The retail eCommerce revenues from accessories and apparel are growing rapidly in the US as in 2022, they reached $180.5 billion. Based on statistics, it is expected to increase to almost $300 billion. With this in mind, entrepreneurs can realize there is still time to start a business in this industry, whether it is a wholesale beanie store, an accessories shop, or even a wholesale t-shirts near-me store.
As technology is continuously developing in such a rapid way, there is no wonder that the online retail industry has grown so much in the past few years. Due to that, now is the perfect moment for any entrepreneur with a strong passion for fashion to start.
A Business Plan is a Must
The first important thing that every future store owner should do before starting in this industry is to create a business plan. Unfortunately, it is about more than just making money from selling some items. Many other important factors have to be well-thought-out, such as:
- The company’s vision and description, including the products which will be sold, the budget, the demographics, and also one or more strategies to become competitive.
- Market analysis is also important no matter what industry the company operates in.
- Research on suppliers, both local and foreign ones. This can be done with a quick search on Google on “wholesale t-shirts near me” or “international wholesale beanies suppliers.”
- A strong summary of the future short-term and long-term goals of the company.
Choose a Reliable Ecommerce Platform
Considering the huge revenues that an online presence can bring to the business, having an online store is something that every entrepreneur should consider. The best part is that, nowadays, anyone can create an online store very fast using the performant eCommerce platforms available on the market. But, of course, before choosing a platform to work with, store owners should be aware of the followings:
- The technical knowledge level they have. If someone is not so used to technology, he or she must hire someone to take care of the online presence, which will become an extra cost for the company.
- Choosing the platform with a decent monthly fee and the number of features, themes, and requirements needed for the future business.
- A budget analysis, as the marketing costs can be higher initially and might affect the business finances overall.
- Research on a professional marketing team to help the business grow rapidly is also a must.
The most popular and easy-to-work-with platform is Shopify, where business owners can create a webshop themselves.
Find a Reliable Wholesale Beanies Supplier for Your Business
Finding a reliable supplier is the next critical step in starting your wholesale beanies store. Quality is a very important factor that makes a big difference between sellers. It also increases customer retention, which is another essential aspect that must be considered. Any business owner wants their customers to come back and purchase more, but only a few customers are coming back to buy from the same place after they were once disappointed in the quality of a product. Because of that, choosing a highly professional and serious supplier is a significant move.
One of the best ways to test the product’s quality is to ask the suppliers to send over some samples of their products. Following this strategy, future store owners can get samples from more supplies and compare the quality of the products. After finding a quality supplier, the next step that anyone should follow is to check their policies and terms and conditions. Remember that you will need apparel fulfillment, which is handling orders for clothing and accessories from when the order is placed to the customer’s delivery point. This includes managing inventory, receiving orders, processing orders, picking, and packing.
Attract More Customers by Selling T-shirts
A great strategy to attract more customers to a store is offering a larger variety of products. For instance, if someone is selling wholesale t-shirts near me, it would be smart to add some accessories like wholesale beanies or baseball hats that he could cross-sell to the clients. Of course, this works in niched stores, especially if the products are small accessories like necklaces, bracelets, or any other complementary vestimentary piece.
Find a Local Supplier Searching for Wholesale T-Shirts Near Me on Google
Finding a local supplier is optional for those looking for a physical store, but it might be a great help if there is one. To find a local supplier, entrepreneurs can do a google search on, for example, wholesale t-shirts near me and they can see if there is one close to them.
Having a local supplier as a collaborator is great mainly because shop owners will never run out of stock and they can easily check their future product’s quality in real life.
Doing Business Online vs Having a Physical Store
Even if online selling is growing rapidly, making up 46% of U.S. apparel sales, physical stores still generate more than half of the total sales. So before deciding which way to sell the products, entrepreneurs should know the pros and cons of both of them.
- The costs: Opening an online store requires a significantly smaller investment than opening a storefront which might cost the owner somewhere between $40.000 to $150.000.
- Convenience for customers: online shopping offers customers the flexibility to purchase 24/7 without being constrained by an hourly schedule like regular stores. The inconvenience here is that they need to check the quality of the products in a physical store.
- Implementation process: Establishing a traditional store takes a longer period to be ready for welcoming customers, while getting an online store can be ready to sell somewhere between one day and one week, depending on the complexity of it.
To sum up, anyone should be aware that starting a business also involves risks, whether a wholesale beanies store or a wholesale t-shirts near me business. This is also why researching before starting a business has such an important role. But, with a lot of work, persistence, passion, and a little luck, anyone can get a good living out of their own business.
