Competition in the world of apparel eCommerce is fierce, so success can be quite elusive. Ultimately, whether you make it or not will depend on a number of factors including usability, visual appearance, and mobility of your e-store.
Statistics say that 25% of users abandon their shopping cart as a result of complicated site navigation, 15% because of the site times out, and more than 20% because the ordering process lasts too long.
According to Business Insider, shopping cart abandonment is increasing with each passing year, causing staggering monetary losses. In addition, retailers should take advantage of the increasing influence of mobile. According to Statista, m-Commerce is projected to reach 54% of digital sales worldwide by 2021.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg. If you want to grab a larger market share than the competition, you’ll need to develop a strong marketing strategy. Here are 8 tips to help you succeed in the fashion eCommerce industry.
1. Focus on a Specific Niche
With so much competition in the fashion eCommerce, differentiation is of the utmost importance. In order to be able to stand out, focus on a single niche and invest in demonstrating your expertise in that niche. For example, focusing on quality yoga clothes may be smarter than selling a wide variety of inexpensive activewear.
2. Keep Your Website Clean
If you want your visitors to keep browsing and, hopefully, make a purchase, you need to make sure that your fashion eCommerce site is clean. This means that the user interface needs to be impeccable, whereas the overall user experience has to be interactive and as simple as possible. If viewing the products is difficult or the checkout process is too long and confusing, users will leave and go to your competitors without thinking twice.
3. Go Mobile
As mentioned earlier, mCommerce is on the rise. Here are some stats that illustrate the relentless growth of mCommerce.
- More than 65% of the global population owned a mobile phone in 2019
- Mobile accounts for over 40% of e-commerce transactions
- Nearly 80% of mobile phone users have made an online purchase using their mobile device in the last six months
- US mobile retail revenues are expected to amount to $339 billion in 2020
- By 2021, nearly 55% of all US retail e-commerce will be m-commerce
Today’s customers are more likely to browse your fashion eCommerce website on their mobile device, so you should consider investing in a responsive design that will make your e-store easy to read and interact with on any device.
4. Use PLM Software
The primary goal of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) is to coordinate the processes, people, and information associated with the lifecycle of a product, from concept to consumer.
PLM apparel software is typically used to keep track of information as a particular product enters into the market, allowing apparel companies to manage the marketplaces, distributors, and retailers it distributes to, at the same time gaining data on whether the product will become a repeat style based on sales. PLM software offers other benefits such as fewer cycle iterations and fewer production errors, thus resulting in increased speed to market.
5. Be Creative with Product Descriptions
The quality of your product descriptions can make or break your business. A good product description should include the information a consumer needs in order to make a buying decision. If you want your customers to click the “Add to Cart” button, providing all the key product details is crucial.
However, great product descriptions are much more than just lists of details and features. Experts say that a great product description blends psychology and storytelling, incorporating the elements of both journalism and prose writing.
So, instead of simply writing plain product descriptions, try creating stories that will help your customers imagine owning each product, using it, and enjoying it.
6. Use Amazing Photography
Every apparel e-store owner knows that the success of their business largely depends on high-quality images. Using stock photos won’t do the trick. Consider hiring a professional photographer who will take high-quality photographs of your products that go beyond than just showcasing your inventory and tell your brand’s story.
If you’re worried about the cost of hiring a professional photographer, don’t be – great images will help you overshadow your competitors and the return on investment will be absolutely worth it.
7. Rely on SEO
SEO (Search engine optimization) is another important component of any apparel eCommerce marketing strategy. Just think about it, if people have no idea your e-store exists, how do you expect to make sales? Ensure that the meta tags and copy are optimized for every product to provide search engines with the info they need to index your product pages.
8. Offer Excellent Customer Support
Nothing frustrates customers more than poor customer service. According to Help Scout, more than 30% of people in the States say they will consider switching companies after just one instance of poor service. In addition, US companies lose about $60 billion a year due to poor customer service.
If returning products is difficult, customers will probably never buy from you again. If possible, have customer service agents available 24/7 to help customers with questions and inquiries. Outstanding customer support can shorten the sales cycle significantly and encourage your customers to make repeated purchases.
Final Thoughts
Running an apparel eCommerce store can be challenging but with persistence, hard work, smart strategies, and continual assessments of the market, you’ll be able to stay ahead of your competition and succeed.