7 Terms Every Online Fashion Retailer Needs To Know
Do you know what 3PL means? Are you familiar with drop shipping? Understanding these terms could be important when trying to break into the world of online fashion retail. Below are 7 niche terms defined.
3PL
Working with a 3PL provider could be essential to running a successful online fashion store. What is a 3PL provider? 3PL stands for ‘third party logistics’ - which involves warehousing and transportation of goods. A 3PL provider can help take care of aspects such as inventory storage, order fulfilment, packing and transportation on your behalf. This means that whenever a customer orders an item of clothing from your store, you don’t have to do anything - the 3PL provider will take care of the order for you - allowing you to focus on marketing, customer service and planning the future of your business.
Chargebacks
If a customer pays by credit card, they have the option to dispute any purchases on their card. These are known as chargebacks. You’re technically only supposed to file a chargeback if a purchase is unauthorised or if you’re not happy with a product you’ve received (and you’ve already tried to get a refund), however some will try to fraudulently file chargebacks on purchases they are happy with. Chargebacks can cost retailers huge amounts of money. It’s important to reduce chargebacks by having a fair refund policy in place, and by using chargeback monitoring to prevent chargeback fraud.
CRM
CRM stands for ‘customer relationship management’. CRM software is worth downloading if you’re an online retailer, as it can help you to manage all your customer interactions in one place - including website live chats, emails, social media comments and reviews. There are CRM programs designed specifically for ecommerce companies.
Drop shipping
Drop shipping involves using third party suppliers to store your inventory. Using drop shipping, it’s possible to store clothing products in warehouses in a variety of different locations. When a customer buys a product, you can then ship the product from the nearest warehouse - reducing the delivery time. It’s particularly worthwhile if you’re selling items internationally.
Lookbook
A lookbook is a selection of photos that aims to show off your clothing line. It typically involves using models posed in ways to make your clothing stand out or promote a lifestyle. When launching a new fashion line, it’s always worth investing in a lookbook. Such photos can be shared on social media and used on your website (either as a slideshow or on different pages around your website). Make sure to work with a fashion photographer and models.
Omnichannel marketing
Many online fashion retailers can benefit from an omnichannel marketing strategy. This involves using every marketing channel you can to promote your brand in order to reach out to as many different types of customer as possible and build brand recognition. The online fashion industry is very saturated, but by investing in omnichannel marketing it’s often possible to stand out.
Stockout
When an item is out of stock, this is known as a stockout. Stockouts - particularly on in-demand products - can lead to a loss of income and should be minimized. You can prevent stock outs by establishing reorder points and automatically sending alerts to buy more stock.