Sweatshirts can be a star seller for many boutique owners. They keep customers cozy and fashionable no matter the weather, but the secret to selling them successfully all comes down to brand alignment.
Boring sweatshirts in unflattering cuts and colors are an outdated item that customers consistently avoid. What does far better on the shelves (or online) is carefully curated selections of on-trend styles that match both your brand’s identity, and your customer’s taste preference. Here’s how you can level up your sweatshirt game.
Begin By Creating a Clear Brand Identity
If you’re purchasing random wholesale sweatshirts (or any other clothing item for that matter) without a strategy, they’ll likely be in your store so long they start to collect dust. The very first step to making clothing selections that your customers love is getting crystal clear on your brand identity.
This means a cohesive aesthetic across branding materials, storefront presentation, and the clothing style of your inventory, but it’s much more than this. It really comes down to figuring out the values and identity you want to portray.
Selecting a specific identity will attract customers who connect with them. A high-end and eco-friendly outdoorsy brand for example is likely to have well off customers who care about the environment and love nature flocking to their store.
This helps customers know what to expect from your brand, and it helps you stand out among a sea of other clothing brands selling wholesale sweaters that don’t have a strategic brand.
Conduct Market Research
The next step after formulating a clear brand identity is to stay on top of the fashion trends within that specific niche. This can be done on a broad scale by looking at overarching trends that have become popular as of late, or it can be done on a smaller scale by looking at your customers specifically. The best option is generally to do a mix of both.
Social media and fashion magazines are great tools for broad trend research. Streetstyle observation can also be a good tool since it caters to a specific location. Lastly, observing purchasing trends in your own store, paying attention to what customers wear, and interacting with them via email or social media surveys can help collect important trend interest data.
Select Sweatshirt Trends That Match Your Brand
Last of all after forming a brand aesthetic and figuring out what your customers like, you’ll need to find wholesale sweatshirts that overlap between both criteria. Classic crewnecks in solid colors are perfect for minimalist and preppy styles, and hoodies are at the opposite end of the spectrum since they work better with a more casual and grungy style.
Slouchy wholesale sweatshirts are a great option for streetwear inspired fashion popular with many younger shoppers, and quarter zips are a more classy option that can be workwear appropriate for a more office-oriented customer base.
Graphic sweatshirts can be a fun option for laid back and funky aesthetics, and textured cozy sweatshirts made of materials like fleece are often popular for sporty and outdoorsy shoppers. With all of these sweatshirt options, there’s something out there perfect for any brand. All it takes to make the right selection is some thought, some research, and plenty of online inventory shopping!