How to Sell Wholesale Clothing: 9 Tips from FondMart
Oct 25,2021
For people who ask the question like how to sell wholesale clothing may just start their wholesale clothing business or have gotten their clothes but still not clear how to start their marketing plan. Here, we will give you 9 tips of how to start selling wholesale clothing. However, before we started, we should understand the definition of wholesale and the benefits of wholesale clothing, which will encourage you to follow the tips and help you sell your wholesale clothing well.
Table of Contents
What is Suitable for Wholesale Online?
Nowadays, with the trend of B2B e-commerce and the influence of coronavirus, more people try to sell wholesale clothing online, so we write the article to help you solve the problem of how to sell wholesale clothing online with 4 best ways to expand your wholesale business.
According to statistics published in 2019, the United States is one of the largest and most mature global markets in terms of B2B e-commerce adoption. And the B2B e-commerce volume in the United States reached a record 6.7 trillion U.S. dollars, more than double the 3.2 trillion registered only a decade earlier.
B2B e-commerce refers to the exchange of goods and services between businesses via online platforms. If you're involved in B2B or wholesale e-commerce in any way, you are part of the fastest growing industry in the market today. Although still smaller than its retail counterpart, B2B e-commerce has seen exponential growth over the last few years and is projected to grow even bigger in the near future.
What is Wholesale?
First, let’s define wholesaling.
Wholesale is produced with the development of the commodity economy. The development of commodity production and commodity exchange has increased the purchase and sales of commodities and expanded the scope of circulation. The direct exchange of commodities between producers and between producers and retailers is often difficult or inconvenient, so special production buyers directly purchase goods and then resell them to other producers or retailers in the wholesale business.
Wholesale is the intermediate link between production and retail. Through commercial wholesale activities, social products enter the circulation field from the production field, and play a role in organizing and mobilizing the circulation of commodities between regions. It can also play the role of a "reservoir" through commodity storage to balance commodity supply and demand. Judging from the development experience of the foreign wholesale industry, the overall ratio of wholesale to retail trade is on a downward trend. However, the volume of wholesale commodity transactions is still on the rise and it still occupies an important position in the circulation of goods.
This term describes the practice of selling goods in bulk to retailers for resale. The retailer can then repackage these items at a higher price by selling in small batches. This means that the goods will not be delivered to the dealer in a for-sale manner.
There is a division of work between wholesale and retail within the business sector. The wholesale business is generally operated by wholesale companies, each batch of goods sold in large quantities, and sold at the wholesale price. The wholesale price of the commodity is lower than the retail price, that is, there is a wholesale and retail price difference, and the difference is composed of the circulation costs, taxes and profits consumed by the retail enterprise.
What is Suitable for Wholesale Online?
Though the B2B e-commerce is growing fast, but actually not all the products are suitable for wholesale clothing.
The following products are suitable for sale online, take a look:
1. Smaller size. Mainly to facilitate transportation and reduce transportation costs. Larger, heavier, and low-priced products are not suitable for online sales, because the logistics costs of the products are too high when they are mailed. If this cost is allocated to the buyer, it will inevitably reduce the buyer's purchase desire.
2. Higher added value. A single product with a value lower than the shipping fee is not suitable for online sales. The price should be relatively stable. Don't make products with unstable prices in a relatively short period of time. The small shop owner who opened the shop in the early stage cannot bear this risk.
3. Individuality or fashion. Goods sold in online stores are often distinctive or very fashionable.
4. The price is more reasonable. If you can buy it at the same price offline, no one will buy it online. If it can only be bought online, such as foreign trade orders or products directly brought back from abroad. Avoid large-scale products such as products. First, these products have relatively low profits, and second, the price is relatively transparent. Third, the ubiquitous products are not so attractive after all. There can be too many popularity and orders in the initial store, if it can't be formed With a certain amount, it is difficult to continue.
5. Knowing through the website can arouse the viewer's desire to buy. If this product must be seen in person to achieve the trust required for purchase, then it is not suitable for online shop sales. If there is a purchase channel for branded goods, you can consider making branded goods, because such products have a high degree of strength, even if the buyer does not see the real thing, they also know the quality of the product
After reading what is suitable for wholesale online, you will find out that clothes are good for wholesale clothing online.
Why Choose Wholesale Clothing as Your Business?
Why choose wholesale clothing? Because wholesale clothing is growing so fast!
In wholesale sales, because you sell to businesses rather than individual consumers, the orders tend to be large. Unlike B2C sales that only sell a small number of products to end customers, the number of products you sell will be several times the number of B2C sales orders. Thus, this means that with only one order, your sales income will usually reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. Depending on the type of business you sell and the products you sell, your average order value may be much higher. These large orders will drive your revenue up, and as customers increase, revenue growth will also increase.
Here are some things you need to consider so that you can contribute to the growth of B2B e-commerce:
#1: Mobile and Social Media Ready
Nowadays, mobile applications and markets are becoming more and more popular because they provide convenience when making sales. You have to notice that 79% of smartphone users use their mobile devices to shop online. This tells us that mobile-ready e-commerce platforms have contributed to the overall growth of the industry.
In order to sell products to new potential customers, you need to determine the location of your target customers. Some B2B platforms provide features that can help you determine which social media platforms you can use to better expand your reach.
Today’s customers are also not shy about sharing their thoughts on their buying experience online, and can comment on social media—whether positive or otherwise. This may be good for your wholesale clothing business, but it’s also good to have your own platform where your customers can leave comments for other potential customers to see.
#2: Order and Payment Flexibility
No sales transaction is the same. These differences can be seen by any simple things, such as changes in shipping details or updates to preferred payment methods. In any case, your B2B e-commerce platform should be able to adapt to these types of changes without requiring too many efforts from your customers.
Because of the convenience you provide, most of your repeat customers may start a business with you. Don’t lose your target customers because your e-commerce platform does not allow them to change the order or payment details.
Until now, you may have a vague idea about how to sell wholesale clothing online, so keep reading our useful tips, which help you make it clear.
How to Sell Wholesale Clothing (9 Tips)
Tip #1: Be Familiar with the Characteristics of the Clothes
First of all, you have to be familiar with the characteristics of the clothes you are selling, even the blank clothing wholesale. Advantages, disadvantages, price strategy, technology, varieties, specifications, promotion, competitive products, alternative products. Especially in front of customers, pay attention to show that they are very familiar with the product. For example, excellent clothes are categorized according to the clothing length, sleeve style, material, waist type, sleeve length, collar, and other features. Besides, you should understand the differences of a variety of flattering styles and materials: lace, faux suede, velvet and cotton. it is important that you understand the characteristic of the clothes so that you can be more professional.
Tip #2: Know Your Target Customers
As a wholesaler, everyone wants to find their own real manufacturer, or a direct seller, because this is the most direct and the most favorable price. But in fact, it is unwise to do so, especially for merchants who have just started to do wholesale. The reason is that the funds just did not have an advantage in wholesale. What is more important is that there is no complete set of purchase channels. It is more that you follow the trend when you see other people's sales.
As consumer demands change, so should suppliers' tactics and means of sale. Customers are the focal point of every business. Familiar with the target customers for whom you are selling products. Customers can be divided into several categories, in what way, and what different customer categories should be used.
These target customers should be classified, which are core customers, those non-core customers, which are key customers, and which are non-key customers. The time and energy allocated to different types of customers are different.
Remember that you’re not the only one looking to make profits, so you need to understand the needs of your prospective retailers so you know how to convince them that your products can benefit them. You can also find out the stores that sell your competitor’s products and analyze the value they have.
If you are to succeed, then you need to spend a lot of time researching suitable prospects and targeting them specifically with the information you know is important to them.
In fact, different customers will lead to different results. The best purchase channel to start wholesale is your side, your relationship group, as long as there are customers who want you to find goods from your fellow villagers, although you don’t have more goods, you must treat all of them.
Tip #3: Learn about the Clothing Market
Besides, you have to be familiar with the market of the product. How is the market segmented, what are the competitors, what is the capacity of the market, the geographical distribution of customers and the time distribution of products, and the short-term development trend of the product market (the development trend in the next 2-3 years). When promoting products, time should be arranged reasonably, and space should be allocated according to customers' buying habits and geographic location.
To maintain a good customer relationship with major customers, channel follow-up must be timely, understand the pain points of customers and follow up and solve them in a timely manner. Always pay attention to market trends, understand the reasons for sales fluctuations, and improve your sales plan. Various channels emerge in an endless stream in the big environment. For example, the coronavirus has affected the global economy very well. New channels should be followed up and developed. Many online channels have to consider capital risks.
You can also take a look at our blog how to calculate wholesale and retail price for clothing.
Tip #4: Calculate the Price to Sell
A significant difference between B2C and B2B wholesale sales is the need to create different pricing lists for wholesale customers. In B2B wholesale sales, you have to deal with different types of customers. Your clients can range from small independent companies to large multinational companies. Due to the different frequency and quantity of these customers, the prices you offer to these customers should be different.
The easiest way to track these different prices is to use pricing lists to track prices and terms for each customer or customer type. This helps ensure that you always provide the correct pricing for your customers. You may also need to provide quantity-based discounts based on the customer's order volume. You will set the pricing tier based on the total quantity or value of the ordered products.
For example,
If the wholesaler buyer buys more than 100 pieces, they pay $5/piece.
If wholesale buyers buy more than 500 pieces, they pay $4 per piece.
If wholesale buyers purchase more than 1,000 pieces, they pay $3/piece.
By offering larger discounts for higher quantities, you will encourage wholesale buyers to place larger orders because they can enjoy more unit savings. Overall, this will help your business generate more sales.
Tip #5: You Must Persist
There may be many reasons that wholesale customers may not be able to purchase from you when you get in touch with them. For example, they could have used up their budget for this season, or there are already some new brands in trial. So you can ask for a little feedback that will help you understand anything you can do, but it may well be a matter of time.
Persistence is the key and you have to keep the relationship open and don't give up. Even if you haven't sold products to them yet, stay involved and build meaningful relationships. If they really are the right store for you, then the timing will eventually be right.
Learn how to sell wholesale clothing is very important. Selling is not blindly arrogant, you must sum up the experience at any time and continuously improve. Moreover, sales also have the characteristic that it is very difficult to substitute at the beginning, and there is no way to start. As the replacement time grows, it will gradually get better. Many business opportunities will be unearthed from it. The sales process is also a process of expanding interpersonal communication. Through this kind of activity, the network of personal relationships will be greatly expanded, and the amount of information will also be greatly increased. These networks of personal relationships and market information will provide a lot of opportunities for further entrepreneurship.
Tip #6: Register in a Suitable Platform
With the fast growing of B2B e-commerce, you can easily find out many places to sell your wholesale clothing online. For example, shopify and woocommerce can help you build your own page to sell your clothes. Shopify is a one-stop SaaS e-commerce service platform that provides e-commerce sellers with technology for building online stores and also manages sales, payment, logistics and other services.
You can see that lowering the technical threshold for small merchants to operate online stores is the most basic business of Shopify. Merchants register an account, select a website template, upload products and add descriptions, set prices and logistics options, and add payment methods to generate a beautiful and reliable independent station in a short time.
If you want to sell your wholesale clothing online with a satisfactory beginning, you should first register in a great platform that will help you save a lot of time.
Tip #7: Find Qualified Suppliers
It is vital that you find qualified suppliers because the quality of the clothes will finally affect your benefits. If you want to purchase items that have never been purchased before, or services that you have not had the opportunity to handle so far, the first thing you need to do is to research potential suppliers.
There are several ways to do this. The first step is to make a list of five or more suppliers. From here, you can further narrow down the scope until you find a supplier that meets your needs.
We provide you with the following methods to help you find suppliers in your area:
First, you can search for suppliers on Google. Because a quick search for suppliers on Google is a good starting point. Once you find some, be sure to visit their website to learn more about them.
Second, you can also view trade publications, trade journals, and supplier catalogs. This is a simple Google search, as most qualified suppliers will be listed.
Besides, you can also try to talk to other people. Finally, you can ask your colleagues and people in your industry if they have any suppliers they can recommend. But remember, what works for them may not work for you. You still need to dig deeper to see if the supplier has what it needs.
After completing these, you should have a list of vendors that meet your wide-ranging needs. From here, the next step is to evaluate each of them individually.
We FondMart can exactly provide you with the clothes you want from trustworthy suppliers and manufacturers.
Tip #8: Improve Your Product Description and Pictures
You need to improve your product description and pictures. As retailers sell products online, there is no way for retailers to get close to clothes, so they pay much attention to product descriptions and images. This helps them to better understand the product before buying in bulk.
Therefore, if you want to impress buyers, make sure to take high-quality pictures of your products. This can be done with simple backgrounds and lighting to ensure that retailers can easily view the finer details of your merchandise. Since the number of pictures that can be uploaded on the page is limited, you can prepare many product pictures for later needs.
As for description, we can tell you from experience that including stories is one of the best ways to attract buyers.
Use an initial reasonable description to describe how your product will improve the lives of your customers. Especially when it comes to wholesale clothing, you can talk about the quality of your clothing and the excellent price to attract your customers. You can also include technical specifications at the end of the description, such as product size and country of origin. When retailers see that products are beneficial to their audience, they will definitely notice.
Tip #9: Try Methods to Encourage Your Customers to Buy
Just like any modern enterprise, customers are the core of B2B e-commerce. Providing customers with a positive experience at any stage of the buyer’s journey always guarantees new business or repeat orders.
In order to encourage your customers to purchase your wholesale clothing online, you should try your best to attract them. Here are some methods that you can have a try. We hope you can benefit from our recommendations.
#1: NO MOQ
This means your customers can purchase without minimum order quantity though you are selling wholesale clothing. For some small buyers, they don’t have much money to purchase a large quantity of clothes while they want a huge collection of different types and styles of your clothes. Solving the problem of how to buy clothing wholesale without minimum purchase is also very important,which can help you save investment cost and make more money.
#2: Fast Payment Method
Fast payment methods can help your customers pay the clothing quickly, accordingly you can start following steps quickly. Thus, the total processing time will be short.
For example, PayPal is an amazing online game and one of the most trusted payment methods in the world. You only need to register with PayPal, and any detailed information you provide will be well protected using system encryption technology. PayPal is not only great but also very reliable, simple to use, fast, and widely accepted by gaming platforms. Besides, if you are a B2B business, your payment plan may include ACH processing. In the survey, 53% of respondents believe that ACH is the most popular B2B payment method in North America.
#3: Fast Delivery
As a customer, we always want to get what we want as quickly as possible. Thus, you have to pay attention to the speed of delivery. You’d better provide fast shipping to satisfy your customers, which means you have to cooperate with some quick logistics.
Besides, you should automate your order management and product distribution processes as much as possible. The key value of automation is that it simplifies the complex fulfillment process and reduces the need for manual labor, enabling you to provide better and more efficient customer service, from ordering to payment and shipping.
#4: After Sale
Keeping in touch with buyers after the sale is very important to lay a solid foundation and ultimately develop the wholesale clothing business.
Call to follow up after the buyer receives the order to ensure everything is delivered as expected. Invite them to provide feedback to help you improve the process. This can be done via a telephone survey or another follow-up email.
When buyers say they are satisfied with your service, ask them to leave you a review on Google, Facebook, and the B2B e-commerce marketplace of your choice. Collect recommendations in written or video format. These will help build your credibility and attract new customers.
Keep in touch with your buyers so you can ensure that they order from you again when they run out of stock or want to add new clothes to their product line.
If your goal is an online retailer, you should also know:
Who are their target customers?
How do they acquire customers?
How do they showcase the products they sell online?
Have a preliminary understanding of the price and performance of related products, so that you won't be at a loss when customers come. As long as the production and sales are going smoothly, then the business will also pick up. At this time, it will be easy to find the source of goods according to your customer's demand. As for wholesale women’s clothing, FondMart is your best choice!
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