The Negative Impact Wholesale Clothing Can Have On Your Business

One of the utmost important responsibilities you have as the owner of an online store is to continuously provide new wholesale fashion for your customers to browse and purchase. But, simply filling your online fashion store with whatever wholesale clothing you find will not suffice. After all, the clothes you sell are the backbone of your business and they much appeal to your audience while also being specific to their needs at this particular time.

But let's be honest here, we've all had to deal with stock that didn't sell and now, the fashion is moving into a different season and you're left with mounds of wholesale clothing. You still want to have them available to your customers because you want them to sell. But should you still have it on your website? What should you do with out-of-season stock? Should you still sell it? These are all common questions so today, we dive into the importance of keeping your store stocked with season, trendy wholesale clothing

The Downfall of Filling Your Store With Out of Season Wholesale Clothing

A common mistake eCommerce businesses make is filling their store with wholesale fashion that isn’t in season. Many business owners do this because out-of-season stock is super discounted - how can you resist those deals? It makes sense to snag some out-of-season styles for a fraction of the cost. However, doing so can have a negative impact on your fashion store in many ways if you are not wise with your purchase and process. Here are some to consider:

It tells your audience are not current with the trends

Sure, you may have added some new in-season fashion trends on your website along with the past-season items. However, if the majority of your website highlights off-season trends and wholesale clothing, your potential customers will assume you are not up to date with the trends that are happening RIGHT NOW.

As a result, they will go to an online store that has updated their collection with stock that is relevant to this particular season.

Your customers will not come back around to shop those items when it’s the proper season

Now, you may think that your customers will come back to your store once the next season – the season you’ve already filled your store with – when it comes around but chances are, they will forget about your store by that time. Not only that but they will have likely found an online fashion store that updates their wholesale clothing supply collection appropriate to the season. So, when, for example, winter does come around, they already have somewhere to shop and are not concerned about coming back to your store that had winter items added 6 months prior.

Your customers will assume the seasonal items you added months prior to the season are now old news

Another major problem associated with adding seasonal items well prior to the season actually arriving is that your potential customers will assume the wholesale fashion you added is now irrelevant. Customers want to see the fashion trends right now, and even if the trends were decided within the fashion industry months prior, revealing them too early within your collections will make the trend seem old and outdated, even if they aren’t.

It makes it difficult for your customers to shop

Another reason you do not want to fill your store with out-of-season items is because it makes it difficult for your customers to shop. For example, if a bunch of winter fashion trends are appearing on your website during summer, your customers have to navigate through your site to find what they want. This works against you because it congests your website and decreases the user-friendliness of your online retail store. Remember, the fewer clicks your customers have to do on your website to find what they want, the better.

But now what?

There’s nothing wrong with snagging some deals on wholesale fashion that isn’t going to be relevant to your audience for a couple more months. You just have to be wise about it. Here are some suggestions

Purchase out-of-season items that won’t go out of season

The massive savings you can get on out-of-season stock is tempting. For example, as soon as summer ends, you can purchase the exact same fashion trends for up to 75% off in most cases. However, just because something was trendy one summer doesn’t mean it will be trendy the next and those savings can actually end up costing you more in the long run, as you won’t be able to sell the stock.

So, when harnessing those major sales, make sure to stick with timeless wholesale fashion – items that will always be needed by your audience, regardless of the shift in the trends.  Basic t-shirts, sweaters, hoodies, trackpants and jeans are great – as long as they are not plastered with a specific trend, such as animal print or a hot saying; a particular wash or something else that sticks them to a particular time.

Keep your out-of-season stock hidden and reintroduce them when it’s appropriate to do so

Just because you have the stock does not mean it has to be on your website at this moment, particularly if it is not relevant to this time. For example, you may have plenty of winter wholesale fashion leftover from the previous season or perhaps you purchased more winter stock as the season came to an end but it will benefit you more to reintroduce them as the next winter season comes. This will make the items appear new, even if they’re last year’s stock and it will keep the wholesale fashion that is selling now at the forefront of your business.  

If you do not want to miss out on the potential selling opportunity by removing them from your website entirely, you will want to, at the very least, remove them from the front page and new arrivals page and place them in a collection that clearly describes the collection – for example, winter collection. This ensures that any customers who purchase it or who navigate to this page know exactly what they’ll find. In other words, people clicking on new arrivals in the dead heat of the summer likely do not want to stumble across heavy knitted sweaters and pants, but that is precisely what they want to find if they click on your winter collection, regardless of the time of the year. And hey, some people do travel to colder destinations during this time so it doesn’t hurt to keep them on your website; you just have to keep them in the background.

Now that you have figured out what to do with all of the out-of-season wholesale clothing you have, it’s absolutely crucial to restock your online shelves with new, relevant fashion trends each season that comes. So, head on over to Mikaree for the best selection of wholesale fashion that is in season.