How to Increase Sales in Clothing Business?[ An 18-step guide]

Human society has stepped into a digital era of information. Using the internet has become a daily norm, exponentially increasing the scale of the network shopping market. The recent pandemic has supplemented this growth by changing the way people shop.

Be it a physical store or an online clothing business, visibility is essential. For most clothing brands stores, setting up attractive boards with slogans and discount/sale hoarding have done wonders. Online businesses rely more on creative content and social media marketing strategy. Here is a guide on how to increase sales in clothing business.

Step 1: Defining USP and target market

The first step in how to increase sales in clothing business is having a clear vision for your business. This can be further broken down into the following steps.

Step 2: Market the clothing line

After the business essentials have been developed through previous steps, entrepreneurs should consider the following items in their marketing strategies:

• Selecting company’s logo.
• Creating an online presence.

Step 3: Make sure that your products are on-point

A winning product will generate more sales. Know your numbers by keeping an eye on the product performance. Forecast demand by studying performance reports and avoid stock-outs to not miss out on sales opportunities. Stock-outs reduce customer satisfaction and perception of the brand. It will automatically send your client straight to your competitors.

Step 4: Create a fantastic website

A good website is an excellent answer to how to increase sales in clothing business. You can  bring in more money by creating an appealing and aesthetically pleasant website. Here are some things to add:

• A catalogue to be accompanied by creative content.
• Accurate information about your store’s opening hours and location.
• All about the range of clothing you sell.
• Visual content like recent photos, virtual tours of stores.
• Customer reviews.

Step 5: Have an app

Social media is one of the most cost-effective tools to increase the marketing of products. Invest in an application to showcase your collection. An app makes a direct relationship with the customer. They feel like they are at an exclusive portal for surfing and shopping.

Step 6: Enhance service awareness to provide thoughtful and careful terminal services

Consumer demand can be met easily in physical clothing stores, wherein they can enjoy a very comprehensive range of services, such as returned goods, minor alterations, etc.

However, when buying clothes online, it becomes difficult to offer such value-added services. To attract more consumers to shop on your website, you can upgrade the quality of service in the following areas:

• Satisfy consumer restock demands.
• Provide easy exchanges.
• Trial at-home services for a nominal fee.

Step 7: Unconditional return policy

Another great answer to how to increase sales in clothing business is practising an unconditional return policy. When clothing purchased online does not fit, replacement or return is one of the problems encountered by the E-commerce clothing enterprises. They often enforce harsh return policies, making online shoppers daunting. Even if the clothing enterprises agree to provide consumers with returns, freight charges are usually paid by the consumers themselves, increasing the burden of online shoppers.

In most western countries and some Asian countries and regions, including Hong Kong, the unconditional return system has become a business practice for a long time. If the buyer is not satisfied with the items purchased, they return them with no questions asked. This ensures product quality and requires merchants to fulfil their commitments better.

Step 8: Safety protocols in stores

Due to the recent pandemic, people are not quite sure about visiting stores for shopping. However, increased safety measures and operational changes have encouraged those customers to visit stores who like to try clothes before buying.

• Increased cleanliness.
• Monitoring and metering guest access.
• Quantity limits on in-demand items.
• Plexiglass shields at checklanes.
• Masks available and required.
• Social distancing to be practised.
• Dedicated shopping hours from vulnerable teams and guests.
• Regular sanitisation of baskets.

Step 9: Start a marketing campaign for a cause you care about

Find a message that speaks to you and your customers and post it on social media through marketing tools. For example - bringing plus-size models into the limelight worked for many clothing brands to target people who wear oversized clothes. These kinds of campaigns attract positive attention and hence increase sales.

Step 10: Use the right social media tools

Unfortunately, there is no magical social media recipe. So, how to increase sales in clothing business? Craft a social media strategy for your business with defined goals. You can also Increase sales in clothing business by using the right tools to market on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other platforms. Links, Tailwind, Buffer, Tagboard, Hootsuite, Followerwonk and Everypost, are popular toolkits for online marketing.

Also Read: Clothing Manufacturers in India

Step 11: Customer service expertise

An important step in how to increase sales in clothing business is to hire an experienced customer service expert. Brands and businesses being handled online need to be prompt in responding to customer requests or grievances. The method of making customers keep returning to buy future products is mostly caused by satisfaction with the product quality and warranties for damage. This includes a smart solution of stimulating customers to keep returning to buy products.

Step 12: Invest in ads

Most people spend their time browsing the internet. Google ads are expensive as compared to Facebook or YouTube ads. Increase sales in clothing business by investing in advertisement campaigns depending on the budget and goals.

Step 13: Data-driven sales process

Maximum revenue can be generated by investing in tools that are capable of extracting data from social softwares. Through RFIDs in loyalty cards, customers can be tracked. Data is used to track each and every action of the customer related to purchases, item selection, discounts availed etc.

Step 14: Increase promotional activities and meet client’s personalised demands

Through on-demand customisation, you can:

• Meet the individuality demand of consumers.
• Win a good reputation in the market.
• Strengthen customer loyalty.
• Increase market share for clothing enterprises.

Step 15: Attract people through spearhead products

Select an item that could be advertised and promoted having the right message and appeal, which is likely to be just a click away from your potential client. Convert it into a campaign if required.

Step 16: Get them early

Holding early pre-season sales to get into customers’ wallets before holiday shopping rushes commence is another great answer to how to increase sales in clothing business. Postseason sales are often tiring, so promote a wide selection to choose from, good pricing and a calm shopping environment for customers.

Step 17: Host events

Offering free babysitting services allows parents to shop hassle-free and attend promotional events in store. Target festival times such as New Year, Christmas etc., to host events, and people like to spend money and shop around this time.

Step 18: Costing factors in clothing business

Determining different costing factors when starting the business to eventually increase sales in clothing business is important.

1. Manufacturing Cost
2. Quantity
3. Location
4. Material Cost
5. Marketing Costs
6. Design Costs
7. Licensing or Business Permit
8. Labour Costs
9. Starting a website

Wrapping Up

We have walked you through heaps of ideas to increase the sales of your clothing business. It is important to realise that retail success doesn’t just come down to just one thing. It requires a solid approach and strategy. Clothing businesses online assure the following benefits:

• Reliability
• Customer relationship management.
• Online marketing.
• Better protection for customers’ personal data.
• Clear business directions of products and services.
• Effective and reliable software, hardware systems, and networks.
• Seeing the importance of product and service purchasing.
• Availability of reliable payment channels.
• Adequate numbers of products and services to be compared for customers’ purchase decisions.

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FAQs

Q. Who am I targeting with my product and advertising strategy?

Ans. When starting a clothing business, it is important to define the niche of the business to be covered. The brand can cover one or two different markets, depending on the business’s vision.

Q. How do you encourage repeat sales of your product?

Ans. When consumers receive a certain product, they notice the parcel, packaging, bag and box that defines the customer experience. If you buy a coat, finding a voucher to redeem online inside the pocket would be a pleasant experience for the customer.

Q. Do I need to invest in an influencer to increase sales of my clothing business?

Ans. Offer sharing is a common practice across most social media platforms. Since there are a lot of social media influencers, it is easy to negotiate with mid-level influencers and get maximum views.