With attention to detail and knowledge of the market, you can go far. Check out the most important points for you to succeed in your online sales strategy and start to undertake in the fashion sector.
Brazilians are passionate about fashion, this it’s fact. In 2021, the national clothing market moved BRL 224 billion, 14% more than in the previous year (when the pandemic held back consumption in the sector). This represents 10 times more than the retail average as a whole – and shows that buying clothes is a very important part of our daily lives.
And no wonder: 6 billion pieces of clothing were acquired in Brazil last year, which gives an average of 28 pieces per inhabitant every 12 months. According to IEMI, a market intelligence institute linked to fashion, almost 20% of consumers declared that they had been impacted by social media influencers in their purchasing decisions. This shows how important digital is in the strategy of any entrepreneur – even if he doesn’t have an e-commerce.
Not being online, however, is increasingly rare: Brazil has long since passed the stage when there were doubts as to whether it was possible to buy clothing over the internet: in 2021, according to Neotrust, 19% of the products sold online were from fashion retail. It may not be possible to try on your clothes online, but the ease of making exchanges and returns, picking up products at the store and trying them on right there, and the use of detailed descriptions and measurement tables contribute to the great audience success of the online stores of the segment.
During the pandemic, many
entrepreneurs and stores were creative and started selling via WhatsApp, through catalogs PDF or interactive, using payment links to expedite sales. Business models such as the traditional suitcase of clothes taken to the customers’ homes have also returned to fashion – and helped the sector to continue on the rise.
Trends to keep an eye on in the fashion sector
Not only for 2022, but also for the coming years, several important trends are accelerating presence in the fashion segment in digital retail. If you want to undertake in the online fashion sector, be aware of these points:
Marketplaces
The marketplaces are large virtual shopping centers, where a company develops the platform and added services (financial services, logistics, advertising and others) and the sellers use the system to reach the public. In this model, the seller pays the platform owner a share of sales (the take rate). Among the best-known platforms in the Brazilian market are Mercado Livre, Americanas and Magazine Luiza.
Sell by marketplaces
it can be an interesting path for those who want to expose themselves to a wide audience, but the competition is extremely fierce there: with dozens or hundreds of competitors selling exactly the same product as yours (or very similar ones), the competition ends based on price – and this is not always healthy for your brand.
Live commerce
live commerce is a trend that emerged even before the pandemic in China, but exploded with social isolation. Do you remember those programs like “1406” on television, which advertised products to be purchased over the phone? Now imagine a 2.0 version of this model, translated into the digital age, in which products are presented in lives on e-commerce, YouTube or social networks, with the possibility of being purchased online. Interesting, isn’t it?
This model is a huge selling force in Chinese retail – and it’s been gaining ground in Brazil. It is an efficient way to increase customer relationships , since lives are not limited to selling products , but explain how the products work, give tips on combinations and fit, answer customer questions and increase consumer confidence in that brand. Keep an eye out!
New payment methods
Digital wallets and Pix will continue to be on the rise , taking up space from other systems, such as bank slips and credit cards. And this is great for the merchant, who has lower costs, gets the money faster and can increase his cash flow. The evolution of means of payment means that entrepreneurs can digitize their businesses, monetize their operations and scale their activities with agility and security.
A payment ecosystem that integrates online sales, recurring sales and in-person sales further expands the possibilities of your business, as it follows the pace of customers and can maintain the relationship with the consumer anywhere.
