To face the competition and find new customers, the web is the best ally of ready-to-wear wholesalers. You have understood the importance of having an online sales site and a presence on marketplaces. But if you are not familiar with the Internet, you may feel that you are wasting time and are discouraged… However, if fully exploited, the web will allow you to increase your sales considerably. How to sell wholesale clothing online? How to get more visibility on the Internet? Here are some simple tips to apply to quickly increase your turnover.
Retailers have changed their habits. Since the Covid crisis, they have tended to abandon physical purchases in favour of online purchases. Today, selling wholesale on the Internet is a business that can be profitable… provided you have the right tools! Without digital tools, you risk making more management errors, losing time and even money. Do you think you are in this situation? Don’t worry: there are easy-to-implement solutions to succeed in online wholesaling.
Selling wholesale means selling products in large quantities. Wholesale can be done in a shop, on an e-commerce website, on an auction site or even on marketplaces. Ready-to-wear wholesalers generally prefer platforms such as ParisFashionShop, Toplook, or Efashion to sell their clothes.
The wholesaler acts as an intermediary between the manufacturer or supplier and the retailer. He buys his products in bulk and resells them to professionals who have a physical or online shop. The mission of a ready-to-wear wholesaler is therefore to supply shops with clothing and fashion accessories. He markets and controls the goods, manages stocks, prepares and delivers orders, and supports his customers’ cash flow. It’s a great way to keep your days busy!
Online sales offer considerable advantages to fashion wholesalers. According to a study by Kepios, there are more than 4.95 billion Internet users worldwide. Among them, many fashion professionals are looking to renew their stocks with trendy clothes and accessories at the best price. The Internet has become their preferred channel.
A wholesaler’s website is an extension of the physical shop. It gives the company more visibility and expands the customer base. Thanks to the different pages of the website, wholesalers promote their products, but also their values and their image, which strengthens customer confidence. The website is accessible worldwide, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sales can even be made on Sundays and public holidays. No rent to pay, no operating costs… You have everything to gain. In addition, there are many tools to make your life easier, such as MicroStore, the stock management and synchronisation application for fashion wholesalers.
Having an online sales site is good… Making it visible to retailers is better! For that, there is SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is natural referencing. This technique allows you to place your website in the first position in search engines, following the entry of a query by an Internet user.
Are you wondering how to succeed with your SEO? Start by identifying the keywords that retailers might type into Google to access your wholesale clothing and accessories site. Then optimise your homepage by integrating these keywords in strategic places: title and description tags, H1, H2, H3 level titles, alt tags for images… Each page of the site can be positioned on a new key phrase. Don’t forget to work on the internal pages on complementary keywords and to create a link between related pages.
You must have your own Google My Business wholesaler listing (see below the example of our partner Silk Road Paris)). This listing is essential so that your prospects can visit your point of sale, access your website and buy your products, call you…
It is also important to take advantage of the different digital tools: social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, e-mailing, WhatsApp… Do not hesitate to be present on these different media so that buyers can find you, wherever they are.
To ensure consistency between your physical wholesale shop and your digital presence, you can display a QR Code or your nicknames inside your physical shop to build customer loyalty and stay in touch with them at all times.
To increase your visibility, register on online platforms and directories of wholesalers. My Fashion Wholesaler is one of the major references on the market. It will provide you with highly qualified traffic from retailers.
Registering on the wholesaler directory My Fashion Wholesaler takes a few minutes. Simply fill in your company details with your name, logo, contact details and a description of your goods. Your product catalogue is highlighted to attract the attention of retailers worldwide. The platform registers more than 5000 visitors per month. It is completely free of charge and without commissions… It would be a shame not to take advantage of it.
As you can understand, the key to online sales for a wholesaler is to opt for an e-commerce solution. Having your own online sales website requires technical knowledge and a certain budget… We know that wholesalers are short of time and need efficient and fast tools. That’s why we have designed MicroStore, the complete sales solution for wholesalers.
MicroStore is a meeting place, a virtual place where retailers meet their wholesalers. At a low cost and without any technical skills, you can have your own online shop, hosted with MicroStore Public. 5 000 grossistes in Europe have their own online shop with MicroStore, and over 100,000 retailers have downloaded MicroStore to view their favourite wholesalers’ shops!
To access your shop, the retailer sends you a membership application with his VAT number to prove his activity. This ensures that you are only dealing with professionals who are interested in buying clothing and accessories in bulk. The tool even offers you the possibility of segmenting your customers with the ABC method in order to propose adapted prices: A for large customers, B for medium customers, and C for low-potential customers.
Another advantage is that the MicroStore Exclusive option allows you to have your mobile application on the Apple Store or Play Store with your name and logo (see below the example of our client Bestini Paris).
Adapted to the reality of ready-to-wear wholesalers, the MicroStore application offers all the features you need to sell wholesale on the Internet and improve the customer experience of retailers:
– Push notifications : your customers receive an alert every time you put a product online with access authorisation. Register a new product. Conveniently, the application does not need to be opened for messages to be delivered. And as a wholesaler, you also receive a notification of every new customer request and order.
– Product enhancement : with MicroStore, you can highlight new products and best sellers in your catalogue. You also have the opportunity to compose looks to seduce your customers and boost the visibility of your products.
– Smart catalog : you have a link to share your product catalogue on WhatsApp and social networks. By clicking on the link, the retailer can place an order directly. Thanks to the integrated statistics, you have access to all the data you need to analyse the performance of your products and make it easier to close the sale.
– MC Chat : the application integrates a chatbot to exchange in real time and automatically with retailers. This instantaneous contact creates a close relationship and strengthens customer commitment. Customers get an immediate response to their request, trust is built up and sales are quickly made.
If you would like to develop the sales of your wholesale business, ask for a demonstration. One of our consultants will contact you.
It is not enough to simply have a Facebook page or a website to increase your sales to retailers.
You need to live up your online presence and make your web materials attractive to make people want to buy… Just like in a physical shop!
In order for retailers to notice and remember your business as a wholesaler, take care of your image and show your professionalism:
To buy from your wholesale shop, your customers must trust you and be sure that your company is reliable, as there are many scams. All information on the web about you must be correct and up to date: postal address, company name, contact details, etc.
Also try to engage your customers using more traditional communication tools. Send them emails or call them directly. You need to provide them with the best possible experience so that they feel comfortable with their orders and continue to buy from you afterwards.
The goal is to prove to them that the shop is real and run by a qualified person who is willing to listen.
Furthermore, your online reputation must be impeccable! If there is content on the web that denigrates you (comments, notes, blog articles), it is essential to compensate for this and to give priority to content that enhances you. Also avoid using content from other wholesalers, even if they are your suppliers (identical photos, etc.).
Animating a community means taking the time to pay attention to the retailers and partners who follow you. Here are some good practices to help you do this:
Be present on B2B social networks such as Linkedin. Fill out your entire business profile and create your company page to give you more visibility. Then connect with retail professionals. Invite them to subscribe to your Linkedin page, by clicking on “invite connections” via the “admin tools” tab.
Write and publish regular articles to give retailers tips and advice. Position yourself as an expert in your industry by helping them sell your products better and without frustration.
Keep an eye out for comments and private messages. Be responsive and use retailers’ opinions to improve your offer and products. And if you receive negative feedback, it is better to respond in a friendly manner than to delete it.
Have a warm and pleasant tone, your customers should find you friendly.
On a daily basis, we apply these tips ourselves on our Instagram & LinkedIn.
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