Launching an online clothing store
Clothing and shoes consistently rank among UK consumers’ most popular purchases. In a survey conducted by Statista in 2024, 56% of consumers had bought clothing online during the last 12 months, and 39% had bought shoes.
In the UK, the amount we spend on clothing has steadily increased since 2005. Despite our wardrobes being fit to burst, we spent more than ever on clothes in 2023 – almost £63.7 billion. So, if you’re looking for a niche that will never go out of fashion, selling clothing and apparel is a pretty safe bet.
For new brands tentatively entering the marketplace, setting up shop online is a no-brainer. Selling online vs opening a physical store makes your products more widely accessible and significantly lowers both your startup costs and overheads, making it a much less risky avenue. Selling online also opens up lots of exciting opportunities for marketing and growing your business, some of which we’ll explore later in this article.
Fashion trends are notoriously hard to keep up with. They change with the times and the seasons and often vary within different demographics. While basics consistently remain popular, high-quality wardrobe staples also enjoy robust sales. Printed t-shirts, trainers, and children’s clothing are likewise big sellers.
While fashion trends are ever-evolving, new clothing brands should consider incorporating broader industry trends and consumer preferences into their product lines and branding. Inclusivity and sustainability seem to be the two big trends shaping the fashion industry in 2024.
Sustainable fashion – Consumers are becoming increasingly eco-conscious, and as a result, fast fashion is out, and sustainable fashion is in. 70% of shoppers say they are willing to pay more for sustainably produced goods.
Fashion resale – In another nod towards sustainability, the fashion resale market is growing 11 times faster than traditional retail. Offering customers a platform for selling and buying pre-loved clothing could be an excellent way to tap into a rapidly expanding market.
Diversity and inclusion – Consumers are increasingly showing a preference for brands that demonstrate inclusivity and diversity in their products and marketing. Consumers want to shop with brands that represent them. To tap into this market and demonstrate inclusivity, brands should ensure that their brand and marketing imagery represents a diverse range of sizes, genders, ethnicities, and abilities and avoid using gendered language, product filters, and ranges.
What’s the best platform for opening an online clothing store?
With so many different website-building platforms to choose from, which is best for opening an online clothing store? We’ve compared various eCommerce platforms for the fashion industry – including Wix, Squarespace, WooCommerce, Magento, and Shopify, and there’s one platform that consistently comes out on top – Shopify.
With its intuitive and user-friendly interface, a wealth of features and functionalities, and an app store bursting with over 8,000 apps, Shopify has everything (and more) that most new clothing brands need to get set up and start selling online.
It also offers several different plans, allowing you to choose one that fits your store’s needs and budget.
What are the key steps to setting up a Shopify store to sell clothing?
You’ve sourced your products and created a clothing brand; now it’s time to build your online store! If you’ve never done it before, building an eCommerce store can be a daunting task, even when using a user-friendly platform like Shopify.
If you’re not confident in your technical ability or want the job completed quickly and to a high standard, consider partnering with a Shopify agency like Create8. We have extensive experience in Shopify web design and can help you with setting up Shopify for clothing, and building and launching a high-performance eCommerce store that aligns with your brand identity.
The length of time it will take to set up your store really depends on your level of experience, the number of products, and the complexity of your store’s design and user experience. However, it can be very roughly split into 11 steps.
1. Create an account with Shopify
Start by signing up for Shopify. The process is straightforward and guides you through the initial store setup.
2. Choose your theme
Select a theme for your store that aligns with your brand’s aesthetic. Shopify offers a range of free and paid Shopify themes for clothing stores.
3. Set up your navigation
Set up clear menus and product categories to make it easy for customers to browse your products and find what they’re looking for. Navigating through your online store should be logical and user-friendly.
4. Create your product pages
Create your product pages by uploading high-quality, professional photographs and writing detailed product descriptions. Be sure to include key information about sizing, materials, care instructions, and other relevant information.
5. Set up your payment gateway
Now, integrate your payment gateway to accept payments online. The platform offers various Shopify payment solutions, including credit and debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay and more. Add multiple payment methods to provide customers with more flexibility and make it easier for them to complete a purchase.
6. Configure your checkout
Customise your store’s checkout process to make it as quick and hassle-free as possible for users to complete their purchase.
7. Build your web pages
Build other essential pages, such as About Us, Contact, and FAQ pages, to improve user experience, boost credibility, and build customer loyalty. Consider using a professional content writing service to ensure your text content is clear, concise, persuasive, consistent with your brand voice, and engaging.
8. Set up shipping rates
Next, it’s time to create your shipping policy and rates. There are various options to choose from, including free shipping, a flat rate, or rates based on weight or location.
9. Add apps
Need more features or functionality? Shopify’s app store has over 8,000 apps for improving your store, including those for SEO, email marketing, loyalty programs, or advanced inventory management for clothing stores.
10. Connect your domain
If you haven’t already, now’s the time to purchase a domain name that reflects your brand and connect it to your Shopify store to strengthen your brand’s identity.
11. Test and launch your new eCommerce store
Before you go live, test your store thoroughly to ensure that everything is working as it should. Pay careful attention to your navigation, checkout process, mobile responsiveness, and loading speeds. Once you’re satisfied, it’s time to open your digital doors!
How can you optimise your Shopify clothing store for higher sales?
Building and launching your online clothing store is a huge achievement – but it’s just the start. Once your website is up and running, you’ll need to continually monitor and analyse its performance to enable you to fine-tune and optimise its performance.
Top-performing eCommerce fashion brands use conversion rate optimisation techniques to improve user experience, increase customer satisfaction, build customer loyalty, and convert more website visitors into paying customers.
Let’s learn more about some of the most effective techniques for optimising Shopify clothing sales.
Make it easier for visitors to find what they’re looking for by optimising your store’s navigation and filtering options to make them more intuitive and efficient. Users should be able to find what they’re looking for in as few clicks as possible. Organise your products into categories and allow visitors to filter by size, colour, style, and price.
Optimise product pages
Your product pages should be persuasive, showcase your products in the best light, and provide visitors with detailed information to allow them to make informed buying decisions. You can optimise product pages by including multiple high-quality images, engaging descriptions, and clear calls to action. When photographing clothing for online stores, always use professional product photography and include pictures of your product from multiple angles, including closeups of detail, being worn by a model, and a video to give a true sense of your products.
Personalisation
70% of customers expect brands to personalise their shopping experience. Leverage customer data to provide visitors with relevant product recommendations, customised email marketing campaigns, and unique webpage layouts based on their past behaviour and preferences.
More payment options
Offering as many payment options as possible can help to boost your store’s conversion rate. It’s important to accept popular alternative payment methods like PayPal and Apply Pay, as well as credit and debit cards, to improve user experience and satisfaction. Buy Now, Pay Later services have also increased in popularity – consider using a service like Klarna to provide your customers with more flexible payment options.
Mobile responsiveness
Did you know that over 60% of transactions in fashion eCommerce are now carried out using a mobile device? Make sure that your eCommerce store is responsive and will adjust to the size of the device it is being viewed on to improve user experience and conversion rates.
Displaying social proof, like customer reviews, helps to build trust and give your store credibility. Use a Shopify app like Judge.me or Loox to collect and display customer reviews on your website. You could also integrate social media feeds onto your website to showcase user-generated content, like photos of real customers wearing your products and how they’ve styled them.
Implementing these strategies can optimise the customer experience and improve online clothing sales, keeping you competitive in a crowded marketplace.
Effective marketing strategies for promoting a Shopify clothing store
When launching a new online clothing store, building your website is only half the battle – the real challenge lies in attracting visitors and converting them into customers! That’s why new clothing brands need dynamic marketing strategies to help promote their store, increase its visibility online, and build brand awareness.
Luckily, when you launch an online store, there are countless free tools and platforms at your disposal to help boost your new clothing store’s presence. Here’s how you can leverage different online platforms to boost your store’s visibility and help drive more sales.
Social media marketing
Developing an engaging presence on popular social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest is invaluable for clothing brands. The platforms help to increase brand awareness and build brand loyalty. Many social media platforms also offer shoppable content features, allowing you to turn your business profile into an extension of your store.
Influencer marketing
Partnering with celebrities and social media influencers can help expand your brand to a wider audience and build trust and credibility through social proof. Choose influencers whose aesthetic and audience align with your brand values and customer demographics. The influencer then creates authentic that resonates with their followers and features or promotes your products.
Email marketing
Use your website as a platform to incentivise visitors to sign up for your mailing list by offering a discount code or other special offers to all new signups. Email marketing is a powerful tool for direct and personalised communication. Use it to announce new products, collections, or sales and reward loyal customers with exclusive deals or early access.
Partner with Create8 to launch your online clothing store on Shopify
Ready to turn your fashion-forward vision into a thriving online business?
Whether you need to revamp an existing eCommerce clothing boutique or you’re starting from scratch, our team of specialist Shopify web designers are here to help you build an online clothing store that is optimised to turn browsers into paying customers.
Contact us today to get your project started and begin building your eCommerce fashion empire.
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