Selling Fashon Online July 19

Selling Fashion Online
presented by Alison Lewy MBE

Mentoring | Business support | Access to Funding
www.fashion-angel.co.uk
: FashionAngel1
©Fashion Angel 2019
1
This workshop covers
Ø Selling via online wholesale platforms
Ø Setting up your own e-commerce site
Ø Preparing a design brief
Ø Overview of the different online options including,
marketplace, consignment, dropship, pretail
Ø Key considerations when deciding which online sales channel
is right for your business
Ø Digital marketing overview
Ø Tips on how to increase online sales

2
Background
ØOver 15 years running my own fashion label
ØWorked with luxury designers including Matthew

Williamson & Preen
ØCommercial Director of Fashion And Textile Museum
ØFounded Fashion Angel
ØAuthor of Design Create Sell – guide to starting

and running a successful fashion business

Fashion Angel Support
ØMentoring
ØWorkshops
ØNetworking Events
ØFashion Angel Business Club
ØStart Up Loan Delivery Partner

Over to you….
• Who are you?

• Your business name
• What does it do?
• When did you start your business?
• Are you already trading on-line?

5
Online Sales
§ Britons are set to spend £16.2bn on fashion online this year representing a
17.2% increase, according the latest research released by Mintel . Set
to grow by a further 79% by 2022, reaching just under £29bn
§ Online spend now accounts for almost a quarter (24%) of all fashion
spend
§ Online fashion shopping is popular with consumers of all ages especially
among Millennials. However more than half (54%) of over-45s have also
bought some of their clothing and footwear online.
§ 85% of female 16-24s having purchased their garments online.
§ With the popularity of online shopping comes a high level of returns
with 50% of online clothes shoppers having returned fashion items bought
online, rising to 56% of female online clothes shoppers and 60% of women
aged 25-44

6
Purchases over last 6 Months

7
Online Wholesale
• Modalyst.co
• Lenewblack.com
• Joor
• Ordre.com
• wewantshoes.com
• www.artsetters.com
• www.brandlabfashion.co.uk

8
Research
v Research the marketplace
v Understand your target customers – create personas
v Define brand positioning. Is it luxury, premium or value?
v Know your costs – what gross margin can you achieve?
v Stalk the competition - how do they reach the market?

9
10
Differentiate Yourself
Compete on service Compete on delivery
● Provide same day despatch ● Oﬀer free delivery where possible

● Oﬀer quick delivery ● Keep delivery cost low - sensitive cost
● Communicate with your customers at ● Use reliable couriers who give updates
every stage of the process
Compete on unboxing
Compete on customer journey
● Customer’s first physical contact with item
● Keep reviewing and improving website ● Presentation of box, don’t reuse cartons
● Harness new technologies and features ● Include handwritten notes or unexpected
● Make it easier and easier to buy gifts and samples

11
Sell The Benefits,
Not the Features
You sell confidence, not clothes

12
Online Options
ØOwn Ecommerce Store

ØOnline portals on consignment/drop ship
Ø3rd Party Marketplaces
ØSocial media platforms/apps
ØAggregate platforms

13
Own Website
Template platforms easy to set up – costs

start at £25 p/month
vwww.shopify.com
vwww.bigcommerce.com
vwww.squarespace.com
vwww.supadupa.me
vwww.tictail.com - free

14
Own Website
Get help enhancing template sites…
Wemakewebsites.com
Creative web company
Space Between

15
Website Brief
ØDetailed brief required – avoids expensive

mistakes
ØEnsures they understand your requirements
ØHelps them prepare a realistic quote for the
work
ØHelps you compare quotes
ØAsk for schedule with key milestones.
ØAsk how the test the site

16
Website Brief
üOverview of your business and your USP

üWebsite objectives eg increase sales, promote brand
awareness, increase returning customers, increase
enquiries
üTarget audience/s
üList key competitors
üHow may products you will be selling
üThe list of pages you want it to include
üFunctionality required
üWill they set up the SEO?
üBudget
17
Website brief
üSocial media integration required

üWireframe, suggested structure
üInclude links to any other sites that you like and are
similar to your requirements
üConfirm how many design concepts & re-iterations are
included
üTime frame of project

18
E-commerce Requirements
Ø Website needs SEO – updated regularly

Ø Must be responsive – work on tablet/mobile
Ø Must have a compelling landing page
Ø Good product images essential – lifestyle and cut outs
Ø Google ranks websites on positive ‘user experience’ –
image quality, descriptions, load speed
Ø Pages need to load quickly, check with tools Gtmetrix
& Google Pagespeed Insights.
You have 3 seconds or less to grab attention!

19
Content
• Content is king
• Content is great for SEO and higher SERP rankings
• Product descriptions must entice visitors to buy
• Content must be useful, informative and entertaining
• Split product descriptions into bullet points and

in-depth descriptions

20
E-commerce Website
Ø Key measurements/detailed information/model used –

will help to reduce returns
Ø Transparent shipping costs
Ø Offering good service leads to increased sales –
perhaps add a chat bot?
Ø Voice Search – think about optimizing your website for
voice queries via mobile phones or search assistant.
Ø Takes time to build following and drive traffic to a
website – conversion rates – .8 - 1% is good!

21
Search Engine Optimisation
Ø Identify 8 - 10 initial keywords

Ø Need onsite & offsite SEO
Ø Research using Google keyword planner
Ø Check against competitors keywords
www.keywordspy.com – checks out the keywords
competitors use
Ø Long-tail Keywords have lower search

volumes, but higher conversion rates.
Ø Use Google Analytics or Google Search
Consul Tools to define valuable keywords
22
Offsite SEO
Objective: increase the number of quality inbound links to

a website
Ø Best way to get links is to provide your target audience
with valuable content– share via blog/social media/join
relevant forums
Ø Submit the website to top local directories and any
niche (industry specific) directories
Ø Think of relevant cross linking with networks
Ø Identify blogs and forums where potential customers
hang out, & interact

23
Offsite SEO
Ø Syndicate content on all platforms and rehash existing

content
Ø Link analysis – where are existing links from, and
which page do they link to identify successful content
in terms of links
Ø Influencers – who are your relevant & how can they be
reached?
Ø Try to produce content to drive links (linkbaiting) – viral
videos, infographics, images, exclusive news
Ø PR – make sure relevant links consistently included in
the releases
24
Offsite SEO
Ø Try the SEO tool majestic.com to see where

are competitors getting their links from –
analyse and identify best performing backlinks
of your competitor’s websites
Ø Approach these sites and encourage them to
also feature yours
Ø The more high-quality backlinks to your site,
the higher it will rank in search results

25
Onsite SEO
page titles/ descriptions
Ø These tags are critical for SEO as they are the

most visible optimisation element in the SERPs
Ø Ensure each page has a unique title,
description and keywords – 70 characters for
titles, 155 for descriptions
Ø These tags need to be keyword rich and
relevant to each specific page

26
Onsite SEO
Ø Metadata
Title
Description

27
Onsite SEO
Ø Metadata
Title
Description

28
Onsite SEO
Ø Use important keywords as early as possible in

the titles and descriptions
Ø Add branding at the end of the titles
Ø If space is available, add a call to action in
descriptions. Amend according to
seasons/trends
Ø Images – add ALT tag and image title to ALL
images

29
Payments
Ø Make it easy for the customer
Ø Consider offering many options

30
Payment Providers
what to consider
Ø Transaction fees (vary per card and platform)
Ø Monthly fees
Ø Payout schedule (immediate, 2 days, 7 days)
Ø Fraud and security measures
Ø Chargeback procedure and costs
Ø ecommerce platform integration
Ø Accounting system integration

31
Planning to Go Global?
Ø Research the market – market reports, Paypal

Passport
Ø Language a barrier – translate your website.
Ø Paypal Global Sellers Plug in - webinterpret.com
Ø Convert sizing charts
Ø Paypal Returns Shipping On Us available
in some markets - gives overseas customers chance to
return for free

32
Top Reasons For Not Buying
• Failing to provide good product imagery (61%)

• Overly intrusive discount pop ups (47%)
• Over complicated check-out process (43%).
• Little or no social media presence (41%.
• Lack of an ‘about us’ page (16%)
• Lack of delivery options (34%),
• Websites not optimised for mobile devices (27%)
• Not accepting alternative payment methods
including PayPal and Apple Pay (11%)
33
Top Reasons For
Cart Abandonment
• Faced with unexpected costs - 55%

• Had to create account - 34%
• Long or complex process - 26%
• Can’t see the total cost - 21%

34
Consignment/Dropship
vModaoperandi.com –pre-order/current
vNJAL.com
vUrsa london
vMyflashtrash.com
vLittle Black Dress
vSilk Fred
vthe-clothinglounge.com
vlux-fix.com
vBeyond-Bespoke.com

35
Dropship

36
Consignment/Dropship
vBelle-Lingerie
vUK Swimwear
vFancykids.com
vDebenhams.com
vHarveyNichols.com

37
3rd Party Marketplaces
ØGood place to start – they have ready made

following and existing traffic
ØCan be easier and cost effective to work with a
3rd party platform.
ØLarge choice of marketplace & curated
platforms
ØNo need to invest in an expensive website or set
up payment cart

38
Marketplaces
Good for niche brands/product

39
Marketplaces

40
Marketplaces

41
Marketplaces

42
Marketplaces

43
Marketplace considerations
üEnsure the platform compliments your brand positioning
üDo your research – has the platform an engaged

customer base; do they share, leave reviews,
recommend, etc.
üSign up for their mailing list – check out their marketing
üFollow their social platforms to see how active they are
üMake sure you build in the platform costs

44
Marketplace considerations
üHow will they support your brand

üAdding regular new content important
üDo they tie you in to exclusivity deals?
üGood product images essential
üDescriptions must include keywords
üMarketing essential - use social media to drive
traffic
45
Selling on Social - Facebook
vUseful if you have large fan base – some use before

setting up e-comm store or for flash sales – Wavey
Garms…
vEasy to set up via 3rd party apps, Shopify, Shoptab,

Payments via Paypal or can link to products on existing
e-comm store
vFacebook video – auto plays on landing page

46
Selling on Social - Pinterest
heck out the competition! Engage with their users!

vAdd rich pins so you can add prices to product
vCan direct to website
vNEW Buyable pins (Shopify/Big Commerce)
vCan advertise - promoted pins
v90% Pinterest activity on mobile – need portrait pins
vLonger shelf life for your images – on asos, 88%
purchase a product they have pinned.

47
Selling on Social - Pinterest
vSet up business account - get verified so can

access analytics
vCreate relevant boards – not all about sales
vSome set up separate re-pin boards

48
Selling on Social Platforms

49
Instagram Shopping Services
vAllows brands and retailers to link directly to up to five

products per post, or 20 products per multi-image post,
to their own websites. They can add information such as
price and product details.
vFor now service only available on organic, and not
sponsored posts - free to users with a business profile.
vPosts with virtual shoppable tags are identifiable to
users as a shopping bag icon.
vWorking on separate shopping app
vTry Linktree to boost Instagram account

50
Instagram Features
• SHOPPING COLLECTION –Instagrammers are able to

save products directly from Stories or their Feed to a
‘Shopping Collection’ of self-curated goods, ready to be
bought
• SHOP TAB - Browsers can access by visiting a
business profile and tapping on the ‘Shop’ button to see
all products on offer. Another purchasing avenue
• THE SHOPPING IN FEED VIDEOS -a feature in which
users can buy products directly from videos – users click
on the shopping icon in the bottom left hand corner of
the post to see the products in question

51
Online Pretail
• Gets customer validation on design

• Helps finance production
• One of the first www.modaoperandi.com
• Some use crowdfunding platforms eg
Kickstarter/Indiegogo
©Fashion Angel 2019 52

Useful Tools

Useful Tools

Stock Management
• i.Levelsoftware.com
• Channelgrabber.com
• Volocommerce.com

Stock Management

Distribution
vCheck tariff/duty - EU Trade Market
Access Database - madb.europa, Paypal
vUse parcel comparison websites – eg
parcelhero.com & Parcel2Go.com
vFulfilment Houses – pick & pack &
customer service options
vIntermail, Mywarehouse, James and
James, Shipwire

Selling Fashion Online
Marketing & Promotion

“Good marketers copy; Great marketers steal”
Picasso
Learn from the big players

Digital Marketing Universe
Search Marketing / SEO Social platforms

SEM
Paid for
(Google,
Bing, Social)
WEBSITE
Content
SEO Marketing
Onsite, link Blog,
building infographics,
guides, tips,
Other online marketing
Direct email, display, forums, video
affiliate
59
Storytelling
• Tell your story

• People buy from people –humanise the
experience
• Helps build you brand personality & USP
• Develops intimacy and relationship with
your customers
This is what will separate you from the
competition and build customer loyalty
Build your community
ØSet up relevant social platforms for target
audience Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn,
Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok…
ØBuild your mailing list – make it easy!
ØSet up direct mail account – eg Mailchimp
ØTry http://launchrock.co

61
Content marketing
ØGood SEO relies heavily on good content, so having a
clear content strategy is key to SEO success
ØIdentify blogs and forums that are relevant to your brand
and target audience
ØPost comments on relevant blog posts
ØEngage in conversations on forums
ØHold Twitter chats and live Q&As with followers
ØCreate Instagram/Facebook stories – integrate video,
text, images
ØDon’t sell, be helpful and give advice
ØAdd anchor links in signature and content whenever
possible 62
Content Marketing
• Establish a blog/vlog – try to post once a month
• Identify long tail keywords that your customer
may be interested in eg around the topics of:
fashion, underwear, art, culture, feminism,
sustainability, wellness
• Use semrush.com to check out competitors
• Create keyword rich blog posts
• Content syndication - share valuable
content/other news with target audiences via
social networks, forums, blogs
63
Using Social
vPowerful tool to drive online sales

vHelps bring personality to your brand
vFocus on platforms target customers use
vBe consistent
v Instagram offers 25% more engagement over other
social platforms. tag photos with #.
vWebstagram site lists most popular #

64
Using Social
Visuals dominate
vOver 90% of top brands’ Facebook posts contain an
video/image
vMajority of tweets contain an image or video
vVideo accounts for 88% internet traffic
vInstagram launched stories to rival snapchat
vThe top brands post on average one video per week.
vYouTube second biggest search engine after Google
vPopular video content includes sneak peeks at new
products, interviews with designers, behind-the-scenes
footage, how-to tutorials.

65
Using Social
Short Copy Wins

vTop brands stay under 100 characters, and best practice
for FB posts keep it to 40-70 characters
Links are great solutions

vRespond to questions/comments with links to solutions
eg product they’re looking for, a suggested product,
landing page…
vBrands may also use Snapchat/WhatsApp….

66
Advertising Options
Organic reach is slowly decreasing over

time at the benefit of paid space
• Pay per Click (PPC)
• Pay per view (PPV)
• Retargeting – works well with PPV
• Sponsored posts
• Affiliate – try Awin.com

Google Advertising
v Google AdWords is a tool that allows a user to advertise within the
Google network.
v Helps you validate your keywords
v AdWords includes the search network, display network, Google
shopping and video advertising (via YouTube).
v You bid for key words – price depends on quality of ad, CPC, quality
of landing page, bids from others
v You can set daily budget
v See what competitors spend semrush.com
v https://www.google.co.uk/adwords/

Facebook Advertising
v Why? Has 200+ pieces of info on users
v Age 25 to 34, at 29.7% of users, is the most common
age demographic
v Highest traffic occurs mid-week between 1pm to 3pm
v On Thursdays and Fridays, engagement is 18% higher
v You can define your audience by
Demographics, Location, Interests, Work Title,
Behaviours, Competitors (user intent, device usage, and
more) + numerous subcategories

Facebook Advertising
vCan spend min £2 p/d – suggest £10 p/day over at a
least a month to test effectively
vOptions - display, carousel, video
vSet up Business Manager account and Facebook Pixels
– targets previous site visitors so helps with remarketing
vShould run at least 3 campaign types within budget to
test what’s working
vSame options available on Instagram
Facebook Business Manager www.business.facebook.com
Facebook Power Editor www.business.facebook.com/ads/manage/powereditor
Facebook Ads Manager www.business.facebook.com/ads/manager

Aggregators
Aggregator sites offering recommendations from

across multiple brands/retailers based on their
preferences and those of other consumers
• Stylite
• Lyst
• Shopstyle
• Threads

Marketing Tips
v Create a marketing/social media plan with SMART

objectives (Specific ,Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timebound)
vCreate an editorial calendar
vUse scheduling tools – Hootesuite, Buffer, Later for Insta
vCalenders – Loomly, Planerly
vKnow when to outsource– freelancer, upwork, fiverr,
peopleperhour
vRegularly review key words/SEO
vMeasure what’s working! https://analytics.google.com

Content Calendar
Author Facebook Twitter Tumblr Pinterest Instagram
Monday
Third-party post
Blog post
Picture
Promotion
Tuesday
Third-party post
Blog post
Picture
Promotion
Wednesday
Third-party post
Blog post
Picture
Promotion
Thursday
Third-party post
Blog post
Picture
Promotion
Friday
Third-party post
Blog post
Picture
Promotion

Blog Editorial Calendar
TOPIC/TITLE CONTENT/DETAILS KEYWORD(S) TARGET AUDIENCE OFFER/CTA
MONDAY
Author: Alison Lewy
Due Date: 20/10/2015
Publish Date: 23/10/2015
TUESDAY
Author: Chris Collicott
Due Date: 20/10/2015
WEDNESDAY
Author: Emma Crosby
Due Date: 20/10/2015
THURSDAY
Author:
Due Date:
Publish Date:
FRIDAY
Author:
Due Date:
Publish Date:
SATURDAY
Author:
Due Date:
Publish Date:
SUNDAY
Author:
Due Date:
Publish Date:
Next Events
Getting It Made – 5th September
Range Plan & Merchandising Masterclass

12th September
Fashion Business Planning – 3rd October
Getting It Made Online
75
Thank You
See you Next Time!
www.fashion-angel.co.uk
0208 216 3411 info@fashionangel.co.uk
@FashionAngel1

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Selling Fashon Online July 19

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Selling Fashion Online

presented by Alison Lewy MBE

©Fashion Angel 2019

ØWorked with luxury designers including Matthew

ØCommercial Director of Fashion And Textile Museum

ØFounded Fashion Angel

ØAuthor of Design Create Sell – guide to starting

©Fashion Angel 2019

ØFashion Angel Business Club

ØStart Up Loan Delivery Partner

• Who are you?

©Fashion Angel 2019

©Fashion Angel 2019

©Fashion Angel 2019

©Fashion Angel 2019

v Research the marketplace

v Understand your target customers – create personas

v Define brand positioning. Is it luxury, premium or value?

v Know your costs – what gross margin can you achieve?

v Stalk the competition - how do they reach the market?

©Fashion Angel 2019

● Provide same day despatch ● Oﬀer free delivery where possible

©Fashion Angel 2019

You sell confidence, not clothes

©Fashion Angel 2019

ØOwn Ecommerce Store

©Fashion Angel 2019

Template platforms easy to set up – costs

©Fashion Angel 2019

Get help enhancing template sites…

©Fashion Angel 2019

ØDetailed brief required – avoids expensive

©Fashion Angel 2019

üOverview of your business and your USP

üSocial media integration required

©Fashion Angel 2019

Ø Website needs SEO – updated regularly

You have 3 seconds or less to grab attention!

• Content is great for SEO and higher SERP rankings

• Product descriptions must entice visitors to buy

• Content must be useful, informative and entertaining

• Split product descriptions into bullet points and

©Fashion Angel 2019

Ø Key measurements/detailed information/model used –

©Fashion Angel 2019

Ø Identify 8 - 10 initial keywords

Ø Long-tail Keywords have lower search

Objective: increase the number of quality inbound links to

©Fashion Angel 2019

Ø Syndicate content on all platforms and rehash existing

Ø Try the SEO tool majestic.com to see where

©Fashion Angel 2019

Ø These tags are critical for SEO as they are the

©Fashion Angel 2019

©Fashion Angel 2019

©Fashion Angel 2019

Ø Use important keywords as early as possible in

©Fashion Angel 2019