Straight to the point
As the seasons change, so too do the clothes consumers are shopping for. And that means the garments you’re selling in your fashion e-commerce store will also change. Obviously, selling bikinis in the dead of winter won’t appeal to very many shoppers.
But how can you prepare for the changing of seasons? And what should you do with out-of-season clothing that didn’t sell?
As fall and winter fashion replace spring and summer garments, and vice-versa, you need to know how much seasonal inventory to stock, how to boost sales of that inventory, and what to do with unsold stock at the end of the season.
In this article we give five tips to help you deal with the above challenges while managing your fashion e-commerce store.
1. Stay on top of trends
Styles and trends change year to year and season to season. You obviously need to sell seasonally clothing in season, but you also need to make sure your seasonally selection is on trend. If the winter coats you’re selling aren’t in style this winter, you aren’t likely to sell very many.
You can take a look at what brands and designers are rolling out for their upcoming seasonal collections, and use trend forecasting tools and websites to get a good idea of what styles, colors, and fits will be popular. Algorithms are great at identifying trends, so don’t be afraid to take a look at social media to see what fashion influencers and content creators are wearing.
But even with seasonal trends coming and going, some pieces are timeless and never go out of style. You probably have some staples in your store that sell well every year, regardless of the season’s trends. Analyzing your sales data from previous years can also be a good source of insights to help you make strategic inventory decisions.
Alternatively, you can ask your shoppers directly what they’re looking forward to for the upcoming season. Social media is a great tool to do this. For example, you can post on Instagram and ask followers to leave comments on posts. Similarly, you could post question boxes in your Stories to hear from shoppers. This also has the benefit of generating engagement and showing your shoppers that you’re interested in catering to their interests and needs.
Once you have a good idea of what’s going to sell well next season, you can plan your product offering and marketing strategies accordingly.
2. Seasonal Marketing
More than just your collections need to change with the seasons. Your marketing efforts and communication should also be tailored to the seasons.
Website
Regularly updating your website gives your shoppers a reason to visit it. Reflecting the upcoming season’s trends and garments in your website’s banner, images, and messaging can help get shoppers excited to refresh their wardrobe.
Keeping your online store updated to match the seasons also signifies to your shoppers that your website is active and there are new pieces for them to browse.
Content
Push the seasonal theme across all your content channels. Keep your shoppers in the know about what to expect and what’s new as the seasons change.
You could create content with seasonal outfit suggestions, “Ten Outfits We’re Loving This Fall”. Or tell shoppers about specific seasonal garments, “Stay dry this spring with our new galoshes”.
You want to reinforce your seasonal collection and, like with your website, get shoppers excited about expanding their wardrobe.
Promotions
Take advantage of seasonal holidays in this way to drive website traffic. Bring shoppers in with sale items, and keep them browsing full price items.
For example, a Christmas sale is an easy way to get shoppers onto your website to browse your winter collection. If you have stock from the previous year’s winter, you can put that on sale to attract customers as well.
3. Pre- and post-season sales
End-of-season sales are not a new concept to anyone. Shoppers know that if they’re not in a rush to buy a new winter jacket, the best time to buy one is at the end of winter.
Since shoppers come to expect these clearance sales at the end of the season, they’re signifiers in their own right.
For shoppers, a summer blowout sale, for example, means two things. It means they can save money by buying pieces for next summer, and it tells them it’s time to start shopping for fall. And if you want to take things a step further with a pre-season sale, it can also mean it’s a good time to save on winter items.
4. Track sales for optimal timing
Use your sales data and insights to drive decisions regarding timing. Deciding the best time to put items on sale, roll out new collections, and engage shoppers with seasonal content, needs to be an informed decision.
There are general guidelines you can follow, but different target audiences and buyers have different preferences. You need to optimize your timing for your shoppers. Maybe your shoppers like to shop early to be ready as soon as the new season hits. Or maybe they like shopping a little into the season, while taking advantage of end-of-season sales.
Look at your sales data to see what makes the most sense for your store. And don’t be afraid to test out new strategies. A big part of marketing is testing and seeing what works. Test, analyze, and optimize to keep sales high year round.
5. Avoid returns
Increasing conversions while decreasing returns is always on the mind of any e-commerce manager. But for seasonal garments, it’s especially important to avoid returns. The reason is simple, when shoppers return seasonal pieces, you’re left with the challenge of selling winter jackets in the summer, or shorts in the winter.
Along with all the costs associated with return logistics, returned clothing will most likely need to be put on sale if you’re selling it out of season.
So, how do you avoid returns?
The number one reason for returns is size and fit problems. Help shoppers pick out the right size and you reduce returns. It’s that simple.
Size charts can help to this end but they have limitations. They’re also not as effective as size recommendation tools, which help get customers a better idea of fit. Fit is especially important for sizing because seasonal pieces are usually meant to fit quite differently. Imagine the fit of a heavy winter coat compared to a fitted summer tee.
Our Size and Fit Advisor makes accurate size recommendations based on users’ age, height, and weight. It’s a size recommendation tool made by people who understand fashion.
What about if you’re a seasonal brand?
The tips we’ve listed above relate to transitioning from season to season considering changing collections and offerings. But what about if you’re a seasonal brand? What if you exclusively sell bikinis or winter outerwear?
Here are some tips if your online apparel store sells seasonal clothing.
Sell to new markets
It might be hard to sell summer hats to shoppers trying to get through a cold winter. But while it’s winter for some shoppers, it’s summer somewhere else. Consider expanding into other markets and reaching new segments to keep sales steady year round. Seasonal clothing is always in-season somewhere!
Use down time to prepare
If your sales boom in the high season and you make enough to keep your brand operational year round, take advantage of the off season to prepare for the next year. While sales are slow, plan marketing campaigns, launches, and collections to increase sales from season to season.
Market to travelers
A lot of people book vacations and trips to warm destinations to escape harsh winters. That’s a prime audience to sell summer clothes to in the winter. Consider redirecting your advertising strategies to target travelers.
Consider branching out
Depending on your niche, it may make sense for your brand to branch out into other areas and garment types. Make sure to conduct research with your shoppers and consider the costs associated with increasing your catalog.
Changing seasons can increase sales
With the right strategies, you can take advantage of the changing seasons to increase your sales. Make sure to perform research and analyze your data and metrics to make informed decisions; adjust your website, content, and marketing efforts to match the seasons; use sales to your advantage; and avoid returns at all costs.
And remember that whether it’s winter or summer, a large percentage of users will be shopping from mobile devices. An optimized mobile experience is essential to convert mobile browsers and keep them coming back.
Learn more about the importance of optimizing your mobile site to keep mobile sales strong year-round.
