If you have a passion for fashion and you’re ready to jump into the fashion ecommerce world, there’s no better time than now to take the leap.
The fashion ecommerce industry grossed 1.9 trillion U.S. dollars in apparel and footwear alone in 2019. And it’s expected to grow to over 3 trillion dollars by 2030, which means chasing your dreams now could lead to serious financial gains in the future.
Keep reading to get the scoop on what to sell, how to find products, and how to manage a successful fashion ecommerce business.
What You Can Sell in Fashion Ecommerce
So, you’re ready to take the first step toward becoming an ecommerce entrepreneur in the fashion industry? The first thing you’ll need to decide is what you’ll be selling and who your audience is.
The best way to create the most profitable fashion ecommerce business is to tailor it toward a specific group of people. This can be an age demographic, such as men and women between the ages of 25 and 40, or it can target a more broad range of people, such as families.
You’ll need to curate your online shop around what types of fashion your target audience is searching for, so don’t forget to study up. As trends in fashion change, you’ll also need to rotate your offerings to stay fresh, so make sure you have a plan in place to identify and implement new trends in your store.
Curating your brand
Now, you’ll need to decide which fashion you’ll sell online. You can choose to become an authority in a specific fashion niche, or you can offer a
Here are a few ideas for what you can sell:
- Tops and bottoms
- Footwear
- Accessories
- Sportswear
- Coats and jackets
- Lingerie and nightwear
- Swimwear
- Loungewear
- Baby clothing
How to Find Fashion Products to Sell Online
Finding the products that you’ll offer on your online store is one of the most exciting experiences of being an entrepreneur. During this stage of your business development, you will curate your own fashion line to attract your target audience.
Here are a few avenues you can take to score the perfect pieces for your online store:
Apparel manufacturers
Apparel manufacturers are a great place to start. These businesses work with fashion brands and accessories brands to supply entrepreneurs with products to sell. No matter who your target audience is, there’s an apparel manufacturer out there that can supply you with the products you need.
Create your own fashion products
If you’re handy with a sewing machine and you know how to read a pattern, you could create and sew your own fashion products to sell. Apparel patterns can be found online or you can create your own. If you plan to use someone else’s pattern, be sure your purchase includes the right to sell the finished product for commercial use.
Screen printing or print-on-demand
Screen printing or
How to Manage a Fashion Ecommerce Business
Running a fashion ecommerce business involves more than picking inventory and making sales. If you want to be successful in selling fashion products online, you should familiarize yourself with the management space in the business.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Enterprise Resource Planning, or ERP, refers to a suite of business software that simplifies and streamlines business processes so that you can focus on making your dreams a reality without becoming overwhelmed with the sheer amount of management needed to run a fashion ecommerce business.
You might be surprised to learn that ecommerce business management is easier than ever before due to technological advances that simplify management processes. Here are the top five major management areas that you need to know and our tips on how to make management easy:
Apparel management
Apparel management is one of the most important aspects of running a fashion business online. You’ll need software to help you manage inventory, including manufacturing and supply chain management. This software is also useful for managing orders and sales floor operations.
Sure, you could manage all these areas without the extra help, but we believe in making business processes easy so that you can focus on living the dream without all the added stress of juggling all the aspects that go into apparel management.
Production management
Successful fashion ecommerce businesses emphasize getting quality products to their customers in a timely manner. The easiest way to streamline processes when it comes to production is to use Product Lifecycle Management software or PLM. This technology helps business owners just like you capitalize on revenue while minimizing costs throughout the entire life of a fashion product.
Since production scheduling is an essential part of ensuring you have enough inventory to meet your customers’ needs, you can’t afford not to invest in PLM. Plus, who doesn’t want to save money in one place to make more in another? It’s a
Employee management
As your ecommerce business grows, you may need to hire some helping hands to keep business processes moving smoothly. Employees can help streamline operations through order processing, customer experience interactions, and much more.
If you want to hire employees locally to help with daily operations and processes, you’ll need to conduct interviews. Think about what your business stands for and what questions you can ask potential team members to make sure they can represent what you want for your brand. Questions like “what are your hobbies?” might seem superficial, but they can reveal much about a candidate’s skills, passions, and personal traits that will help them in their role.
Hiring remote employees is also a great option. Going remote allows you to select from a larger pool of potential candidates, many of whom may have credentials that more closely meet your criteria versus local applicants. Consider hiring a mobile workforce for customer support, software management, and any other task that doesn’t require physical presence.
Employee management software can help you track candidates, keep records on employee attendance and conduct, and much more. Trust us, staying organized is the key to conquering ecommerce.
Warehouse management
If you plan to work out of your own warehouse, warehouse management is essential. Making sure your inventory stays organized ensures that shipping and receiving processes are smooth, which results in higher customer satisfaction and less stress for you. You’ll need to outline warehouse processes, safety rules and regulations, and protocols to make sure warehouse operations are as streamlined as possible.
With so many gears turning in the warehouse management machine, it can be an overwhelming task to take on. Luckily, you can invest in warehouse management software to make the job foolproof. There’s nothing quite like simplifying a difficult task!
How to Set Up a Fashion Ecommerce Business Online
Jumping into the fashion ecommerce world can be an intimidating and
That’s where Ecwid comes in.
With Ecwid, you can set up your online fashion shop in a snap. We offer unparalleled customer service, comprehensive support guides, and automated marketing tools to support the logistics of your dream so that you can focus on making it a reality. Integrate your online store across all your social media channels and best of all — it’s never been easier to get started.
