How to Start an Online Clothing Store

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How to Start an Online Clothing Store

Steps to Start an Online Fashion Supply Store

Do you want to start selling clothing online? Are you wondering how to get started?

It is estimated that the average ROI from an online store ranges from 15% to 30%. In a brick-and-mortar store, the average ROI hovers around 8%.

The online clothing industry enjoys a collective revenue of about ninety billion dollars annually. The projections from industry analysts indicate this number is going to go up. The market will increase to $138 billion next year and hit $283 billion by 2022.  

Magento has become a flexible, secure, and optimized platform. It has all the provisions that make launching your dream store simpler. Popular clothing stores run on Magento include:

  • Helly Hansen
  • Liverpool
  • Björn Borg
  • Christian Louboutin
  • Barbour

Your store can join these companies to get the full advantages of Magento, which makes the steps we are about to explore a breeze.

How to Start an Online Clothing Store

Let’s find out how to start an online fashion brand.

Find Your Niche

What is a niche? In clothing store terms, it refers to a market segment where demand for a product exists, but no one (or only a few people) is supplying what’s needed.

The nature of your niche directly impacts your projected earnings, logistics demands, pricing, marketing decisions, and most processes you will have to undertake while doing business online.  

Here are some pointers to help you locate a niche:

  • Strategize on how to be viewed as a unique brand. You might get drowned out by all the noise and competitors without distinguishing your store from others.
  • Choose your products/services. Knowing what you offer gives you a look into how much you pay to acquire the product or make it, how much you can sell it to turn a profit, what kind of competition you have, and how you can outdo them.
  • Understand the demand, the general profile of your perfect shopper, and existing competition to know which avenues remain unexploited.

Your picking out a niche ensures that your business has the room to spread its wings and flourish.

Some merchants choose one product (like bowties) to distinguish themselves, while others choose several related products if they feel like diversity works.

Understand the space you are trying to fit into before squeezing in to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Find-Money-Generated-Niche

Select Online Clothing Store Products

When you complete niche research, product selection becomes much easier since you know where the market is, what customers will pay, what the competition (if any) looks like, and other information that informs most of your decisions.

The process involves answering these questions;

  • Can you make a return on your investment?
  •  Are you passionate, interested, or knowledgeable about your product?
  • Will you be targeting the mass market or niche shoppers?
  •  What do trends and forecasts say about the future of your product?
  • How often will your customers return for repeat purchases of the product?

Consider custom Magento development services to showcase your products optimally.    

Dive Deeper in the Target Audience and Their Pains

Is your audience a mystery, or do you know it well? What do they complain about when it comes to existing competitors? How are you different or better than what they already have?

Pain points refer to the troubles shoppers encounter when locating, paying for, waiting for, receiving, and using the product.

As you enter the market, your success hinges on impressing your customer base. They need to know that:

  • Your store website is easily navigable.
  • They can check out quickly and without security fears.
  • You have payment options to accommodate all.
  • Your shipping fees and times are clearly stated in the checkout.
  • The product arrives unharmed.
  • They can call you afterward to ask questions or complain.

Leverage the opportunities provided by social media and customer service to market to customers, respond to complaints, listen to new ideas, and find out what they don’t like and which things you could do differently for better sales.  

Choose a Cutting-Edge Platform for Your Store

In eCommerce, presentation is everything. You must create a website that functions seamlessly, loads quickly, and makes it a joy to shop in your store.

Usually, developers choose platforms to achieve or access the following:

  • Reliable hosting and the freedom to create a unique store;
  • Convenient addons, plugins, and themes;
  • SEO and mobile-friendliness;
  •  Management systems for products, order, and return;
  • Multi-channel integrations;
  • The scalability of the platform;
  • Advanced security from cybercriminals.

Picking out a platform is easy, depending on what you want. You could go with three top choices: Magento, Shopify, and WooCommerce.

It is no secret that we are big fans of Magento. It has incredibly advanced security, runs on Amazon Web Services infrastructure, merchants can tweak the code and build a store that works for them, and multiple big clothing brands use it.

With the right eCommerce website design services, you can take full advantage of the platform’s many freedoms to create your desired store.

Care About Appealing and Selling Website Design.

We mentioned that you need to be unique and stand out. For that reason, your brand needs cohesion in colors, graphic design, messaging in marketing, and other identifying markers.

  • Branding hinges on being tactful about several things. Here are some pro tips to keep in mind:
  • Do not swamp people with too many ads or offers, or promotions. Use them strategically.
  • Ensure that your messaging, color schemes, logos, and other unique identifiable factors are consistent across all media.
  • Build your online presence, as it provides the perfect opportunity to showcase the unique brand you are promoting in various ways. 
  • Attach only good content (marketing or otherwise) to your brand. It works out in your favor if people associate you with authoritative information or good video ads.
  • Weave positive elements into the brand, including supportive customer service and polite banter on social media groups and pages, among other pleasant encounters, services, and interactions. People associate all the good things with your brand, encouraging sales.

If they can remember you, then you have done your job.

Review and Rating

When building your unique brand, it is crucial to know that instilling trust in customers is crucial. Your shoppers (especially those who have never been on your website) are usually happy to know that others like what you are selling and have had a great shopping and fulfillment journey.

That is why you need to integrate provisions for leaving reviews (including text, pictures, and other pertinent information) to help new customers decide what you display.

The reviews are a form of social proof, a phenomenon where people tend to follow the masses. So, if they see numerous reviews recommending something, they are less likely to question it or doubt your marketing claims.

Launching Online Clothing Stores

After spending years building and launching websites for clients, we have picked out the following tips to act as a checklist, so you can keep your finger on the pulse and have a flawless launch.

Assemble all your assets.

Gather every asset, including brand assets that showcase your color, fonts, and style. Everything that will be needed before you launch has to be located and made ready.

Pick a platform

We prefer Magento since it is the best scalable solution for new merchants with a vision. Check out hosting, reliability, plugins, addons, and other relevant information to pick a suitable place to land.  

Add Products

Always use clear images, inspired and optimized descriptions, proper product names, information about size and material, and any other information that helps your customers identify the product.

Setup the technical side

The technical side involves payment, shipment & fulfillment plans, time & cost, and legal fulfillment (terms and conditions). Anything else that needs to be integrated or added can be implemented during this stage.

NOTE: Run tests to see that everything works. Have your checklist tick off each feature and function as you test them. 

Setup automated emails and other marketing processes

A proper launch is incomplete without getting the word out in the most creative ways possible. Functions like ‘thank you’ emails, receipts, and shipping must work. Include settings for:

  • Abandoned cart emails for those who did not complete a purchase
  •  Cross-sell emails for products related to purchases made
  • Emails with offers, discounts, and coupons to incentivize customers
  • Survey emails for feedback

Leverage automated tools to manage repeated or scheduled tasks to save time for other important issues.  

Social Media and Search Ads

Social media is a tool for the merchant who wants to access the potential shoppers waiting to be wooed.

Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter are places where you can showcase your unique designs, products, style, marketing content, and offers.

Search ads allow you to show ads for your products to interested people. Not only will this drive shoppers to your site, but it could also lead to conversion and better sales.

Key Takeaways

Starting an online store in 2021 involves leveraging every tool, including the best platform, excellent development services, and comprehensive checklists.

  • It is crucial to know your audience before you start selling anything. Knowing your niche is your greatest strength.
  • Devote time to research the perfect product to offer your niche. Understand its value and potential ROI to clearly understand how profitable you can become.
  • Social proof is important, which is why ratings and reviews are necessary.
  • Dedicate enough time to pull off a proper launch.
  • You can build the memorability of your brand using social media posts and other free marketing methods.

Would you like to learn more about the developmental services that can take your dream and craft it into a website? Talk to us, and we will gladly answer your questions and advice on the best course of action.

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