Fashion dropshipping is one of the most profitable dropshipping niches with a growing market.

Everyone needs clothing, and the high demand for fashion items makes fashion dropshipping advantageous. But, as with many other things, without the proper understanding of how it works, you may struggle for a long time to get your store off the ground.

In this article, we will be explaining how clothing and fashion dropshipping works, and how you can maximize your profit in this market.

Why You Should Tap into the Fashion Dropshipping Market

A couple of decades ago, retailers believed that no one would ever buy clothes online. Today? The online fashion market is a billion-dollar industry. And dropshipping allows you to tap into this market with very low starting costs.

The online fashion market is expected to grow at an average of 9.6% by 2021. So, the market by 2021 is estimated to be worth 70.91 billion dollars.

Why is the online fashion market worth this much? One out of three online fashion shoppers buys items worth US$ 21 to US$ 50, on the average. With two as the average number of fashion items bought.

One other reason to start fashion dropshipping is that the market is constantly evolving. Fashion is not just about clothes. It is about clothes and fashion accessories that are in-trend, in season and fashionable. In this industry, things don’t get monotonous.

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Benefits of Fashion Dropshipping

First, there is a very high demand for fashion items. Taking a look at the fashion industry, it is evident that items such as clothes, fabrics, shoes, accessories are produced and sold very quickly. Fashion items are always going to be in demand, so fashion dropshipping is a very profitable niche.

Second, it has a very low set up cost. Think of all the expenses you’ll be boycotting. No shop rent, no shipping cost and low/no staff wages. The only cost you’ll be incurring is the cost of setting up your online shop.

Also, you can operate your business from anywhere. You don’t have to be at a particular location at a particular time. You can be on the other side of the world from a customer and sell to them. You will only be needing your computer, internet connection and power source.

In fashion drop shipping, there is no time restriction. Your customers don’t have to wait until a particular time to visit your store. They can buy from you at any time, from anywhere. It ensures maximum profit.

This customer behavior combined with some useful marketing tactics can take your clothing fashion store to its full potential.

Most importantly, you can create a significant profit margin for cash flow. With access to manufacturers, you can get your fashion items at wholesale prices and mark them up to cover your customer acquisition costs, and still make a good profit.

Getting Started: Identifying Your Target Market

Every seller needs a target market. This simply means the demography or segment of people who will be most interested in the specific products you sell. When you know your target market, then you can easily identify which fashion items belong in your dropshipping store.

You can identify your target market by building a buyer persona template. Study your ideal customer and map out a description of them. What is the age range of the people you intend to sell to? What is their income level? Where do they hang out online? And most importantly, what is their need? There are many markets within the fashion industry, including women clothing, men clothing, trendy fashion, plus-size clothing, children clothing, and more.

Women Clothing

Women contribute heavily to the online fashion market. There’s a new trend every week, and women are more likely to spend to keep up with these trends. This makes dropshipping women clothing very profitable. If you decide to make women clothing your target market, here are a few things to look into:

Bathrobe, bikini, blouse, bodysuit, bustier, cardigan, coat, dress, dressing gown, dungarees, gown, hose, jacket, jersey, jumper, jumpsuit, kaftan or caftan, kimono, muff, nightdress, nightgown, nightshirt, overall, overcoat, rompers, sash, sari or saree, shawl, shirt, shoe, shorts, skirt, sock, sweater, tank top, thong, tunic, and undergarment can be dropshipped.

These are different clothing and fashion products to look into for your clothing and fashion dropshipping store.

Men Clothing

Men’s clothing includes clothes and fashion items used by men. Note that women and people of all genders also buy men’s clothes. But if you’re a beginning dropshipper with a small budget, keep your ads targeted at men for the best conversion rate possible. Items to add to your store include shirts, tee-shirts, trousers, shorts, shoes, sandals, ties, sweatshirt, jackets etc.

Trendy Fashion

These are fashion items that are trending. They usually come and go quickly; anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Trends pop up quickly, so keep your eyes on social media and your competition to see what’s hot at the moment.

Plus-Size Clothing

These are fashion items for people that are sized 18 and over. Many online fashion stores only supply clothing to a specific size range that doesn’t cater to all. A plus-size clothing store will sell to a customer base that is always looking for good clothes in their sizes.

Children Clothing

Clothing for children. Ranging from babies to toddlers and kids. These include onesies, shorts, tee shirts, underwear, hats, jackets, socks, shoes etc.

Other profitable clothing and fashion markets to explore include sportswear and fashion accessories.

Finding Vendors for Your Fashion Dropshipping Store

After deciding on your market, it is important to find a fashion dropshipping vendor that can meet your needs. Many dropshippers find their vendors on AliExpress, but you can also work with one in the US or your home country. Your vendor is the company (usually a supplier) who ships the purchases directly to your customers. You can work with one or more vendors, depending on how many items available in your clothing store.

While choosing a vendor, the most important quality to look for is an established client base. If your business’ reputation relies on them, you want to ensure they ‘re also trustworthy. The larger their client base, the more trustworthy they are.

Secondly, their ranking. If your vendor is an AliExpress seller, ensure that they have, at least, a 4+ star rating. It’s also prudent to test the rating vs the number of sales. High sales and ranking look very fantastic. But a high ranking and very low sales is not positive. If you’re working with an independent vendor, look for reviews about their business, and if possible, reach out to people who left those reviews to confirm their credibility.

Communication is another major factor. Given that most fashion and clothing dropshipping vendors are located overseas, maintaining clear communication between both parties is crucial. If communication is a problem, we would advise against working with that vendor. There are too many ways an order could encounter a hiccup, and you need to trust that your vendor will be available as soon as you need them.

Finally, the best AliExpress vendors are those who offer ePacket. This means free and fully-trackable delivery to your customers. This takes the brunt of delivery fees off your price, and you can use the free delivery feature to pull in more buyers.

The Issue of Sizing: How to Help Your Consumers find the Right Size

One of the biggest problems of online fashion shopping is sizing. Since most clothing items are made in China and some other Asian countries, there is often a disparity in sizing. This can be a real bother as customers will often ask for a refund if the item delivered is not in their size.

It’s up to you as the fashion store to study the Chinese measurement charts and learn to interpret their fashion sizes into the US, EU, and UK options. ChinaBrands offers a breakdown of this process, along with a chart, that should be easy to follow.

The Recipe for Pricing

One question that many dropshippers ask is, “how do I set the right price?”. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all recipe for this. However, we can tell you what you need to consider before setting a price.

Your final price for a product should include the following: Supplier Price, Shipping Cost, Marketing Costs, Selling Platform Fees, Shopping Cart Transaction Fees, Payment Gateway Fees, Running Charges for Any Other Tools or Apps in Use, Your Profit Margin (40% – 50%).

Be careful to not overprice your goods as it can make you lose customers. Don’t underprice them either, or you won’t make a profit. Keep an eye on what your competitors are pricing their products. Doing this will help you stay within the industry standard.

Use Sell The Trend to build a successful fashion dropshipping store

No successful dropshipper operates manually. As a one-person/small group team, you would be working 24/7 to execute all your tasks. This is why we recommend the Sell The Trend dropshipping software.

Sell The Trend makes a huge difference in store performance for our dropshipping partners. This dropshipping tool is an A.I. powered machine, allowing us to offer you 9 essential features using real-time data.

With Sell The Trend, you can automate everything from dropshipping product research in your industry to finding what’s hot and trending, discovering the products your competitors are advertising heavily, creating video ads for your products, one-click product import, order fulfillment, and so much more. All these features are available for the price of one!

Interested in what Sell The Trend offers? Click here to get started with your 7-day free trial.

Learn more about setting up a fashion clothing store here.