Is Halara Legit? What to Know Before You Shop
Retail experts have thoughts on the new athleisure brand.
If the online shopping boom has given us one thing, it's tons of options. It seems like every time we log onto social media, there's an influencer touting a new need-to-know brand. However, knowing what's worthy of attention and what we should skip can be tough. (After all, we've all seen those posts where the items people purchase from Instagram ads are nothing like the original photo.) Halara is one such label that has us asking: What is Halara, and is it legit?
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What Is Halara?
Halara was founded in October 2020 by Joyce Zhang, who remains the brand's CEO. It focuses on athleisure, selling everything from athletic shorts, skirts, tops, and leggings to cozy jumpsuits, joggers, and dresses. It carries sizes XS to 3X, giving it a broad and inclusive appeal.
Halara's prices are quite affordable but not what anyone would consider cheap, especially compared to many of the fast-fashion options available today. Think $50 sweatpants, $55 tennis dresses, $45 maxi skirts, and $30 sports bras. It runs sales often to slash prices further.
Although Halara is fairly new, it's broken into the crowded fashion market. The retailer has more than 669,900 followers on TikTok and more than two million followers on Instagram. The privately held company does not provide official revenue reports.
How Did Halara Get Famous?
Like many modern fast-fashion retailers, Halara harnessed influencer marketing and online ads to cultivate its audience. It also uses user-generated social media content to boost sales.
For example, Glossy noted that earlier this year, Halara ran its first campaign, "Confidently Halara," inviting its followers to share their definition of body confidence; the person who made the post with the highest engagement would win $5,000. This inspired shoppers to spread the word about Halara and boost its audience.
What Are the Most Popular Items at Halara?
Halara's most popular category is athleisure, but there are a few standouts within that category. First is the Easy Peezy Dress. This mini-length tennis dress is made of a nylon-elastane blend and comes in a rainbow of colors and silhouettes, including backless, twist-back, racerback, and spaghetti straps.
The dress is similar to other popular ones from more expensive activewear brands like Alo and Lulumeon, and it capitalized on the pickleball trend.
Halara has several other product franchises, such as its cozy (and trademarked) Breezeful material and 2-in-1 shorts and skirts, which have also generated buzz online.
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How Does Halara Work?
Halara is similar to most e-commerce fast fashion platforms. You select the items you want to buy, pay for them, and they arrive.
What sets it apart is how it updates its inventory. While you might think its CEO would have a background in fashion, she's actually a tech wiz who previously worked on algorithmic projects at Hulu and Microsoft.
That experience contributes to Halara's approach to product development. It uses algorithms to analyze real-time fashion trends and feedback from its community and adjusts its offerings accordingly.
For example, it notes on its site that this occurred with the aforementioned viral Easy Peezy Dress. The brand took into account more than 10,000 comments about the dress on social media and 1,000 survey responses to create different iterations of the dress that appeal to its customers' needs, including removable bra pads and hidden pockets.
Halara's management team has also mentioned using Google search data to inform its merchandise decisions. "These trends give us real-time insights into what customers are actively searching for," Gabby Hirata, global brand president of Halara, told Glossy. "That could be anything from specific products like our leggings to broader queries like what to pack for a summer vacation."
So, if you've poked around on a search engine to find an outfit for your next big event, then you've indirectly contributed to its offerings.
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Where Do Halara Clothes Ship From?
Halara does not currently note on its website where its items ship from. At one point, they wrote that pieces were shipped from factories in Vietnam, the Philipines, and China. It also makes no major claims about its labor practices, including working conditions for factory workers or wages.
Is Halara a Legit Website?
Halara is a legitimate website, and if you order something from it, you'll almost definitely receive the item you ordered within a reasonable time frame without exposing yourself to fraud or financial scams.
But that's not to say there aren't issues.
According to Joanna Clark-Simpson, head of consumer research and consumer expert with PissedConsumer.com, the retailer has a 1.8-star rating on the site based on the 142 consumer reviews posted since 2023; only 14 percent of those reviews said they'd recommend the brand to a friend or colleague. Halara has a similar one-star rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
"Our data shows that Halara customers often face issues such as failed or delayed deliveries, difficulties with returns and exchanges due to missing shipping labels or order confirmations, and lack of access to customer service, with busy lines or automated responses," says Clark-Simpson. "These issues highlight significant gaps in Halara's customer service and order fulfillment processes."
On the positive side, PissedConsumer.com reviewers noted that the clothes are nice and good quality.
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Is Halara an Ethical Brand?
It's difficult to know how ethical Halara is from a labor or sustainability perspective, as the brand has not released much information about it.
On its website, it writes that "some" of its suppliers (aka factories) are certified by the Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production and the Social & Labor Convergence Program. It writes that it ensures all suppliers uphold international labor standards. Those organizations are legitimate, but there is no way to prove Halara's other claims.
As for sustainability, the brand is working toward reaching a net-zero environmental footprint. It notes that in 2023, it added seven supplies that use alternative energy sources like solar and wind power. It's also working to source more low-impact raw materials and recycled fabrics.
Unfortunately, many of the brand's practices, like social media marketing and using algorithms to create new pieces en masse, contribute to overconsumption, which is often viewed as unethical, regardless of the working conditions or environmental impacts.
Are There Any Scams to Look Out for on Halara?
While there aren't any known scams on Halara, many customers have several recurring complaints about the online shop. Here are some common Halara reviews:
Return Problems and Customer Service Complaints
Some of the biggest complaints people have about Halara focus on the lack of customer service, especially as it relates to returns. The retailer does not have a phone number you can call, so you need to email them to get in touch.
"Terrible customer service, I have emailed them every day and robots are answering the emails and offering no assistance," wrote one customer on the BBB. "They say they offer easy returns, but they will not assist me on making this return. I have asked to talk to somebody that they will not give me a phone number."
Another shipper wrote on Pissed Consumer: "I am unable to call and I need a return shipping label. There is nobody responding to my request."
Delivery Issues
These are other common complaints against Halara.
One consumer reported to the BBB that they never received their order. After reaching out to Halara customer service, they were told that the carrier had lost the package. Halara said they had resent the package, but it still never arrived.
"I have asked them for my money back at least four times, and they will not give it to me. They just keep changing the subject and asking if I will accept less than my entire purchase as a refund," they wrote.
A second shopper on Pissed Consumer wrote they made an order on April 24 that didn't ship until May 14. "I was given an incorrect tracking number, so I just have to trust the tracking they have in the app… Bit of a scam if you ask me."
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What Are the Safest Payment Methods to Use With Halara?
Credit Card: All you need to do to dispute a payment is file a claim with your bank. And don't get your credit and debit card mixed up when checking out: Recovering funds that are lost due to fraud is much more challenging on debit.
PayPal: This service keeps your financial information private when you shop online. If fraud does take place during a transaction, it offers protection.
Digital Wallet: These include Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal. While your digital wallet will have access to your personal information, it'll provide a barrier between e-commerce websites and anything sensitive. During each transaction, you get a one-time use "token;" even if someone intercepts this token, they won't be able to do anything with it once it expires, and the token doesn't include any personal information.
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