn't seem as bright or spacious as H&M. On top of that, clothing racks were placed so closely together that it felt claustrophobic.

Like at H&M, there wasn't any real sense of organization. Everything was all over the place.

The store was chaotic. On top of being disorganized, everything on display was a mess. Clothes were tangled up on hangers and even sitting on the floor.

Products were hanging from floor to ceiling, which made the space feel smaller than it was. It would have taken hours to go through the whole store, and it would definitely be difficult to find something specific.

Prices were about the same as at H&M ...

... and the sale section was huge. Instead of having sale racks scattered throughout the store like at H&M, there was a designated sale section.

It felt like a maze. Even though the prices were almost always below $10, it was impossible to actually see what was there because of how tightly the clothes were packed.

The men's section was a lot smaller than the one at H&M, but it was surprisingly well organized compared to the rest of the store.

Like at H&M, Forever 21 had a pretty big selection of shoes ...

... accessories ...

... and other random small products, like phone cases and candles.

H&M and Forever 21 had similar prices, styles, and quality. Both stores tended to be disorganized, but Forever 21 was a maze to navigate and had an overwhelming amount of merchandise. Regardless of the styles and prices, H&M was a much nicer environment to shop in.

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