How to sell clothes on Shopify: Guide for 2025

Pick a niche

Identifying your niche is the first step in developing your business model. Whether it’s an eco-friendly clothing line targeting plant-loving millennials, gear for parents of soccer players, or unique prints that appeal to abstract art lovers, selecting the right niche will determine how well you sell online.

To find your niche, consider what you’re passionate and knowledgable about and identify market gaps. Use tools like Google Trends to analyze the trends within your target market. Research relevant keywords and determine what is popular but has the lowest possible competition.

Create your online store branding

Brand identity is a business’s most valuable asset. It goes far beyond choosing a store name or logo, including the entire look and feel, from color schemes and the store’s aesthetics to the tone of voice in product descriptions or social channels.

Your branding should align with your online store’s concept, core values, and buyer personas, reflecting your unique selling points. A consistent brand message will let you connect authentically with your target audience while selling clothes on Shopify.

Decide what to sell

Make informed, data-driven decisions about the clothing items you sell in your eCommerce store. Conduct product research that’s aligned with your niche and branding. Use tools like Google Trends to understand demand and browse other Shopify clothing stores to identify trends.

For example, if your niche is quirky graphic tees featuring jungle animals, search for similar products and determine if there’s a high demand. Ensure your products have both demand and uniqueness to snag as many customers as possible.

Design your products

Product design plays a key role in the success of any online clothing business, as each production method has unique design considerations.

For dropshipping or vintage clothing, you only select pieces that complement your brand’s identity and appeal to your target market.

Print-on-demand platforms like Printify let you create your own unique designs tailored to your brand. You get to customize your products while still avoiding the inventory hassles that come with a vintage or handmade clothing business. This is a step up from the traditional dropshipping business model since you get to niche down your clothing items much more for your target audience.

Choose production and shipping methods

Choose the right production and shipping models to manage costs, minimize risks, and maximize profitability. Evaluate each business model’s cost efficiency, control, and scalability level to make the best decision for your online clothing store.

Print on Demand

Printify is perfect for customizing products with low production costs and avoiding the hassles of inventory. After someone orders from your online store, the Print Provider produces and ships it to the customer.

Dropshipping

This business model lets you sell generic products without a hefty upfront investment and inventory storage. Suppliers ship ordered items directly to your customers, giving you less control over inventory and production.

Wholesale purchasing

Buying in bulk can lower costs per item but requires upfront investment, stock storage, and logistics for packaging and shipping to keep up with demand.

Local manufacturing

Producing clothing domestically provides greater quality control but usually costs much more. It also requires managing packaging and shipping logistics, including negotiating carrier rates or offering varied shipping options. This model is ideal for higher-end fashion products.

Handmade production

Making your clothing by hand gives you full control over production but requires investment in sharpening your craft skills, equipment, and space. Packing and shipping orders yourself takes time away from your production process, but finding a third party or employee to handle this can solve this if you have the budget to pay them. 

1. Create an account

Go to Shopify and select Start Free Trial. You’ll get 14 days free to explore the platform before picking a subscription plan. They start at $29 per month and come with different features, so you’re sure to find the right one for your business.

2. Select a theme

Go to the Themes section under your dashboard and browse Shopify’s Theme Store.

The platform has many free and paid themes for different types of businesses. Free themes are a great way to start, while paid themes offer more customization and unique design options for your online clothing store.

Choose a theme that best fits your clothing business’s general needs, then customize it to reflect your brand’s aesthetics by adjusting the colors, fonts, and layout.

3. Add products

Now, it’s time to add products to your store. Go to your dashboard’s Products section and click Add Product.

Upload high-quality product images that showcase your items well and write detailed descriptions, including the product’s features, benefits, and relevant sizing tables.

Then, set pricing, inventory levels, and any product variants like sizing and colors.

4. Set up payments

Go to the Payments section under Settings.

Shopify offers integrated payment gateways, including Shopify Payments, which is easy to set up and supports major credit cards and third-party options like PayPal or Stripe.

Choose the payment method that best suits your customers’ needs and preferences.

5. Configure shipping settings

Head to the Shipping and Delivery section under Settings. Choose your shipping methods, such as standard, express, or free. Set shipping rates based on destination, order value, weight, or different shipping providers.

Consider automating this process using Shopify’s shipping apps to simplify calculating costs, generating shipping labels, and tracking orders.

6. Launch your store

Before launching your site, preview your store by clicking the eye icon in the top-right corner to ensure everything looks as intended. Then, make your store live.

Click Remove Password under the Preferences tab in the Online Store section, and hit Publish. Your Shopify store is now live and ready to sell clothes online!

Shopify SEO

SEO is all about using the right keywords to target the appropriate audience. Make sure to include your target keywords in product titles and detailed descriptions.

• Research which search terms your target audience uses when looking for clothing similar to what you sell in your own online store.
  
• Analyze the competitors to understand how they rank well in search results, drive traffic, and land more sales. See what keywords they incorporate across their web pages, meta tags, page titles, and meta descriptions.
  
• Use SEO tools like Google Trends and Google Analytics to identify popular keywords and analyze search behavior. Consider paid tools like Semrush to explore trends and search data globally for a more comprehensive approach.

Photos and videos

High-quality visuals are essential for an apparel eCommerce store. Use product photos, lifestyle images, and videos to showcase items effectively and convey your brand’s quality. Tools like Adobe or Shopify’s Burst can help create and edit eye-catching visuals that enhance product appeal.

Customer reviews

Customer reviews build trust and act as social proof for potential buyers. Display reviews prominently on product pages using tools like Loox to collect, manage, and showcase customer feedback, increasing confidence and helping turn visitors into buyers.

Shipping details and policies

Clearly define purchase policies in your store to provide a great customer experience. Take your profit margins into account when setting shipping prices, as you want to stay competitive without drastically lowering your profits. 

• Offer multiple shipping options to cater to different customer needs and budgets. Most successful Shopify clothing stores offer standard, expedited, or free shipping for larger orders.
  
• Define return and refund policies to manage customer expectations and provide estimated delivery times to reduce uncertainty. Offer tracking information and communicate effectively about potential delays to build trust.

Social media marketing

Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are perfect for sharing fashion trends and creating engaging content that showcases your products, behind-the-scenes looks, or collaborations.

Use targeted hashtags to broaden your reach and sell directly through social media by leveraging Shopify’s or Printify’s social media integration.

Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is a great way to find new customers. Start by identifying influencers who fit your brand values and niche, and then reach out with collaboration proposals, such as sponsored posts or product reviews.

To motivate partnerships, offer them free samples, affiliate commissions, or payment. Define clear goals and track performance metrics to measure the impact on your sales and brand visibility.

Email marketing

Email marketing is a cost-effective way to keep in touch with your existing customers and encourage customer loyalty. Segment your audience based on purchase history and other preferences. Build an email list, organize your subscribers, and send personalized campaigns.

You can also set up automated welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, and post-purchase follow-ups.

1. Create your Printify account

Sign up for Printify. Start with a free account or upgrade to Printify Premium to get up to 20% off all products. 

2. Connect your Shopify store

Head to the My store section and select Add a new store. Choose Shopify from the list of integrations and click Connect. You’ll then log in to your Shopify account to confirm the integration. Once done, every product you create in Printify will be published to your Shopfy clothing business seamlessly.

3. Time to design products

Choose clothing items from the Printify Product Catalog and customize them using our Product Creator. Upload an existing design or create something new with our free design tools, like the multilingual text editor, pattern tool, free graphics library, and AI Image Generator.

4. Launch your store and start selling

Once your products look just right, click Publish to list them on your Shopify store. Start promoting your clothing business via social media, email marketing, and influencer collaborations.