Whether you have thousands of followers or just a few loyal ones, starting a Shopify merch store is a surefire way to unlock a new revenue stream.
While increasing profit may be enough for some, others find that selling merch has many other benefits, like strengthening the sense of community and improving brand awareness.
In this article, we’ll show you how to design, create, and sell Shopify merch that aligns with ever-changing market trends so you can stand out with products that everyone will love.
How to make merch for a Shopify store?
With Printify as your print-on-demand partner, you can create, design, and sell merch on a Shopify store without any inventory, upfront costs, or logistical worries.
The Printify Catalog has over 900 high-quality products, including stylish apparel, handy accessories, and beautiful home decor that you can customize to your heart’s content.
In our intuitive Mockup Generator, creating your own merch is easy. Add artwork, text, or a combination of elements to create merch that stands out.
Everyone’s welcome to sign up for a free account and start designing merch for their brand today.
Advantages of Printify:
- Easy to start. As an all-in-one solution, we provide entrepreneurs with all the products, tools, and support they need to start a successful merch business.
- Seamless integrations. Shopify easily integrates with Printify, allowing you to sell merch to millions of potential customers worldwide.
- Low upfront costs. You pay for the merch only after a sale goes through, so there’s no need to invest in inventory or worry about losing money.
- No hassle. When a customer orders your merch, we do all the heavy lifting – printing, packaging, and shipping directly to their doorstep.
- No minimum order quantity. Whether you want to create gifts for your existing fans or sell thousands of products, you’re free to do so, as we have no minimum order quantity.
Start a merch store with Printify today!
How to sell merch on Shopify?
Today, anyone can begin selling merch on a Shopify store by following a few steps.
- Select a plan. When you create a Shopify account, you get a three-day free trial. However, to begin selling, you need to purchase either the Shopify Basic, Shopify, or Shopify Advanced plan.
- Buy a domain. While the platform provides a free subdomain, buying a tailored one is better. In their Help Center, they provide information on how to buy a domain through Shopify.
- Come up with a name. Create an original name that reflects the heart and soul of your brand.
- Pick a website theme. The way a store looks matters, especially if it’s for branded merch. With Shopify, customizing a storefront is easy. They offer 12 free and 143 paid website themes anyone can personalize to fit their brand.
- Integrate your store. Sign up for a Printify account and follow our step-by-step guide on integrating a Shopify store, which will automate production so you can sell without any logistical troubles.
Quick tips
You can learn more about how to sell on Shopify from our article, which gives an in-depth look at everything mentioned above, guiding you through the whole process.
Shopify merch trends: 15 Best-selling Print on Demand products
While coming up with merch ideas is challenging, don’t worry – we’ve done the research for you. With our A+ list of awesome products, attracting new customers won’t be hard.
Quick tip
Try research tools like Google Trends, Ahrefs, or Semrush to check the popularity of various merch ideas and gather data about consumer demand.
T-shirts
Industry experts forecast the global custom t-shirt printing market value will reach $3.1 billion by 2025, making the humble t-shirt one of the biggest sellers.
With an original design, like a beautiful logo, you add to their perceived value, setting your brand apart and increasing the likelihood of sales.
After all, the simple t-shirt is a timeless favorite among people from all walks of life, perfect for every occasion, no matter the season.
Hoodies
A well-established classic, hoodies have a lasting appeal in different trends. No wonder the revenue in the jerseys, sweatshirts, and pullovers segment reached $65 billion in 2023, showing no signs of slowing down.
With a beautiful design, you can give your fans a fresh way to express themselves. They’re ideal for various activities and lifestyles. Whatever size, style, or color you need, the Printify Catalog has the right option to suit any brand.
Mugs
When selling merchandise online, personalized mugs are the name of the game. After all, they’re a practical necessity that’ll never go out of style.
Industry experts predict the global mug market will reach $44.21 billion by 2029. With such a wide appeal and limitless customization options, they’re a great product to add to your own catalog of products.
Whether you need travel, enamel, or color-changing mugs, we’ve got everything a merch store needs.
Tote Bags
As people search for ways to reduce their environmental impact, personalized tote bags become increasingly popular. Tote bags are reusable and perfect for grocery shopping, carrying books, or even as a stylish accessory.
If you need a great addition to your existing Shopify merchandise to appeal to environmentally-conscious followers, tote bags might be just what your store is missing.
Posters and Canvases
With a beautiful design that shows off your brand’s personality, posters and canvases can enhance the aesthetic appeal of any fan’s room.
Experts predict that the wall art market will reach 72.61 billion by 2028, proving that the demand is certainly there. Not to mention that fans love to surround themselves with visuals that represent their favorite creators.
Whatever style or size you want, we have the right posters for all your merch store needs.
Design your own merch today!
Stickers
Don’t overlook stickers if you’re ready to sell merchandise on Shopify. While small, they’re popular beyond belief. As a trendy product, they won’t gather dust on your digital shelves for long.
With unlimited customization options, anyone can create merch that brings brand awareness and a little fun to their fans’ lives.
Backpacks
In 2022, the global backpack market was worth around $15.9 billion, and it’s forecast to almost double in value by 2030. With the increasing trend of digital nomadism, backpacks have become a great solution for carrying laptops and other gadgets while on the go.
If you want to design iconic merch that will appeal to a wide audience and carry your personal brand wherever they go, this is it.
Phone Cases
As the global mobile phone accessories market grows, reaching $310 billion in 2023, so does the need for accessories.
Stylish and practical, phone cases are all-time bestsellers. With low shipping costs and high profit margins, they make appealing merchandise to sell on Shopify.
Hats and Caps
Consider hats or caps if you’re struggling to come up with merch ideas your fans will love. Ideal for various activities, they’re no strangers to Shopify stores worldwide.
They serve as memorable keepsakes and conversation starters, allowing fans to proudly display support for their favorite Spotify podcaster, Twitch streamer, or YouTube personality.
The Printify Catalog has hats and caps in various colors, sizes, and styles.
Dog Accessories
In the United States, around 65.1 million households own at least one dog, providing a promising opportunity for profit.
If you want to stand out among other creators, dog accessories like bandanas, collars, or leashes are the way to go.
With these, you can cater to every owner’s taste and dog’s personality, helping them celebrate the beautiful friendship between humans and their furry friends.
Water Bottles
Industry experts predict the global reusable water bottle market will reach $11 billion by 2025.
If you want to sell merch with high practical value, our collection of high-quality water bottles is a great option.
We have water bottles in various sizes, colors, and materials that anyone can easily personalize by adding any design they like.
Blankets
When it comes to selling merch, the only limit is your imagination. With an awesome design, blankets can become a best-selling product, warming up sales like a cozy fire on a winter’s night.
After all, they’re soft, warm, and perfect for every occasion – from chilly summer evenings to frosty autumn mornings.
Socks
In 2023, the worldwide revenue in the socks segment reached $14 billion. The point is clear – everybody wears them, everybody gets holes in them, so the buying cycle goes round and round.
Not only are they essential in everyone’s wardrobe, they also provide a great sales opportunity to anyone wanting to sell merchandise that’s simply fun.
Cushions
While cushions fluctuate in popularity, the comfort they provide remains constant. As Google Trends shows, they’re widely sought-after in several states.
Whether on a sofa or bed, cushions create a cozy atmosphere that invites relaxation. If your fans enjoy lounging at home, they’re great merch products that will pique their interest.
With Printify as their print-on-demand partner, anyone can design stylish cushions with ease, bringing comfort to their followers’ homes.
Journals and Notebooks
As everyday essentials, journals and notebooks bring as much profit as they’ll bring joy to your fans. While they sell best in the back-to-school season, they occasionally peak in demand throughout the year.
Available in various styles, colors, and sizes, they make elegant merch and a great addition to any print-on-demand store.
Start a Print on Demand business with Printify
With just a few clicks, you can sell merch under your own brand without any worries whatsoever because we take care of printing, packaging, and shipping.
Whether your followers live in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Europe, or China, they’ll get their first-class fan merch quickly and on time.
In the era of custom merch, quality is priceless – it’s the golden thread that runs through everything we do as a business, so you can remain confident that your brand’s image is in safe hands.
Design, create, and sell merch with Printify!
5 Examples of awesome Print on Demand stores
While anyone can start a store, not everyone succeeds. If you want to sell merch successfully, it’s good to learn from the best, avoiding pitfalls from the get-go.
After exploring these examples, you can create a merch strategy that enhances your brand identity, brings profit, and transcends your existing audience.
Classic Dad
Classic Dad is a Shopify store that shows how important it is to pick a niche. As a brand, they sell t-shirts and tank tops that encapsulate the humor of dads and their unique role in the family.
The store’s design is wonderfully simple – neat arrangement, ample white space, and easy navigation provide a smooth browsing experience.
With customer reviews under their products, they inspire trust and encourage customers to purchase.
Quick tips
While minimalism is great, as per this example, try out some of the best free Shopify sales channel apps to further increase sales.
Shadawear
Shadawear is a brand built by musician Kaysha to share a positive outlook on life with trendy designs that feature powerful messages.
The brand uses user-generated content, with their existing audience sharing Instagram Stories, to attract new customers and build social proof.
While not all, many of their products feature cohesive designs that follow their brand guidelines, creating a harmonious aesthetic.
The Feminist Vibe
An eye-catching Shopify store that inspires an ethical lifestyle and has created a clothing line that vibes with the idea of a modern-day feminist.
With a mission to empower feminists who stand up for what they believe in, they’re a brand like no other. Unlike other stores, they also feature a blog, which helps the company further establish its brand identity.
When the page loads, an image and a call to action button welcome visitors to explore their summer collection, showcasing their most popular products.
They increase their social proof by displaying several reviews from happy social media influencers, providing names, social media handles, and number of followers.
FerrisBuilt
An Etsy eCommerce store that quickly became a success after Meghan Markle wore their designed t-shirt in a photoshoot.
The store sells t-shirts, sweatshirts, tote bags, and other merchandise with empowering and meaningful messages. The company keeps a finger on the pulse of what sells best, carefully following recent trends and current news.
In addition, they build confidence by providing information about the product’s features and shipping times.
Learn more by reading our interview with Lindsey Ferris, where she provides useful insights into how she built her brand.
Quick tips
While Shopify is a great place to sell merch, there are many other sales channels – discover the best sites to sell online to find the one that’s right for you.
Pop Chart
Pop Chart is a store that sells infographic posters, scratch-offs, and prints of various genres – from literature to sports to space travel.
With a professional design, beautiful visuals, and easy navigation, their store looks great on smartphones, tablets, and computer screens, attracting customers’ attention.
As if that wasn’t enough, the bottom of their homepage features trust badges from Esquire, Glamour, Popular Mechanics, and Cool Material, emphasizing the brand’s reputation for excellence.
A few closing thoughts
As we end our list of the 15 best-selling products, we sincerely hope you found them useful. After all, choosing the right merch is half the battle. While designing takes trial and error, everyone can eventually create merch that brings both profit and joy to their fans.
With Printify, earning is easy – we’ve got everything a business needs: high-quality merch, beginner-friendly design tools, 24/7 support, and the best prices.
