Ultimate Guide to Selling Clothes Online: Strategies, Tips, & Platforms

If there’s one thing people love, it’s buying clothes online. In the US, the fashion industry accounts for around 23% of all online retail sales.

If you’re interested in selling apparel, you might think it’s too late. After all, the market is saturated, and all the big brands already sell clothes online.

With that said, the clothing market is still growing. By 2025, the global fashion eCommerce market is expected to be worth $1 trillion.

So, whether you’re interested in curating vintage collections or hawking handmade pieces, it’s never too late to open an online clothing store. All you need is an understanding of the basics. This guide can help.

Getting started with selling clothes online

To start selling clothes online, you’ll need a few essentials (aside from clothes) to help you resonate with your audience. These include:

• A memorable brand name
• A logo
• A brand “look” (colors, fonts, etc.)
• A brand story
• An online storefront

When creating your store, you have the option to use existing platforms like Poshmark, Thred Up, eBay, and Depop, or explore avenues like dropshipping. Each approach has its pros and cons:

Third-party platforms:

Pros:

• Easy setup: These platforms offer user-friendly tools to quickly list and sell your items.
• Built-in audience: Access a large, established customer base without needing to invest heavily in marketing.
• Lower initial costs: Minimal upfront investment compared to building your own site.

Cons:

• Limited branding: You have less control over the look and feel of your store.
• Fees and commissions: These platforms take a percentage of your sales, which can add up over time.
• Competition: You’ll be competing with many other sellers on the same platform, which can make it harder to stand out.

Centralized website:

Pros:

• Full control: Customize every aspect of your store to reflect your brand identity.
• No marketplace fees: Keep all the profits from your sales without having to pay commissions to a third-party platform.
• Customer loyalty: Build a direct relationship with your customers and encourage repeat business.

Cons:

• Setup and maintenance costs: Building and maintaining a website requires an initial investment in time and money.
• Marketing efforts: You’ll need to invest in marketing strategies to drive traffic to your site.
• Site maintenance: Regularly updating and managing your website can be time-consuming.

Using both approaches can provide a balanced strategy. Leverage the built-in audience of third-party platforms to gain initial traction while simultaneously building a unique brand identity through your own website. This way, you can enjoy the best of both worlds and maximize your reach and sales potential.

This last must-have brings us to our next step: creating the store itself.

Choosing the right platforms

Once you have packaging and the clothes to fill it with, you need a place to sell your apparel. 

Unless you can afford to open a brick-and-mortar location, you can either sell your clothes through an eCommerce platform like Wix, through online marketplaces, through affiliate links, or through social media. Here are the realities of both choices.

eCommerce platforms

If you choose a platform like Wix, you’ll have all the tools to create your brand and establish a storefront. While setting up your site takes some time and effort, these tools make the process more manageable and help you get started efficiently. All you have to do is follow the steps!

In general, eCommerce platforms are ideal for selling clothes since they’re designed for online retail. These platforms provide tools and features to help you effectively manage and grow your clothing business.

Best of all, Wix offers multiple plans to suit all your needs, providing the functionality required to effectively sell clothes online. . As your store grows, you may need to upgrade, but the free trial is an excellent way to test the waters.

Social media and marketplaces

Alternatively, you can create a social media page to sell clothes online. Platforms like Instagram and Facebook have built-in tools—such as product tags and carousel ads—to help you list clothes and reach users.

To begin, activate a free Business account and start making posts. You can also list individual goods on Facebook Marketplace to see if selling is right for you.

As a free tool, social media is incredibly powerful. However, successful brands combine social media sales with their eCommerce platform.

Online marketplaces

Online marketplaces such as Poshmark, ThredUp, Depop, and eBay offer easy setup with tools to list and sell your items quickly. These platforms provide access to an established customer base actively looking to buy clothes, which can be advantageous for new sellers. 

However, you’ll face competition from other sellers and have limited control over your brand’s presentation, along with paying a percentage of your sales as commission.

Affiliate links

Affiliate marketing platforms like LTK (Like to Know) allow you to earn commissions by sharing affiliate links to clothing products. This method is ideal for those with a substantial social media following, as it integrates easily into your existing content. 

While affiliate marketing requires minimal investment and management, your earnings depend on the traffic and engagement you generate.

By understanding the benefits and challenges of each platform, you can choose the best approach to selling clothes online that aligns with your business goals and resources. Combining different platforms can also help maximize your reach and sales potential.

Setting up an online clothing store  

No matter how you sell, you’ll want to look professional. Shoppers are more likely to try an unknown brand if it seems trustworthy.

Check out these tips for creating the best possible store:

• Take high-quality photos – When customers can’t come in and touch your clothes, photos are the next best thing. So, think about the background color you use, the model, the styling—everything.

• Write detailed product descriptions – Along with photos, product descriptions will help customers understand what to expect. Make sure your descriptions are detailed and include keywords that your shoppers will search for.

• Use an automated inventory tracker – To set yourself up for success, use an inventory tracker from the beginning. Many ecommerce platforms include automatic inventory tools that update when you make a sale.

• Secure a unique domain name – Your domain name is an extension of your branding, so use it as an opportunity to showcase your personality and create stronger brand recognition. To stand out, consider a non-traditional domain extension like .clothing, .boutique, .shop, .store, or .style. Not only will you make a more memorable impression, but you’ll also have an easier time securing the full web address you want (since many .com domain names are already taken). 

• Establish a clear return policy – A transparent and fair return policy builds customer trust and can improve their shopping experience. Clearly outline the conditions for returns, exchanges, and refunds, and make this information easily accessible on your site.

Marketing your online clothing store

Of course, setting up your store is only the first step. If you want people to buy your clothes, you’ll want to experiment with marketing strategies.

SEO and content marketing

As a new brand, SEO and content marketing are your best friends. They’re inexpensive, easy to implement, and effective.

• SEO (search engine optimization) involves using keywords, title tags, and links to help your website rank higher in online search results. The higher your ranking, the more people will visit your store. 
• Consider using product feeds to optimize your listings for search engines and improve visibility. Product feeds provide detailed information about your products to search engines, making it easier for potential customers to find your items.
• Content marketing refers to blogs, videos, and graphics that draw potential customers in.

Together, content marketing and SEO can help you drive organic traffic to your site and sell more.

Email marketing

As people buy your clothes (and subscribe to your newsletter if you have one), you’ll collect email addresses. With this email list, you can start remarketing to previous customers, using discounts and loyalty programs to bring them back.

However, you don’t want to contact customers from your personal email.

Instead, for a more professional first impression, use Google Workspace to create a business email address. A business email makes your messages more legitimate—and your customers more likely to buy again.

Start selling clothes online today

These days, you can sell clothes online in no time. Once you have your inventory, all you need to do is solidify your branding, set up your website, and start marketing your clothing to shoppers around the world.

And every step of the way, Name.com can help you succeed.

From custom domain names to industry-standard business tools like Wix and Google Workspace, Name.com provides everything you need to become the next big name in the fashion game—all on one easy-to-use platform. 

Sources: 

Statista. Fashion e-commerce in the United States – statistics & facts. https://www.statista.com/topics/3481/fashion-e-commerce-in-the-united-states/#topicOverview
Statista. Fashion e-commerce market value worldwide from 2023 to 2027. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1298198/market-value-fashion-ecommerce-global/