The internet has appeared as a great opportunity for those who want to start a new business, aligning it with a great idea, disposition and a certain budget to start investing. 

Several new business opportunities that we come across daily in Brazil, a country that has an entrepreneur DNA, make it a place where all sorts of entrepreneurs find their own target audience, even being hundreds of kilometers far in the distance. 

One of the most popular and thriving online market segments in Brazil, is the online fashion. 

To get a sense of what we’re talking about, in 2019 the brazilian ecommerce had a growth of 22,7% in it’s annual billing compared to 2018, reaching a turnover of R$ 75 billion (aprox. US$18,5 billion). The prediction for 2020 is a turnover of R$ 106 billion… (aprox. US$26,5 billion.)

According to a report from "Digital in 2020: Brasil" (We Are Social and Hootsuite), fashion and beauty segments are the leaders in sales in the digital world. These two categories reached the turnover of US$ 5,25 billion. 

The numbers can definitely prove one thing: brazilian people are passionate about fashion and willing to invest in online stores that offer quality, great customer service and innovation. 

You can then start your own business without even leaving your house! And if you set up an attractive and intuitive online store, offering a special customer service, quality in products, with the right marketing strategy, you will conquer a faithful audience and clientele. 

Having all these demands in mind, we’ve prepared this content that explains how to build an online clothing store.

How much does it cost to set up an Online Clothing Store 

This is the first question you should ask when building an online clothing shop, since you can find three options. 

The first option is to use platforms totally made by you. This is theoretically cheaper, but I assume you heard the statement that says that the cheap becomes expensive… Imagine yourself flying in an airplane in which it’s turbines were made by the pilot. Would you feel safe to fly in this plane? Think about it. 

Setting up an online store in an open source platform generally costs about U$ 4.000, that's because you will spend a lot in specialized human resources, unless you have a great amount of knowledge in programming… 

Another option is hiring the services of a digital marketing agency that will give you all the support, guarantee in results and also a variety of digital marketing strategies needed to potencialize your online store. 

If you are unable or unwilling to do it yourself, consider hiring a web designer.

Why do I need digital marketing strategies for my online clothing store? 

Picture yourself hiring an engineering and architecture firm to build a physical store. They delivered everything just as you imagined, with quality and safety. That’s great, right? 

Now, to bring people into your store you’ll need advertising and marketing strategies. In an online clothing shop the same demand: digital marketing strategies. 

In the video below you’ll have the opportunity to check out some great digital marketing strategies, so you can have an idea:  

What is needed to open an online clothing shop?  

Start your online store right now! 

Legislation for an online clothing store

In Brazil, online stores are regulated by the “Protection of the Consumer Rights” and the decree 9.762/2013 that requires, among other things, that online stores must have a confirmation stage in the moment of purchase, that they talk about it’s information security, the rules in electronic service and that is identifies the website providers. 

Deal with it as a physical business 

You should always remember that questions like how to build an online clothing store must take into account a proper business formalization and the best tax regime; and also things like great customer service and zeal for the showcase, even being online, are essencial. 

Payment methods for an Online Clothing Store 

According to the Webshopers’ report, from Ebit/Bielsen, credit cards are the main payment method in digital shopping made by brazilian people. 

The interesting thing is that the report from “Digital in 2020: Brasil” shows us that only 27% of the brazilian population has a credit card. 

It means that online stores that don’t offer other means of payment besides credit, can easily lose potential clients. 

The payment methods should be done in the most facilitated way, including various methods and various card brands, having low taxes to maximize the profit. The best way to get all of these advantages is to use a gateway payment system like PagSeguro or PayPal.

Free Shipping or Shipping Charge? 

Believe me, people easily give up on buying because of shipping costs. 

There are cases in which the shipping charge is even higher than the product! It can really harm a digital business. 

According to Ebit/Nielsen, approximately 60% of people prefer to pay less in shipping even if it means that the merchandise will take longer to arrive. 

So we recommend spending some time thinking about different strategies for charging the shipping, like: “Free Shipping in purchases over U$ 200!” 

Gather your creativity with sales studies to convert more sales without losing potential clients.

Which is the best Platform for an online clothing store? 

Create an online store just like that one!

The answer to that question depends mainly on the chosen modality for your business. 

There are three options (generally speaking): 

1. Build a store by an open source code, like WordPress; 

2. Build a development of an online store from scratch, with the help of programmers and designers; 

3. Get in contact with a digital marketing agency with its own platform that offers the necessary services for a proper digital marketing business. 

As we discussed before, let’s now focus on the third option. 

In a High Sales agency, besides having costum solutions that answer all the needs of each client, you will still have a personalized layout and support always when needed. It offers a more pleasant searching experience for the users and clients, ensuring quality and avoiding technical problems. 

How to deliver the clothes you sell  

The logistics is a fundamental issue when it comes to building an online clothing business and, therefore, it must be planned beforehand. 

Our best tip is still count on the services from Correios (the main governamental mail company in Brazil). Even with its problems, Correios offer the best pricing and a wide geographical range. 

Your online clothing store needs to be responsive 

In Brazil more than 52% of the internet access is made by smartphones and tablets. 

Your online store must be able to attend this kind of access! It’s then an obligation of yours to make your store responsive – that is, offering the same quality and functionality in computers, smartphones and tablets. 

4 practical tips on how to build an online clothing store 

Use high quality images in your online clothing store 

Clothes are aesthetics objects, and that’s why your store has to be attractive. Having the products images in high definition, form different angles and with zoom options, is fundamental to encourage your client’s final decision. 

define your target audience

Fashion has a straight relationship with a specific social group, in other words, the fashion world has a very well-marked audience in its different styles, so your online store. 

You must know exactly which is your target audience, since a specific piece of clothing may not fit another specific consumer. 

Keep up with the market trends in the online clothing business 

Fashion lives on trends, and relegating them fates your business into failure. 

That’s why you should always follow the news and tendencies in the fashion world, related, of course, to your target audience. 

A competitive price 

Lastly, think about a pricing strategy and make sure your prices are competitive, compared to the other stores. 

Sharing my online store 

Disclosure is vital in any kind of business, and in online stores it happens to be one of the most important elements in order to be successful. 

This is the case to use, for example, SEO strategies, a free way of making disclosure by organic search. Basically it consists in the production of contents and keywords searched by the users on the internet, being present in texts from online stores and blogs about the themes related to your business.

Sharing my online store on Facebook 

Social media are great places to disclose and to search for trends. 

However, when it comes to an online store business, having a store by a Facebook account is not enough, and we recommend you to use it more as a place for your branding and build credibility. 

How to put my online store on Google? 

Advertisement on Google is very similar to SEO, since it also relies on headwords and keywords searched by users, that must appear in the contents and advertisements.

However, by Google strategies, we buy the keywords in order to have a better precision and placing of your site on Google. 

With that said, we can conclude that there are essentially two possible ways of building your online store. 

The first option is studying design and coding and then creating an online business by yourself. 

THe second one relies on working with a specialized company, much more viable in terms of cost and time. 

If you are determined to start an online store, implementing the best technologies and strategies with your ideas, or if you simply want to increase the sales of your actual business, feel free to contact us.