It’s not easy being an e-commerce store. Although more and more consumers are choosing to shop at online stores over their brick-and-mortar counterparts, thereby creating more business, but this also leads to stiffer competition. After all, unless your company’s name is Amazon or ASOS, you’re likely going to have a tough time getting noticed in the sea of rivals not just locally, but abroad too. So what’s an aspiring e-store entrepreneur to do? Give up and admit defeat at the hands of the big market players? That’s a rather unattractive option, so a better path is to avoid typical mistakes and give consumers a specific reason to visit your store. To accomplish this, your business model needs to stand out like a beacon in the dark.
Sure, there are companies providing options to help entrepreneurs begin their e-commerce store and find their feet, but don’t expect that to be the savior of your business alone. Entrepreneurship isn’t purely clicking a few buttons, dusting off your hands, and sitting back in delight. You’ve got to provide real incentive for the general public even visit your site, let alone buy something. Today, we want to give a shout out to the online fashion retailers who decided that to break out of the crowd, they needed to make a statement that would compel people to listen with undivided attention.
These are three fashion e-stores who have business models that dare to be different.
Serengetee
If you’re a customer on the lookout for clothing that looks cool and supports a good cause, then it’s downright impossible to ignore Serengetee. The company handcrafts every item in their Los Angeles workshop, purchases fabric from small, local manufacturers, and gives back 10% of profits to various organizations across the world. It doesn’t hurt that their stock looks great too, with beautifully designed bracelets, headwear, bags, T-shirts, and much more.
Trunk Club
Sometimes, you simply have no idea what to wear, you dislike your current wardrobe, and you completely hate looking for new clothing. Well, that’s exactly why Trunk Club has flourished into a formidable online business – they do the hard work for you. By clicking a few buttons to choose your preferred style (business formal, business casual, casual), you’ll then speak to a stylist in real time, who will suggest options to you via email based on what you’re after. Your “trunk” is sent to your home, you try on the items, then keep what you like and send back what you dislike.
Trunk Club really shines due to the free shipping and incredibly easy format, and the fact that someone knowledgeable is guiding you through the process is such a godsend for those who detest shopping in-store.
Rent the Runway
Understanding that sometimes we only wear certain outfits one or two times a year, Rent the Runway decided that it’s completely unnecessary to buy things, and far better to borrow. With clothing for every occasion, RTR allows someone to rent an item for either four or eight days, and also provides free shipping and handles the dry cleaning. The idea for RTR is amazingly simple, but works so well due to the fact that we can keep our wardrobes free of clutter, and simply rent on an as-and-when basis.
