Fashion accounted for just under 30 percent of all e-commerce sales in 2020.
Fashion trends on and offline are big business and look set to grow even further over the next few years. If you have a passion for fashion, you may be thinking about setting up a small clothing store.
If so, check out our guide to the best tools you need to stay ahead of the game. Whether you are just starting or have a store already, read on and see if you have everything you need in your toolbox.
1. Bookkeeping Software
The first thing you need to stay on top of is your budget. You need to know what purchases you are making and where your income is coming from. It can be challenging to keep track of this on paper, so it is a good idea to find a tool to do it for you.
Online tools like FreshBooks are great for helping you stay on top of your finances, and they will help you generate invoices to send to customers and store your receipts. Even if you do not have a head for accounting, bookkeeping tools will keep you on track.
2. Live Chat
Your customers will want to talk to you and possibly on a 24/7 basis. When working online, you could be working with a global audience who may be awake while you are asleep. Providing live chat to answer your questions is a great solution and one that you can outsource.
Live chat outsourcing will help your online customers through each journey step and ensure they can complete the sale. By outsourcing to a company that can provide the cover, you need not worry about being present to give sales care personally. You will always be covered, and your customer questions will be answered.
3. Inventory Management
Knowing what’s in stock and what’s not is a vital part of managing any kind of store, and it’s the same for online and offline. Inventory management tools are essential to help you check-in and out what you buy and sell.
You want a tool that can track and trace barcodes as you ship your products so that you know that the customer item has shipped. Continuous updates of the number of products on hand are essential information whether you are a giant multinational company or a small garage business. Inventory management software can help you with this; check out Zoho for a free option.
4. Marketing Tools
If you have a small shop, you will want to promote it, and there are lots of marketing tools out there to help you do the job. SEO tools like Ahref and SEMrush will help you keep track of how your website is doing and identify any areas you could take advantage of.
Canva will help you create great-looking graphics that you can print, like flyers, or post onto your social media accounts to drive traffic to your site. Moosend and Mailchimp will help you create mass emails to send to your client list and drive more sales to your website.
Support Your Small Clothing Store With These Apps
Even if you are just starting with your small clothing store, there are plenty of tools out there to help you get ahead of the game. Many come with free trials or even free options, so you don’t need to break the bank initially. Use these tools to help you on your road to success.
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