With the rise of COVID-19, the fashion game has evolved in many spheres. If you are a fashion enthusiast, you know what changes the sector offers. From adopting high-end technology to including virtual assistants, it offers all. Many business owners joined the bandwagon to establish an online store. And if you want to start an online clothing store, but don’t know where to start? Let’s take a closer look at the guided steps.
Table of Contents
Role of starting an online clothing store with eCommerce
Fashion businesses are no longer limited to brick-and-mortar outlets. The advancing of the commerce landscape gives expansion opportunities. So to reach more audiences, business owners take the help of eCommerce. And how? eCommerce shopping is gaining velocity in the current trends. Moreover, customers love the accessibility and flexibility of fashion brands.
They are also falling for comfort, ease, and cost-effective shopping. Furthermore, to engage a global audience, fashion businesses invest less amount. So why not collaborate with WooCommerce development to start an online store in your industry?
Here are some incredible features of WooCommerce:
- Open-source plugins and extensions.
- User-friendly stores.
- WooCommerce is indispensable.
- Fashion themes and expectations.
- Seamless shopping experience.
Benefits of WooCommerce online fashion store
Here are some advantages of using WooCommerce for online eStore.
Open source
Fashion companies reinvest capital and profits in new projects. And WooCommerce is aware of your financial constraints. It is also an open-source CMS that runs on WordPress. You will spend a lot of money on starting an online clothing store on a domain to host your website. However, WooCommerce will not ask for anything. As a result, it simplifies starting an online store in just a few clicks.
Talent pool
Open source comes under attractive keypoint. But having experts on your side is another. You will have ample experts to guide you to a successful journey. But if you know what you want from your store you can DIY. You are not required to use only flowers. Instead, WooCommerce offers you the best UI without much technical knowledge. You can hire WordPress developers for more technical guidance.
Accessible platform
You know how difficult it is to manage an eCommerce store. However, WooCommerce makes store management easier. You only need to add the catalog and plugins to your eStore. You can also allow other sellers to join you. So you can expand as a global marketplace. You can get WordPress support for your online fashion business.
Customize store
Themes offer a different level of look and feel to your store. WooCommerce offers various themes, to implement for your store. Remember to keep your theme unique and focus on your brand. Analyze your brand and personalize it accordingly.
SEO friendly
We know WooCommerce runs on WordPress. And WordPress abides by all the regulations of SEO. So you don’t need to have a headache checking on SEP guidelines. Moreover, you can pull off organic traffic by using just the plugins to optimize. You can hire WordPress developers for more technical guidance.
Few things consider before starting online clothing store
Choose a theme
When it comes to choosing themes and designs for your eStore. You should pick themes for your brand carefully. Understand what you want and how it will meet your needs. And then track them to see how far you got. Make sure the theme is appropriate for your store.
Second, do not design your website like a loaded gun! Pay attention to the web store’s loading speed. Lighten it up with appropriate themes and any images you intend to use on the page. Remember that your customers access your WooCommerce development store via various devices.
Select the pages
You must understand that you are building a WooCommerce store, not a SPA. So, to attract more visitors, round up some pages in your WooCommerce store. You can use pages such as:
- About us: This page should come in handy if you want to be called a ‘Brand’. As a result, this page provides information on starting a clothing online shop as a brand. It strikes the right emotional and psychological chord.
- Our assortment: It is one of the inventive pages to include in your eStore. You can present your numerous exhibitions in various categories. Such as shoes, cardigans, scarves, bags, or accessories. Depending on the fashion and gender of your customers, etc.
- Your recommendations: It works as a fit guide for your new visitors and a suggestion for potential users. Moreover, it perfectly describes the fits and all the measurements for your users.
- Our locations: When starting a clothing store online, you may invite the users to your store. Not for the tea party! Instead, they want to purchase your products physically. Also, try to include more information about physical stores.
- Some FAQs: It is best to include FAQs in your WooCommerce development store. Why? Because your visitors can answer them. No! Sometimes users come up with a lot of genuine concerns. Such as what your brand sells, what makes you unique, what you deal in, etc.
- Contact details: Don’t let people guess your store details. So try to keep your contact details concise and straightforward. Also with your address, email address, and other details.
- Your lookbook: Take a look at the lookbook, is quite a trend among many fashion sites. It convinces the audience of how they’ll look after adorning it. So, you can call it a great marketing strategy. Furthermore, also tell them, what they can pair with it.
- Confidential policies: It is quite a long content page. But it makes your WooCommerce fashion store look reliable. With return and refund, exchange policies, and data protection, you win users. They will prefer you over your competitors.
Or yes, if your, clothing online business is not reaping, what do you want? Then check for all the above-discussed pointers and include them. Or try to take professional assistance for guidance.
Extend the functionality
Ohhh! Quite a fascinating term. You don’t have to stretch your boundaries. Instead, make your store adaptable. So, in simple words, customize your store to engage more users. Think about collaborations, influencers, payments, shoppers, etc. So here are some quick tips to expand your store functionality:
- Invite: Ask other sellers to collaborate on your platform. You know you grow with the market of your niche. So, it gives an impression multi-vendor marketplace, and your users may trust you.
- Implement: Offer them new selling techniques and services with your products. Try to streamline your payment methods for your users.
- Interactive: Attractive visuals win hearts! If your bounce rate increases day by day, check for the visuals. You can hire WordPress developers for more technical guidance.
- Intelligent: Smart deals and coupons attract users, especially when it fits their needs.
Add effective descriptions
Moving onto another crucial factor to check in your WooCommerce store. Your eStore is untouchable to users, so let them know what you sell. Don’t call a scarf a woolen stole! Just stay concise when describing your products. Try to analyze your audience and what they expect of you to sell. Just make it different from your competitors.
Use the right keywords and descriptive words to define your products. In an online clothing line describe color, shape, size, gender, etc. Ultimately it increases the reliability and customers. Simply, create a listicle, and present the personality and events to adorn it. You can get WordPress support for your online fashion business. It is quite an out-of-the-box idea to stay unique. Other things to keep in mind are:
- If your clothing fit to size or not?
- Add this in the fit guide.
- Or if you use the model to showcase the product.
- Try to mention their measurements too.
- So that users get convinced to buy the look.
Remember to mention the material of the product for more details.
Select attractive images
We are asking for the Go Pro-Shot! Instead, that depicts the quality. Images are the only thing that users can see to make a purchase. If your images are clear, you won here! Because low-quality image declines your reputation and pushes away the users. For example, to sell a cap, what do you need? An angle from the front, back, a close-up, side, etc. Only these images of high quality please many consumers.
Moreover, you add some recommendations to buy along with the product. Or just try pairs of products.
Count a blog
Blogging comes in a row with successful marketing techniques. And it also affects your SERPs rankings. You can implement your blogs for effective email marketing, creative ads, SMM, etc. So, it makes your visitors keep engaged with your store. Don’t just poke them by dropping emails every five minutes. Instead, try to educate them about your products. Try to check if your content pieces are engaging.
So check on the pointers like:
- Offer an answer to the questions frequently asked.
- Content about new collections depending on different styles.
- Get help or integrate the best tools to engage the audience.
- See how influencers are getting on with their blogs.
- Share your story and events of the month.
- Present your social media presence across the platforms.
Integrate the SEO
If you are starting an online clothing store, you want a good ranking. Rankings not only look at the flowers of your online store. Moreover, it counts the UX and content to qualify for rankings. So, do good research on keyword optimization. Remember low competition with high volume is the key. You can hire WordPress developers for more technical guidance.
An effective on-page optimization refers to:
- Product title: Try to give titles to every page and product. Also, remember that they are quality keywords. Make it concise and attractive to users. Moreover, it helps the user to purchase your product.
- Meta descriptions: Try to use short descriptions. It is a short snippet, don’t make it an essay!
- Alt tags: Alt tags eases the SEO functioning. Describe the image without keyword stuffing.
- Product URL: It is one of the must-include links with fewer keywords.
Focus on marketing
Last, but not least. It is quite an overlooked factor. WooCommerce itself works as a strong factor in marketing. Moreover, to reach a larger audience, indulge in efficient strategies. But not all of them, at once. Instead, the one that suits your online clothing store.
So, here are some techniques to operate on:
- Cart abandonment: If you get an email about card abandonment, you can address the use issue faced. And continue their purchase journey.
- Social media marketing: Social media platforms help you a lot to reach out to a larger audience. Because they help you gain a lot from active users.
- Influencer marketing: You can collaborate with social media influencers to endorse your products.
- Events & giveaways: Giveaways build a reliable relationship with shoppers. And ensure a purchase.
Fashion strategies implement in 2023
The fashion industry is evolving with digital transformation. And to survive in the changing landscape, you need to strategize your marketing. So you could adopt these strategies to thrive in the competition:
Personalized shopping experience
It does not end with assisting and selecting the best fashion fit. Instead, you should customize the entire customer journey. Your online clothing shop also counts emails, products, recommendations, etc.
Customers expect you to comprehend and personalize their purchase. You can use their purchase history to recommend additional products.
You learn about their buying habits, preferences, and styles. Inform them about your new offers, giveaways, and seasonal collections. You send them SMS notifications, emails, and content for your subscribers.
Big Data and AI allow you to handle tonnes of user data and customize each experience. Personalization involves identifying patterns, uses, behavior, preferences, etc.
Leverage user-generated content
Your user’s reviews of the products help other visitors to make smart purchases. Consumers get influenced by other reviews before making a purchase. So you can call these reviews a powerful strategy to expand your reach. Try to ask your users to give reviews or star ratings on the products.
Furthermore, it expresses the word of mouth marketing to other new visitors. Or just ask them to share their experience on other social media platforms with some related hashtags. You can hire WordPress developers for more technical guidance.
Highlight your brand
If you are starting an online clothing store, you must have a brand name. Every brand’s uniqueness establishes a good reputation. If you can relate to every fashion trend you’re ready to enter the market. Users can see which clothing or accessories are appropriate for them.
Furthermore, customize your store to meet their needs. Showcase what you offer your customers and how it will benefit them. Furthermore, your distinctness attracts more customers than your competitor. Create a unique strategy for presenting your fashion store.
Implement high-quality images
As stated above, images define the quality of your brand. High-quality images drive the reputation of your respect from every channel. What is worse than having a brand and missing great photos? Showcase all the products in a presentable way.
Get a perfect 360-angle shot to represent your product perfectly. Moreover, offer a zoom-in option to get a closer look at the details. Fashion brands showcase these qualities to remain accountable to users.
Leverage social commerce
Influencer marketing is the current trend in every fashion brand. Because people follow the influencers for regular tips. And they amplify your brand reach.
Engage their audience with your brand on various social platforms. Moreover, it got a rise with the pandemic wave. You can get WordPress support for your online fashion business.
Whether you talk about Instagram or Facebook, the influencers are leading the way. They beautifully showcase your brand and impacts your sale. You need to present your brand through quality pictures and videos to drive traction.
Offer 24/7 service
Customers remain at the heart of your brand. And their satisfaction is the key to driving traffic. If you offer quality customers come back to you. And just not your products.
Your services play a well-attractive pint in drawing customers’ attention. So, for your customers, hire a sophisticated team that understands your users. If your website crashes, don’t yell at them! Moreover, try to be available to your customers 24/7.
We do not mean here you don’t sleep. Instead, use automation and smart technologies. Such as Chatbots with personalized voice and design and a team to handle other queries.
If you start an online clothing store, you will get feedback from various users. So try to indulge in feedback sessions, email marketing, and query-resolving content. It helps in two ways. Firstly it creates a strong user base Secondly, it makes an engaging brand reputation.
Future of fashion and retail trends
The fashion and retail industries are focusing on many sustainability trends. And in this process, they are moving forward with a technological yet eco-friendly approach. Here are some of the popular fashion trends to witness in the future:
Metaverse
You call it the talk of the town. Metaverse is a buzzword that evolved after many advancements. The fashion industry is evolving the latest tech trends to stay relevant to GenZ users. Because they know it all from 2D, 3D, AI, ML, and whatnot. Involving metaverse will exponentially grow with the rise. Although it doesn’t you to be fully equipped with technology. You can hire any proficient developer to guide you.
You can implement a gaming session with fashion integrations. Such as designing their gaming costumes. Many brands are also collaborating with game developers to incorporate uniqueness into the brand. Moreover, top-notch brands include Avatars, NFTs, and virtual assets for personalization. You will notice any futuristic trends with this technology.
Sustainability
Sustainability is not for humans but also the environment. And as consumers are becoming smarter, brands are investing in eco-friendly ways. Users are inclined toward the brand’s focus on sustainability.
Fast fashion trends are violating environmental and human rights. So, the practice of ethical sourcing came into existence. If you also start an online clothing store , sustainability can be the best trend to follow.
Although COVID-19 gave rise to this trend. But it increased awareness and responsibility toward the environment. Furthermore, many brands are leaning toward these trends.
Re-commerce
As previously stated, sustainability and re-commerce have both become popular. The fashion industry has become the leading source of waste polluting the environment and the oceans. And the excessive use of raw materials and water sparked numerous debates. Because previously used clothing was in landfill or burned. Furthermore, it jeopardized environmental safety.
However, smart consumers are leaning toward reselling, reusing, and renting clothes. And this directly affected environmental growth. Some of them even started thrift stores to fight environmental conditions. And this gave rise to sustainability commerce and minimalism. You can get WordPress support for your online clothing store business.
You can notice more growth in this trend due to awareness and the circular economy. And if you want to give it a try, then it will offer a lot of benefits.
AR/VR
If you also love the comfort of your home shop for multiple products. Then this trend may keep on rising. Because many online shoppers missed personalization. Can you guess how? They get confused while making a purchase. But the pandemic gave rise to another trend. The use of AR and VR in the fashion industry. As you know, going to the brick-mortar stores was a big NO! You can hire WordPress developers for more technical guidance.
So some brands joined hands with technical experts to establish AR.VR fitting rooms. It had it all to let the shoppers know their fit, style, and recommendations. Moreover, it gave an excellent user experience with two thumbs up! Because now users can feel personalized even in the comfort of their homes.
Top-notch is expected to reach the height of profits with AR/VR. Because of the flexibility and adaptability, it offers to users. You will also notice this trend catching up with every store owner.
Athleisure
So we can say the pandemic was more like a blessing to the fashion world. Because it even gave the chance to integrate athletics and leisure. As people focussed on staying fit, the fashion industry also adjusted with them. Because users seek casual, active, and comfortable fits best for them. So sportswear entered our homes to accompany us! Later on, many other alterations were done to match up the themes. Now, you can wear those yoga pants everywhere. You can keep an athleisure collection if you start an online clothing shop.
Although many influencers changed the styling and accessorizing of the look. Moreover, it became the rage to follow the trends. And many other brands joined in to bring these changes to their sportswear too.
BNPL
It sounds like a new technology! Right? But instead, it is a new trend. Customers became smart and controlled their shopping behaviors. And this is affecting the fashion and retail market. So they launched the plan of BNPL( Buy now, pay later) for the shopaholics!
Top-notch brands and startups collaborate to offer the best to users. With more payment options and even installments. Customers crazily jumped on this trend, because of its accessibility.
Plus, it was a great option who can’t afford to buy in one go. It provided higher average order values, increased sales, and improved retention rates.
AI
We can say every trend started with AI. Why? Because it didn’t leave any industry untouched. And even took the fashion industry by storm. Many retailers left impressed by the ease the technology offers. Whether you talk about chatbots, virtual assistants, or recommendations, it has it all. Retail behemoths are leveraging AI assistance in every sphere. Because it streamlines:
- User experience
- Brand reputation
- Fashion trends
- Visual search
- Analyze behavior
In short, AI is an assistant not just for your users but also for you.
Conclusion: The fashion industry is changing in response to changing trends. And if you want to get into the fashion game, the tips above will help you. Whether you want to establish a brand or create a store, follow trends, to gain success. For more consideration, consult WooCommerce development services for your projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1.WooCommerce stores data where?
WooCommerce’s data is stored in a mix of WordPress database tables and custom tables.
Q2.Is there a payment gateway built into WooCommerce?
WooCommerce includes built-in support for using Stripe as your payment gateway.
Q3.What is the maximum capacity of WooCommerce?
We’ve seen shops with 100,000+ products that handle thousands of transactions per minute.
Q4.Can WooCommerce handle a high volume of traffic?
Yes, WooCommerce can withstand high traffic.
Q5.What is the best WooCommerce theme to use?
Some of the best themes to use are:
- Astra
- Neve
- SeedProd
- Botiga
- OceanWP
