Whether you’re just launching your first store or moving to Shopify from another e-commerce solution, you are probably wondering how to design and develop your Shopify store, so you can meet your business goals. We’re here to help. As an agency who works with fashion brands that want to grow on Shopify, we have actionable tips on scaling your brand on that platform.
Why fashion brands set up their stores on Shopify?
Shopify is one of the most popular platforms in the fashion e-commerce world. There are a couple of reasons why fashion brands choose Shopify. The most popular is that it is easy to use, even for people who haven’t managed an e-commerce store before. What’s interesting, Shopify doesn’t get complicated when a brand scales their store. It remains simple and intuitive.
The platform is also reliable. It guarantees 99.8% of uptime, and it seems to be so. It’s recommended for fashion stores which know that they are going to attract huge traffic to their store (such as our customer, Attire The Studio, which sold out its inventory in the matter of hours after launch.) But if a merchant is running a store for a while and apps are weighing them down, they can quickly optimize their store’s performance using tried-and-tested methods.
Read: How to optimize Shopify store’s performance
Shopify is also more than just a platform to set up an online store on. It’s an ecosystem of apps. Anyone who has a Shopify account can add a relevant app from the Shopify App Store or connect a third-party solution to it. The integrations work instantly and the features that can be added to a store have a potential to grow sales fast.
You can also connect Shopify with social media profiles to sell products or run ads there, as well as Google Shop, Google Analytics, and popular marketplaces, such as Etsy or Amazon. Shopify Plus owners can use the wholesale sales channel and set up a separate B2B store for their brand. There are so many features packed into the pricing plans, aren’t they?
In comparison to other e-commerce solutions, Shopify scales with you. It’s hard to grow out of the solution. It can compete with Magento as to what you can do with it, like create a headless solution, integrate with PIM, ERP, CRM systems or personalize an online store to your needs.
What fashion brands have their stores on Shopify?
1,59 million merchants use Shopify. A large part of that are fashion brands. Chances are, you know some fashion and apparel brands, but it never occurred to you to check their platforms. Do you want to know which brands from the fashion industry use Shopify?
Examples of fashion and apparel brands that are powered by Shopify
- Rebecca Minkoff (Shopify Plus)
- Victoria Beckham (Shopify Plus)
- Oliva von Halle (Shopify Plus)
- Holland Cooper (Shopify Plus)
- Cult Gaia (Shopify Plus)
- Fashion Nova (Shopify Plus)
- Motel Rocks (Shopify Plus)
- Gymshark (Shopify Plus)
- Osnowa (Shopify)
- Just Beck (Shopify)
- 303 Avenue (Shopify)
- Attire The Studio (Shopify)
Although a huge chunk of our list are some well-established brands, you don’t need to be big to use Shopify. It has affordable subscription plans that we usually recommend to our clients. You can move to Shopify Plus once you’re ready, and for now, use lower plans that will totally match your requirements.
See: What’s the difference between Shopify Plus vs Advanced Shopify?
What can you achieve with Shopify as a fashion brand?
Shopify is more than just an e-commerce app. It’s an ecosystem of tools that are supposed to help anyone to set up and grow a digital business. Its ambition is to make running an online store a piece of pie. Compared to other e-commerce platforms – SaaS or open-sourced systems – Shopify is intuitive. Even non-techies can handle it.
The platform makes it easy to sell anywhere you want, be it social media (integration with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) or physical location (see what Shopify Point-of-Sales is all about.) Social commerce has become one of the most profitable sales channels, especially for fashion stores. But that’s not all.
Shopify consistently releases tools that help businesses with showcasing their products. It makes it easy to put 3D pictures or digital fitting rooms on the product page. The buyer can enter the site, choose a product and move it around to get a better grasp of how it looks like. Modern technologies like that are said to increase conversions by 40% and lower cart abandonment (see how to decrease cart abandonment in Shopify.)
Do you run a sustainable fashion business? Shopify has apps and features that may help you grow your fashion business, too. From enabling donations, educating customers, building a community around the cause to helping you run a service (for example, setting up a shoe repair service, such as Helm does.)
Best Shopify themes for clothing stores
As a Shopify merchant, you can use a free theme, buy one in the Shopify Theme Store or create your own. Many fashion brands use buy ready-made themes, and then customize those designs to match their branding. Since Shopify themes are built by specialists who know much about UX and UI, you can trust that your storefront will look great with them. And you can always edit Shopify theme!
You can also build your own design from scratch. There are some rules from Shopify that you need to follow when creating a custom theme, so it’s best to ask Shopify designers for help. You can read more about it here: Shopify Design: Do you really need a custom theme?
Let’s see the Shopify themes that we would recommend fashion brands to consider. The list includes free and paid themes.
We picked 7 Shopify themes for fashion brands
Origin (free Shopify template)
It is a free Shopify theme designed for makers selling unique pieces. This stylish proposition includes support for: quck view, stock counter, mega menu, sticky header and many more!
See all features here
Dawn (free Shopify template)
This theme is minimalist and futuristic. It is created for brands that want to put their product at the forefront. Dawn theme is free and includes support for: quick view, mega menu, sticky header and much more!
See all features here
Publisher (free Shopify template)
This theme is perfect for studios, independent artists and publishers. It will show a great cross-section of the brand’s work, products and capabilities.
See all features here
Spotlight (free Shopify template)
If you need to start quickly selling your products in on a professional template that will be user-friendly for the shop – use this one! Spotlight is a streamlined theme designed for needs like yours.
See all features here
Flow (priced at $350)
Flow has three presets, but our favorite one for fashion is Cannes. It differs from the free themes. It has a more complex menu and additional features, such as contact form, FAQ site and it is adjusted to global sales with Shopify from the start.
What’s more, Flow has a newsletter popup and a banner at the top of the homepage. Product sorting is developed pretty well when it comes to UX – you can select search criteria in the left menu (see screenshot below).
What about the product page? Customers can leave reviews, and below those reviews is a recommended product section. It means that you don’t need to install apps to have those features.
Split (priced at $300)
Split also comes in three presets, but we want to introduce you to Cuber, as it is the most fitting for fashion. All presets are optimized for high-resolution pictures, equipped with a vertical slider and contain a subpage for measurements. Just like the Flow theme, the product page has customer reviews and a section dedicated to recommended products.
The theme shows prices in different currencies. There’s a hamburger menu on the right site. It contains links to a blog and lookbook with promo pictures and videos (see below).
Envy (priced at $350)
Envy is also an interesting choice, especially one of its presets – Gothenburg. The theme was built with mobile devices in mind. It’s great for those of you who plan to reach a global audience (it has a built-in translation and currency conversion feature.)
The theme is ready for SEO optimization, social media channels integration and adding pop-ups. It’s worth checking out.
Best Shopify apps for fashion brands
Have you picked a theme? Great! It’s time to decide which Shopify apps may help you with marketing, sales, and customer service for your fashion brand. We have an assortment of apps that we selected for fashion stores. This list is in no way exhaustive. We’d love to just give you an idea about what kind of features you can get with Shopify apps.
- “Shop the look” app – we’re pretty certain that you’ve seen the app like that before; a user comes to the site and they don’t need to compose an outfit for themselves – they can browse through already-assembled looks that were put together by a professional stylist; it can help you increase the average order value and stand out from the competition;
- integrating an Instagram feed with a Shopify store – Instagram is a powerful social media channel for fashion stores; by putting the feed on your store, you can grow followers and up the engagement rate – but that’s not all; you can also sell stuff directly from the integrated feed;
- “Back in stock” app – running out of products doesn’t necessarily mean wasting traffic; modern “Back in stock” apps can create retargeting apps, email and text message alerts, and launch them when an item is back in stock;
- “Size chart” app – if you sell clothing, you need to give your customers information about sizing, there’s an app that helps you launch a size chart in a matter of minutes; try it out;
- “Add to wishlist” app – it’s another fashion store’s must-have; wishlist app is for those customers who want to save an item for later; it can reduce unnecessary returns and increase user engagement;
- “Shoppable gallery” app – do you publish lookbooks or promo pictures? You need this app! You can tag products from the pictures and a customer can put them in their cart with just a few clicks;
- “Bestsellers” app – how to persuade visitors to buy at your store? Show them what products are bought the most frequently, that is, create a bestsellers section; you can try one of the apps for that;
- adding badges to product photos in PPLs – starting a section with bestselling products is a great persuasion tool to get people to buy your product, so are badges; you can highlight products.
Shopify doesn’t limit the number of apps and add-ons that you can have in your store. And you don’t need to use the Shopify App Store to find them. Some apps are created by Shopify developers, who can install the app in your store upon your request.
Do you need help creating a fashion store on Shopify?
That’s a rap of our blog post. We went over the most crucial parts of setting up a fashion store on Shopify. Now, it’s your turn to use the knowledge presented here and apply it in real life. Do you need help? We’re a Shopify agency that works with fashion brands all over the world. We can design, develop, and optimize your Shopify or Shopify Plus store. Leave us a message in the form below and we will get back to you.
Maria Siewierska
Digital Marketing Specialist
