Are you looking for answers to how to start an online clothing store ?
If so, you're in luck! This guide will teach you everything you need to know about how to start an online clothing store and the running of a successful online clothing store. Whether you're a complete beginner or just looking for some tips and advice, read on for all the information you need to get started!
You'll learn how to start an online clothing store – from finding your niche, to determining what products are needed and how much money you need to get started. You'll also learn how to choose a payment processor and how to avoid common mistakes that newbies often make when starting an online clothing business.
Benefits of Running an Online Clothing Store vs a Brick-and-Mortar Store
Before we discuss what how to start an online clothing store, let’s see why you should consider an online store vs a brick and mortar store.
Although brick-and-mortar retailers still enjoy a dominant position in the business, their control has been slipping as online garment sales now account for 46% of all apparel sales in the United States.
Here are some of the greatest benefits of why you should consider learning how to start an online clothing store as opposed to an offline one:
Lower Entry Barriers
Opening a storefront online can take a few days or weeks, but starting a business in a more traditional setting might take considerably longer and need a much larger initial expenditure.
Higher Margins
Online retailers generally have higher margins than brick-and-mortar stores because they don't have to pay for physical locations or inventory storage costs. When you sell clothes online, you only have to pay for shipping and handling fees — which are typically lower than what brick-and-mortar stores charge their customers.
No Sales Pressure
When you sell online, you don't have to deal with pushy customers who want to haggle over prices and try on multiple items before making a purchase decision. Instead, customers can browse through your store's catalog and make purchases whenever they feel like it.
Lower Startup Costs
Compared to most online apparel company methods which cost comparatively less, opening a brick-and-mortar store might cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000.
Shopper’s Convenience
Customers may shop at any time of day, which is more convenient than making a trip to an actual store.
Better Customer Service
Brick-and-mortar stores often have long lines at checkout counters, which makes it hard for customers to ask questions about products or make returns without waiting in line again later on.
Online stores can provide better customer service by using chatbots that let potential buyers ask questions about products directly from their phones or computers instead of having to wait in lines.
Omnichannel Marketing
Creating a smooth consumer experience via the integration of all channels—both in-store and online—could lead to a 33 percent boost in sales.
How to Start an Online Clothing Store
By now, you’ve probably read about the amazing success stories of some of the most popular online clothing stores. You may have even considered starting your own online clothing store.
But you may wonder how to start an online clothing store. Learning how to start an online clothing store can seem particularly daunting when you don’t have any experience.
The answer is simple: follow these steps!
Pick Your Niche
The first step in learning how to start an online clothing store is deciding what niche you want to sell in.
Your niche will determine the type of products that you carry and the types of customers that visit your site.
There are many different niches available, but here are some of the most popular ones for online clothing stores:
Fashion – This is one of the most popular niches because there are so many different styles out there and people love to show off their own personal style. However, this niche is very competitive because there are so many fashion bloggers who already have an established audience and following.
Baby & Kids Clothes – Parents want high quality clothing for their babies and kids and they’re willing to pay top dollar for it!
Choose an E-Commerce Platform
You need an ecommerce platform or an online store to sell your items if you run an online business. Even if you have no prior knowledge, there are several excellent solutions that make it simple to construct an ecommerce website.
Selecting the right platform will make it simple to launch an online store and expand your fashion business over time.
The best e-commerce platforms for online clothing stores allow you to create a fully functional store with no coding experience, and they offer advanced features like SEO optimization and mobile commerce that will help you increase sales.
If you're just starting out, it's best to choose an established platform like Shopify or Magento to avoid headaches later on. If you're not sure which platform is right for you, we've listed some of the most popular options below:
- Shopify - One of the most well-known e-commerce platforms, Shopify offers a wide range of features including unlimited products, payment processing, analytics tools and more. It's also one of the easiest platforms for beginners to use as it comes with free themes and apps that make creating a store easy as pie.
- Shopify Plus - This plan extends all the great features from Shopify but offers enterprise level support so you don't have to worry about hosting or scaling issues when your business grows too big for its britches.
- Magento - A popular open source e-commerce platform used by many high profile brands including Walmart and Victoria's Secret
List Your Products
The next step is to list your products on your website. You need to include all the information about your product — its price, size, color and style — on your website.
The majority of eCommerce platforms give users the option to quickly add goods in bulk. Nevertheless, it's wise to inspect each item carefully to make sure the presentation is stunning.
We advise concentrating on the following components while adding the products:
- Product Images
Having high-quality product photos is crucial since shoppers will rely on the information supplied on the website.
Nowadays, a smartphone's camera is capable of taking quality images. But there are certain techniques to improve the way your product is presented:
- Invest in quality equipment. Purchase adequate lighting equipment at the very least to ensure that the images are well-lit and clear.
- Use a model, if at all practicable. They can make the things seem more realistic and the images seem more credible.
- Make the background simple. The apparel will stand out as a result, allowing viewers to concentrate entirely on the item.
- Take detailed pictures from various perspectives. These pictures allow customers to picture how the product will actually look.
- Correct the colors subtly. Make an effort to replicate the object's appearance in real life. Avoid utilising filters since they can skew how a product is presented.
- Make use of the zoom feature. Customers will be able to view the merchandise up close thanks to this feature.
- Pricing
The cost of your items might affect how much money your online clothes store generates.
Here are a few popular price techniques used by online retailers:
- Cost-based. The cost of manufacturing and marketing the apparel as well as the profit margin per sale must be added together. Although this is a beginner-friendly strategy, consumers might not find the pricing alluring.
- Competition-based. In order to keep your offer competitive, this method necessitates researching the competition to learn the various pricing points for the kinds of things you sell.
- Value-based. It incorporates the aforementioned tactics while also taking into account the competitive advantage you're offering. This may be a product's distinctive characteristics, superior material quality, or brand philosophy.
Whatever price method you use, keep in mind that future readjustments are always possible.
- Product Description
Your chances of successfully selling the apparel can be improved by having an appealing and concise product description.
This language may affect a customer's purchase choice in 82 percent of cases, according to an eMarketer analysis.
Without being overly wordy, the paragraph briefly discusses the item and its qualities while demonstrating how readers may wear it.
To make it easier for consumers to locate this information, the material, fit, and maintenance instructions are listed separately from the main content.
Set Up a Payment Method
A trustworthy payment method is necessary before starting an online clothes business. It should securely handle consumer transactions so that all data is protected from unauthorised users.
You will need to use PayPal or Stripe for your payment processor. This is because you cannot accept credit cards directly from your website without using one of these two companies.
If you want to process payments by bank transfer or other methods, then you'll need to look at other options like Shopify Payments or PayPal Payments Pro.
As a side issue, make sure you have a strategy in place for computing sales tax before discussing payments.
Determine Shipping
The last step is to arrange shipping so that your goods may be delivered to your consumers.
Even though you might not want to give shipping any attention, it's one of the most crucial aspects of your e-commerce shop.
The standard has been set quite high by Amazon and Etsy.
A potential consumer may remove things from their basket if they believe that the shipping prices are too high or that it will take too long for them to get their purchases.
Start Promoting your Store Online
Once you have listed all the products available in your store and have a payment process in place, it is time for you to promote them on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. These are some of the most popular platforms used by fashion bloggers and influencers so this is a good way to reach out to a large number of people who are interested in fashion.
You can also use paid advertising services on these platforms if you want better results but it's best not to spend much money on them because they don't always give high ROI (return on investment).
Bringing Traffic to Your Online Clothing Store via SEO
It's not enough to just have an ecommerce website and expect people to find you. You need to do some work, if you want your online clothing store to be successful.
If you've ever searched for something online, you've likely noticed how much top results are paid ads. This is because Google wants to give users the best experience possible and there are companies willing to pay for it.
So , the next step is getting traffic from search engines like Google and Bing. This can be done by optimizing your pages with keywords that are relevant to what you sell such as "women's dresses" or "men's shirts".
This is where SEO comes into play. Search engine optimization refers to the process of improving the visibility of a website in search engine results pages (SERPs). There are many forms of SEO, including link building, social media marketing, keyword research and more.
How to Start an online Clothing Store with Zero Money
In answer to your question, how to start an online clothing store with no money, Markaz is the way to go.
Starting an online business can be a daunting task. There are so many things to consider and it can be hard to know where to start.
If you're looking for a way to earn some extra income and work from home, then you've come to the right place. Markaz is transforming social commerce in Pakistan. You get to discover some of the most beneficial products for your consumers in our market. By starting your own internet business and selling these things to your friends and acquaintances, you may work from home and earn money.
At Markaz, we are putting a lot of effort towards advancing Pakistan's eCommerce sector. Any Pakistani who wants to launch a business may now do so thanks to Markaz.
The Five Simple Steps:
You can start selling online by following these five simple steps:
1. Download the App
2. Signup as a reseller
3. Select your products and decide a mark-up
4. Generate a purchase link
5. Start Selling by sharing the link across your social circle
Conclusion:
Our members benefit from working from home, spending more time with their families, and being a part of Pakistan's vibrant small business community. Additionally, there is no upfront expenditure required to launch your internet business.
Through Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other platforms, you may utilise your connections and network to sell to your contacts.
Markaz stocks the inventory and deals with the logistics such as delivery and payments.
As we coordinate the best suppliers and reseller community in Pakistan, our resellers earn up to Rs. 25,000 a month.
Download the app now to sign up as a Markaz Reseller to start earning!
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