Small and large fashion brands have typically sold wholesale through in-person contacts at trade exhibitions, showrooms, or the offices of major retail chains. You might have signed up for a wholesale marketplace over the past few years.
Although these methods or ideas have helped you over the years, is it time to take a closer look at your own business? Even the smallest boutiques cannot survive without an online store due to the significant changes in the retail scene over the past ten years.
The transition away from brick-and-mortar stores began gradually but quickly turned into an avalanche that engulfed the entire fashion industry, where the majority of brands either sell click-and-mortar or only online.
Global Sales Of B2B E-commerce
The wholesale sector is predicted to undergo a similar change. By 2020, worldwide B2B e-commerce sales will total USD 6.7 trillion, or 27% of all sales, predicts Frost & Sullivan.
In contrast, just USD 4.1 trillion is expected to be made through global retail or B2C e-commerce sales. According to these figures, B2B e-commerce sales will outpace B2C sales by 63% overall.
What About The World Of Fashion?
Retail e-commerce income is predicted to reach $122 billion by 2020 and $145 billion by 2023 in the United States alone when considering the market for clothing, footwear, purses, and accessories.
All signs point to the lower scale of wholesale or B2B e-commerce, which will still expand more quickly to surpass the size of retail e-commerce in line with the general trend.
Do You Need To Switch to B2B E-Commerce?
If you haven’t already done so, you should think very seriously about starting your own B2B e-commerce store right away. The change to e-commerce, even on the wholesale side, will be a quick avalanche, as you’ve seen with the retail side, and you don’t want to be caught unprepared or fall behind your competitors.
On the contrary, you constantly face competition from dozens of other brands and are looking for whatever advantage you can get through B2B apparel directory listings of top websites.
In Reality, There Is No Changeover
Establishing a wholesale e-commerce site does not necessarily mean that your conventional selling strategies will end. If your sales crew is currently knocking on doors, they will keep doing so. You’ll keep doing it if you keep giving presentations at trade shows.
Retailers offer both in-person and online sales, therefore wholesale will not differ significantly. The majority of your consumers may still be obtained through conventional means, but you may engage and provide services to them online.
Five Benefits Of Companies Who Don’t Have An E-commerce Store
You are erecting a home on someone else’s land if you are in a marketplace. Commissions are probably costing you a lot of money. You have zero leverage if they decide to raise prices. Perhaps, there are benefits if you plan a wholesale business for your apparel store. Let’s discuss:
Lessen The Turbulence In The Purchasing Process
There are so many obstacles in the way of closing a deal using order sheets and phone calls. People’s availability alone can cause actual transactions to be delayed. It can go more quickly if you give your customers 24/7 access to your store, including from mobile devices.
By showcasing their preferred products and tailoring the product catalog and pricing to the buyer, you may improve their shopping experience.
Increase Sales To Current Clients
Online orders typically have greater average order values than physical ones. These upsells can be added to automatic emails like order confirmations, bills, and shipment alerts in addition to the website. These frequently lead to additional sales from those same customers.
Explore New Areas
With an internet store, you may reach a worldwide audience. Now, you can sell in places where your sales crew is unable to. With the help of automatic search engine optimization, you might be reached by potential clients from all over the world.
Encourage Your Clients And Purchasers
Give your clients the option to order whenever they want, even from their phones or tablets. Allow customers to easily access information on their orders, shipments, payments, etc. at any time without having to contact you.
You might not be aware of how significant this is to your clients. Having this convenience and not having to wait around for you or your sales or customer service representatives to respond might be a big competitive advantage.
Real Inventory
How likely are you to shut out seasonal products online when you wish to sell your remaining available-to-sell (ATS) inventory, given that your customers can see exactly what is available and can only place orders up to those levels? Any brand that produces more than its confirmed orders before production might greatly benefit from this.
