Cloth fashion and trends come and go. Every season a new collection of clothes are made. People love to buy clothes whenever new trends come or old trends are revived.
The cloth industry also creates tons of waste. Big companies such as H&M, Zara, Mango, etc., have big factories producing colossal merchandise. Many of these merchandise get rejected for very minor faults and are disposed of. People often buy clothes and barely wear them before disposal because they are either out of fashion or don't fit them.
What happens to these clothes?
These rejected disposed clothes are sold by street markets at a lesser cost. The most famous market in Delhi is Sarojini Nagar. There are various markets in Mumbai, Surat, and Delhi, as these are the hearts of India's fashion and textile industries.
Many people buy clothes from these markets, wash and resell them. This is known as thrifting. Thrifted items are exclusive, sometimes from well-known brands, and are in good condition too.
Do you own a thrift store?
Then this blog will be the perfect read for you.
Many thrift store owners sell their merchandise via social media apps like Instagram and marketplace websites like Amazon, eBay, Flipkart, etc. I am here to tell you that this is not enough. Your small business needs an online store.
Why is Instagram not enough?
- Selling via Instagram gives you a lesser reach. People who do not have accounts on these social media apps are unaware of your store.
- Showcasing details like size, price, material quality is very difficult via Instagram.
- People do not appreciate the brand value and try to negotiate the price.
- People prefer to shop via websites and online stores as they feel social media is just for recreation.
- Storing their personal information for shipping is also cumbersome.
Why should website owners shift to online stores?
Websites are a great way to have an online presence and to promote your brand. But if you are selling items such as thrift clothes, an online store is a better option than a simple website.
Let me tell you the advantages of an online store-
1. Online Store is profitable
Starting any new business must make a profit. And online clothing thrift store is super profitable. There can't be any other reason on top than this to start it today.
I would recommend taking your thrift store online to really boost profits. You'll reach a larger market of customers and save on all the costs of a traditional store. In fact, profit margins for online stores like Amazon FBA average 35% and higher.
2. Help save the environment and our planet
Manufacturing, producing, packaging, and distributing new clothing takes a lot of energy and water. By selling and buying secondhand clothing instead of brand new, you help reduce waste and help the planet. Further, taking it online not only save money but also reduce carbon footprints. In this way, thrift shopping is the ultimate way to live out the "reduce, reuse, recycle" motto!
After the above two most important benefits, here are a few more you must read and consider to go online.
3. Organizes all your products
You can create various categories like new collections, men, women, accessories, etc., and segregate your products in them.
It makes it more accessible for potential clients to browse through the different categories and collections. Focus and ease of navigation increase the chances of viewers converting into clients.
4. Allow you to upload high-resolution photographs.
In online stores, pictures are the deciding factor for purchases. In social media platforms, whenever you upload pictures, the clarity gets diminished. This makes it difficult for customers to see the details of the pictures because it gets hazy.
In website stores, the quality of the images stays intact, and you can upload multiple pictures and videos of your products. This allows customers to have a better idea of the products and creates a 'want' for the products.
5. Allows you to present your product for shopping
In a website store, you can write detailed product descriptions, provide details such as fabric, size, color, condition, etc. You can also mention what kind of care fabric is required.
People need proper product information and product images to make their purchase decision. When all this is provided uniformly for all products, they can compare them and buy them.
6. Safe payment gateway
Online payment is the need of the hour. People love buying from thrift stores, but they feel afraid to use cards on social media. But a website store is are secured with an SSL certificate and PCI DSS compliant, which makes all payments secured.
7. Gives you a clear idea of the orders and inventory
A website store gives you a clear idea about the orders placed on the store. Reports can show you orders which have been fulfilled and which haven't been fulfilled. It also offers details such as when the order was placed and by when it should get delivered.
After every purchase, the website store automatically updates which products are sold out and which ones are available. So, you get a clear idea of your stock.
Additionally, you can track all your orders and know exactly where they are and when they will reach the client. You can share the links with the customers so that they can track their orders too!
8. Provides all the details of the customers
A website store collects all the clients' data such as the address, contact number, payment details, etc. When shipping the orders, it gets easier because all your data is organized in one place.
On social media apps, clients share their details via messages which gets very confusing.
9. Website store helps you in marketing
You need to market your brand and project it as exclusive and better over the competition. To do that, you need to have a website store. Webstore helps in SEO marketing and makes your brand visible to a larger audience.
You can also check the growth of your website. That means the number of the viewer, conversion rate, click-throughs, etc. This will help you in formulating your marketing strategy.
10. Thrift Stores Have More Than Just Clothes
Thrift stores go beyond clothes. They're the ultimate one-stop shopping experience, a much cooler version of Wal-Mart superstores. You can sell almost any used things.
You can almost sell anything in your online thrift store like accessories, shoes, home furnishings – table, cotton bed sheets, armchairs, baskets, picture frames, dishes, glasses, curtains, futon cover, bath mat, baking pans, and mirrors.
There are numerous advantages of an online store for your thrift store. If you already have a brick store or a simple website, you also must have an online store for your thrift clothing business.
Some of you must've started their thrift store right now and are scared to invest in a website store. But don't you worry, Ninjin is the ideal online store builder for you. It is a ready-to-use and user-friendly e-commerce solution for your thrift store.
The best part is Ninjin requires no coding knowledge and has a free version too! So if you want to take things slow, you can create a store for free! Anytime you want to upgrade to the premium version, you can do that too!
To know more details about Ninjin, click here.