One thing that is constantly changing is people’s taste in fashion!
With every season, global phenomenon, or any new craze promoted by celebs or influencers, people’s preferences are headed in a different direction. And this leaves sellers, specifically the wholesalers with no choice but to update their stocks by incorporating the latest fashion trends.
Well, we know that staying updated with the newest fashion trends is challenging, especially when you are a wholesale retailer because there are a lot of things to keep track of. From the shift in customer behavior to regional drifts, material evolutions to tailoring modifications, changes take place in numerous forms and impact the wholesale fashion industry. You need to stay updated with every change to stay competitive.
Taking note of the most influential incidents and changes, we took to write this blog and present the top wholesale fashion trends that are dominating the fashion industry in 2023.
Sounds interesting, right?
But before we jump straight into the trends, let’s give you a brief idea of the ‘marketplace website’.
Marketplace websites, popularly known as online marketplaces are eCommerce sites/stores that directly connect sellers with buyers. While the listing and transaction activities are managed by the website, it gives retailers or brands a great opportunity to reach a vast customer base and sell excellently.
This blog is about explaining the importance of fashion trends for wholesalers, who are looking to stay ahead in the fashion industry. Take a read.
What Are Wholesale Fashion Trends?
The fashion industry is continuously evolving, and staying updated with the latest styles and changes are important for your success if you are a wholesaler. Since the fashion industry is huge with many sub-segments or sub-industries, it is necessary to understand what trends apply to your specific niche. It is crucial to plan after understanding the trends and adapt the ones that suit the interests of your target customers.
By whole fashion trends, it means the popular clothing and fashion accessories worn by people, across the world, at a particular time. For instance, sequins and relaxed fit tees are wholesale urban fashion trends that emerged lately but are still ruling the industry.
Talking of fashion trends, celebrities, artists, singers, or influencers also play a crucial role. Whatever they wear becomes a fashion statement that everyone likes to follow.
By following the trends, wholesalers make it easier for people to wear on-trend clothes or statement attire, enabling them to be fashionable and distinctive among the crowd.
Importance Of Wholesale Fashion Trends To Retailers
Wholesalers need to stay updated with the trends and developments taking place in the fashion industry. Your customers are present all over the world, and following the trends helps you pick pace with the styles and fashion evolutions preferred by people in different regions.
That’s why you should follow the trend and plan your products. There’s hardly anyone who does not live with fashion or update their style sense from time to time. Whenever they come across any wholesale fashion trends or reviews, it urges them to follow and uplift their style game to stand out in the crowd. So, by going with the fashionable trends, you build a clear path to sell more and become highly profitable.
In short, if you are a fashion entrepreneur or retailer, staying abreast of current trends will give you a competitive edge. It is a critical way to stay successful in the industry for the following reasons.
1. Attracts more customers:
People tend to look for a fashionable and modern retailer who can enhance their styling by offering out-of-the-box designs and collections. When you go by the latest fashion trends for wholesale products, it is obvious that you have all the prominent and trendy styles to offer. This ensures that your business attracts more customers and makes more sales.
2. Enhances your brand loyalty:
To keep up with the trends, you ought to be following fashion icons, other top-notch brands, designers, etc. When you follow their accounts on social media and share some of their newest posts, it enhances your brand’s reliability as a wholesale fashion retailer and improves the loyalty of your customers.
3. Creates your brand awareness:
One of the significant advantages of moving with the popular fashion trends is that it puts your brand in the limelight. It might give you opportunities for growing your social network with leading fashion houses and influencers, which will create awareness of your brand.
Influence Of Wholesale Fashion Trends On The Marketplace Website
Online marketplaces are growing today at a rapid pace because of the convenience that they offer to sellers. They could sell in bulk without investing much in marketing. They are the best place for wholesale fashion retailers to sell fast and make profits. According to marketing experts, a company’s revenue will grow manifold by selling items on online marketplaces where there is a ready customer base.
However, clothes are one of the best things to sell on online marketplaces and that’s why the competition is huge. Therefore, you need to be aware of the latest wholesale fashion trends and update your products accordingly so that you can attract maximum customers.
Here’s how fashion trends influence selling on online marketplaces.
1. Selling of the most stylish outfits
When wholesales utilize the ongoing trends and infuse them in their products, they can create outfits and styles like never before. It’s because most successful fashion retailers refrain from fully imitating the fashion styles and only get ideas from them to incorporate into their specific products. So, that inevitably results in creating clothes or accessories that are out-of-the-box but are still going with the trends.
When you sell something extraordinary, it will certainly make your brand more noticeable in the marketplace and get you more customers.
2. Rise in competition
When most of the retailers follow the ongoing fashion trends and try to come up with modish outfits, it raises the level of competition in the marketplace website. Every wholesale retailer tries to outperform each other by cutting their prices, improving quality, or offering discounts. This hugely benefits the customers and at the same, gets you more sales and revenue.
When blank apparel became a dominant trend because of people’s urge for minimalistic outfits, wholesale marketplaces were flooded with products including blank t-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants, etc. This was the time when high-quality blank garments of Champion, Next Level, Comfort Colors, and Gildan became popular, with each brand competing on quality or price.
3. Faster production and increase in sales
While the wholesalers try to keep pace with the evolving trends, the garment industry experiences a sharp rise in production. When any trend becomes rampant, people’s purchases increase and that puts pressure on the sellers to manufacture more outfits in less time. In other words, some of the successful fashion trends result in faster production, which contributes to the growth of the retail clothing sector.
Due to this impact on the garment industry, wholesale retailers give priority to production planning to ensure that they manufacture and sell products on time.
Wholesale Fashion Trends And Patterns Observed In Past Years
Over the past years, several fashion trends for wholesale clothing have emerged, ruled, and persisted in the industry. One of the noteworthy trends was ‘ethical and sustainable clothing’, which became a phenomenon because people want to reduce the impact on the environment and society. With time, this resulted in the evolution of organic cotton and recycled polyester.
There are many more trends, such as streetwear-inspired fashion and oversized tees that became a staple in the wholesale fashion industry. If you are willing to explore some more of the fashion trends over the past years, check out some of our favorite trends we took inspiration from.
#1 Knits
Cozy knits became a huge fashion trend in 2021 but are still popular in the industry because people love lighter fabrics. Lighter knit clothing is also every designer’s favorite today who designs a variety of apparel, including crop tops, tank tops, and biker shorts.
One of the key reasons knits became a raving trend is that it is suitable for warmer climate! For people doing their work from home or those who want to spend maximum free time indoors, knits will continue to be their comfort clothing.
#2 Cargo pants
Who thought that shapeless, relaxed, and low-rise pants will become a remarkable fashion trend, for both men and women? It’s perhaps the most demanded type of bottom-wear for next-gen, which gave comfort while walking, sitting, traveling, hiking, and driving.
It is a common fashion garment today, which is made more utilitarian by manufacturers with multiple pockets. While it is commonly made of cotton in khaki or olive colors, high-quality fabrics like silk are also used to bring variety to the garment.
#3 Oversized Blazers
It’s not surprising that relaxed fit or oversized blazers are ruling the women’s fashion segment for quite a long time. Many brands, such as Stussy, Palace, Awake, and Noah are coming with innumerable options.
Also referred to as bomber jackets, they rest loosely on the hip or can be also worn as a cropped style. Akey rule of this jacket is that cuffs should not be above the wrists and should hang loosely. Mostly, the blazers are available in neutral shades, which make it an empowering and classy style statement.
#4 Fancy florals
Flowers always represent the soft, delicate, and feminine side of women. Beautiful floral motifs, loose petals, and raging hues of pink are some of the common floral patterns that became quite a trend among all age groups of women. Bright yellows and fancy colorful prints on neon shades are the something out-of-the-box that helped teenagers and young adults sport stunning looks in summer.
To know how florals emerged as a top fashion trend, you can check out the stunning collections of Valentino, Bernadette, Zara, and PDN London.
#5 Collars
There was a time when every store has collared tops, tees, and dresses that sold terrifically! People loved them for the comfort and class that they provided. Collared garments became everyone’s favorite because of their versatility. Whether one needs to wear a bit formal for work or wants to wear something casual for an outing, these are perfect choices.
The simple collared items not only grew as a staple clothing style but were also incorporated into knits, long dresses, jumpsuits, and matching sets. Exclusive collared collections at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, and Macy’s show how the trend bloomed into an iconic style statement.
11 Impactful Wholesale Fashion Trends To Make A Mark In 2023
Sellers at the marketplace website need to watch out for wholesale fashion trends that are set to rule the upcoming seasons of 2023. Those trends help them get ahead of the game and make way for more profits despite the intense competition in the online marketplace.
Staying with the trends also captivates the attention of target customers since they can always get something cool and chic to add to their wardrobe!
When talking of trends, we should not forget about the basic elements that give rise to the trends. From shifting consumer behavior to regional progress, sustainable manufacturing to minimalist designs; these are some of the evident factors that brought changes in the fashion world.
For instance, the popularity of K-pop culture in the last decade had a serious influence on the fashion industry. The outfit styles and accessories of the artists became a topic of conversation among youngsters and designers included those styles in their collections.
Likewise, we can’t miss the fact that commitment to sustainability became a prerequisite for manufacturers in the fashion industry in the past years. When we searched for the correlation between ‘sustainability’, and ‘fashion’, it showed an upward trend, which means sustainability will continue to grow. This is the reason local fashion brands such as Harvest & Mill, Svala, ADAY, VETTA, and Pact became famous that taking a sustainable approach to manufacturing high-quality clothes and accessories.
While the impact of fashion trends in the wholesale marketplace is obvious, here are some trends that are ruling this year and are likely to gain more prominence in the coming days.
#1 Denim looks
From slim-fit and straight-fit jeans to shirts, dresses, and jumpsuits, the denim trend is everywhere!
It seems to be the most comfortable attire regardless of the season or occasion. You have also probably seen a lot of baggy denim outfits that are worn by the most fashionable people.
Whatever category of denim items you specialize in, make sure to offer a variety of shades. From classic blue to stylish white, bold black to elegant off-white, offer your outfits in all these shades to make sure you get a lot of customers. Colored varieties of denim, which mainly go for shirts, jorts (jeans shorts), and jackets are a craze among youngsters because they offer a smart-casual look that is best for college, simple outings, hangouts, or coffee dates.
While simple blue denim was always in style, this year denim outfits are coming with twists. Another perky style that came was Canadian Tux, which is a denim wear top to bottom. While it was an exclusive wear for the working class, it now became a hot trend after many celebs like Justin were seen wearing it.
#2 Maxi skirts
After miniskirts trended for a long time, this year seems to make a statement in the skirt segment by introducing maxi skirts. A great thing about these skirts is that they are comfortable year-round.
While mostly thigh-skimming skirts circulated to date because of women’s love to go bare-legged, maxi skirts came out in full force and going to rule in autumn/winter collections of 2023. The trend of maxi skirts became a hot topic when they first came as a styling inspiration in the form of bodycon skirts to be paired with denim jackets or crop tops. Spring/summer shows by luxury brands such as Alaiashowcased such skirts.
If you doubt whether the maxi skirt is one of the legit wholesale fashion trends that is going to surface more worldwide, we’ll clear that. With designers coming up with a range of styles, from denim maxi skirts to flared and low-rise maxi skirts, we anticipate the outfit is going to live for a long time.
Skirts are also coming up with more neutral colors that are apt for classic styling and we can’t wait to see more of them on the marketplace websites!
#3 Gender-neutral fashions
Gen-Z consumers, which include teenagers and young adults are no more inclined to shop based on their gender. They just look for clothes that will look good on them and make them feel comfortable. The notions of menswear and women’s wear are gradually fading and what is called ‘gender-neutral fashion’ is gaining importance.
This preference of next-gen consumers toward gender neutrality is pushing manufacturers, wholesalers, and designers to rethink the designs of their products. Boyfriend t-shirts, cargo pants or khakis, and blazers are some of the common examples of un-gendered fashion that are selling excellently on the marketplaces.
Celebs and artists are also widely embracing the gender-fluid fashion trend. Even One Direction star, Harry Styles launched a beauty brand named “Pleasing” considering Gender Neutrality. Labeling his brand a ‘life brand”, he introduced products like nail polishes as well as stylish garments like crewneck defying stereotypes in fashion.
Apart from Pleasing, many other gender-fluid fashion brands are winning hearts today on online marketplaces, such as Riley Studio, One DNA, and SloaneStudios. These are consistently coming up with gender-less fashion garments and accessories for next-gen consumers.
#4 Cobalt blue
Among all the colors, one that has the strongest impact on the fashion industry is ‘cobalt blue’. Most of the runaways this year have seen fashionable collections of both men and women in this vibrant color.
There are several reasons this color rose as a trend, unexpectedly. It is bright enough to mark the freshness of a sea surface on a usual morning. Secondly, it is the subtleness of the shade that makes it great for any casual wear or daily wear. Besides, it is the type of blue that will provide anyone with an exciting outfit when paired with a light-colored piece. From skirts to tanks, dresses to pants, cobalt blue goes well with anything you can think of.
Incorporating this wholesale fashion trend into your clothing business is easy. Whatever you sell, be it tees, t-shirts, dresses, skirts, tunics, or menswear, just introduce more of these apparel in cobalt blue hue to enjoy this understated trend.
#5 Sheer
Sheer or see-through fabrics swiftly became a trend in 2023 from being a staple spring fashion need. Till today, it was considered a favorite way for women to feel relaxed during warmer days while still being sensual. Being translucent, sheer clothes covers everything but allow one to show skin to some extent that does not look odd or obscene at all.
Sheer is now available for all forms of clothing! From chiffon shirts to gauzy gowns, and tulle trains to long sleeves sheer tops, and side-slit t-shirts to off-shoulder dresses, there are a lot of diverse styles that are coming out of sheer fabric!
Apart from being a popular fabric for fashionable outfits, sheer is the new normal material for formalwear. Designers are tactfully making outfits with elegant shades like beige and delicate prints like florals.
Translucent sheer has become quite a fashion trend for wholesale and you can make a mark by offering appealing pieces on the online marketplace. Sheer garments are easy to pair and easy to style and so there are high chances you will get customers flowing into your store.
#6 Biker girls
As experts in online marketplaces, we noticed the biker girl trend become unexpectedly famous this year. It pulled the nostalgic vibe of leather jackets and messy fads but was incorporated into casual wear and regular wear.
Many designers spiced up the outfits with some shine and made them perfect for party wear. The trend grew in significance when stars like Hailey Bieber and Rihanna were seen in dazzling biker girl outfits.
You may consider that biker-styled outfits being shiny or metallic are not as good as casual wear and might not sell more. But, fashion designers are venturing into this style with more and more vibrant colors such as violets, browns, and glistening greens.
The style also becomes an obsession on social media with hashtags- #silveroutfits and #metallicoutfits. This show how rampant the trend has become among millennials.
However, if you still believe going with the trend might not be a good idea for your wholesale fashion brand, let us crack a secret for you! Margot Robbie, in her upcoming movie Barbie, was spotted wearing a neon pink biker-styled two-piece, pairing it with a cowboy hat. This leaves you with the scope to make great sales once the film is out and girls chase this newest style.
#7 Formalwear reimagined
While this will continue to see many new attire or outfits as wholesale fashion trends, formalwear takes a different turn. The black, dark blue or grey suits will no longer be common wardrobe elements for men as they prioritized comfort and versatility when choosing garments for work or corporate events. However, statement-making outfits still top the list of men when it comes to choosing attire for special occasions.
After formalwear saw a decline for a few years in the past, this category regained popularity in 2023 and will continue to do so. Post the pandemic and work-of-home culture, consumers’ preference for workwear or formalwear went through a dramatic change. People are looking to spruce up their professional style after returning to the office. And, that caused the reinvention of formal wear!
Comfort came into the limelight and that urged retailers and wholesalers to come up with smart casuals like shirts, jackets, dresses with slacks, loose-fit trousers, jeans, flats, and sneakers. All these gradually replaced the boring and notorious formalwear like suits, shirts, ties, boots, belts, and heels.
As the trend of smart casuals became the ‘new formals’ to make work less stressful with breathable clothes, online sales of casual clothing saw a major upsurge. Smart and simple casualwear isn’t just easy to mix and style for any workplace or work event but they are extra comfortable and classy. Therefore, you can easily pick up your sales by offering a range of such multipurpose work outfits for men and women.
#8 Ethical fashions
One of the most popular developments in the fashion industry that is now the ruling trend in 2023 is ethical and sustainable fashion. It’s because consumers are becoming more aware of the impact of rigorous garment manufacturing on the environment. They are hence seeking out wholesalers or retailers who prioritize ethical manufacturing practices and use environmentally-friendly fabrics.
Wholesale apparel manufacturers are quick to realize the importance of ethical and sustainable fashion and are switching their manufacturing processes and fabrics. They are getting their fabrics from natural or plant-based sources and also trying to reduce waste products in their production processes. To become competitive, you need to follow the same and promote your ‘sustainable approach’ to boost sales and profits.
As experts in online marketplaces, we observed closely that the ‘slow fashion’ added a spur to the ethical fashion trend in 2023. It emerged under the realm of sustainability and represents the conscious decisions of consumers when they like to buy only a few items of premium quality and also meets industry ethical standards. No animal harm, organic textile, fair working conditions, and recycled materials, are some of the standard practices.
Brands that practiced and advocated these experienced a jump in their online sales, even though the prices of their products were higher than other brands. Some of the popular sustainable brands that are making an impeccable mark in the marketplace websites and making huge profits are PACT, United By Blue, The Folklore, and EarthKind.
#9 Minimalist fashion
The idea of minimalist fashion has been doing rounds for quite a time ever since people started preferring simplicity. They like clean designs over dramatic and embellished clothes. It’s because simplicity rules today and going back to the basics is considered classy.
Since minimalist fashion means less embroidery, embellishments, or printed items on the clothes, manufacturers, and designers are focusing on the materials or fabrics. They are using high-quality fabrics like cotton and silk as opposed to low-quality synthetic fabrics like polyester.
Minimalist fashion appeared to be a continuing trend that will pass through 2023 and beyond because it is also the key to a sustainable lifestyle. It narrowed down the choices for men and women and made them have a minimal amount of garments of quality materials from famous brands in their wardrobes.
If you have heard of Vetta and seen its collections, then you right away know what minimalist fashion is! Vetta backs a “thoughtful wardrobe’ through the concept of capsules. Every capsule comprises a set of 5 garments, which can be then styled into numerous outfits, a maximum of 30 outfits. Other brands that are adapting minimalism are Everlane, COS, The Row, and Peter Do.
For wholesalers, adapting this popular fashion trend will be certainly beneficial because it streamlines their manufacturing process due to simplistic designs and fewer embellishments used in the garments. Secondly, it will help them to beat the competition in the marketplace website by offering rare and modest items.
In other words, with minimalist clothing collections, you get the opportunity to reach more shoppers online. After all, who doesn’t want a simple outfit that can be worn for work, casual meets, corporate as well as social events?
#10 Oversized bags
Like oversized clothing, bags of bigger sizes also got into the trend replacing the small, sling, and micro bags which were popular in the earlier seasons. The fashion industry in 2023 goes with the tag “the bigger, the better”. Tote bags which were already a bigger form of the shoulder bags is made impractically bigger by the accessory brands.
While the reason for this oversized bag trend to flourish is still unclear, we suppose it is the demand for women to have stylish side bags that fits not only their items but also office items, including a laptop. After micro bags reigned for a long time, the vast-sized totes make a statement and also seem practical to use.
Also known as Maxi bags, these arm-candy heavy bags are greatly complementing outfits, especially casual wear, and work wear while providing great utility. Many popular accessory brands are coming up with extra-large totes, like Chloe, Nordstrom, Baggit, and Arket. From oversized leather totes to iconic monogram quilted leather bags and woven bags, there are a variety of styles coming up that go well with both formal and everyday wear like jeans, cargo, tees, and t-shirts.
Both stylish and useful, maxi bags or tote bags are increasingly preferred by women for regular use. So, if you are a wholesaler of accessories on the online marketplace website, get influenced by this new season trend to meet the demands of the shoppers.
#11 Cargo culture
Comfort is given more importance than anything else in fashion and that’s why the cargo trend sprung back with new vigor. While cargo pants or simply cargoes are common for a long time, many new styles are emerging, such as baggy cargo skirts with pockets and low-rise cargo trousers.
Cargo pants and skirts are somewhat the revivals of 90s fashion trends but this time with a twist. The return of this humble and versatile outfit is mainly because it’s breathable and cool! Cargo pants got a high-fashion twist this season after several celebrities, including Zendaya and Hailey Beiber, were spotted wearing stylish cargo in public places. It is becoming the common celebrity-approved trend that will be a part of everyone’s wardrobe.
From ultra-luxe fabrics to ultramodern cuts, and offbeat shades to fine detailing, there are many ways cargoes are getting a makeover this time. Being a comfortable everyday outfit, cargoes help people to uplift their style game and so they will be purchasing more of it.
Do not miss out on the cargo trend if you are a wholesaler of fashion garments. Cargo culture is going to dominate for some time from now whether it’s due to the downright cool and modish styles of cargo or the latest obsession of celebrities. By offering a variety of cargo pants and skirts, you can have a great deal of revenue from women and men buyers.
Why Adapt To The Latest Wholesale Fashion Trends?
The wholesale fashion industry is constantly getting crowded with countless sellers entering different online marketplaces. A key way to stay ahead amidst such competition is adapting the most current fashion trends relevant to wholesale clothing.
Here’s why you should adapt to any current developments or changes if you are an apparel wholesaler.
1. Staying abreast of the modern fashion
The fashion industry is evolving nonstop with impactful trends, meaningful concepts, and new designs. Adapting to the trends will help you stay relevant to modern times and gain an upper hand in the marketplaces. Your customers will know that you are offering the latest varieties of clothes or contemporary accessories, and hence, will be more tempted to buy from you.
2. Ability to meet changing customer demand
Catching up with the latest wholesale fashion trends helps you meet the shifting customer pattern and behavior. Everyone, especially the millennials are quick to notice what new fashion or style has emerged, what celebrities are wearing, or what’s sustainable fashion choice today. As they look forward to following the new trends and standing out in the crowd, you can meet their demand and consequently, increase your loyal customer base.
3. Increased sales
Staying relevant to the latest trends is of course going to benefit you through increased sales. Customers are going to rush to your online store once they know you have the most contemporary styles and attires to offer.
4. Competitive advantage
When you keep your collections up to date with the current fashion trends, it gives you a competitive advantage, which is necessary to thrive in the online marketplace. Online marketplaces are ruled by a vast number of sellers and so differentiating your business by keeping trendy collections will get you more customers.
5. Brand identity
Businesses that update their collections, bring the most fashionable items and endorse the styles of celebrities are the first ones to gain recognition in the industry. When you are following the trends, you need to advertise your new collections on various media platforms, including social media to make people aware. That helps you build and maintain your brand identity.
5 Crucial Tips On Adapting With The Latest Wholesale Fashion Trends
There’s no room for doubt that the fashion industry is evolving every season with newer trends. Since the change is dynamic, wholesale fashion businesses have nothing to do except adapt. If you are one of them, here are the key tips that will help you adapt to the latest trends.
1. Pay attention to target customers
The global fashion industry is huge, and multiple trends are emerging now and then. While it’s impossible to keep up with every trend, know your target customers well so that you can understand what trends they are likely to follow to level up their style game.
For instance, if you are selling t-shirts, tees, hoodies, and jackets, young adults are your target audience who imitates the fashion sense of stars, singers, artists, and other celebs. So, you got to closely follow what those celebs and stars wear at public events and improve your collections. Watch essential events like the Met Gala and The Oscars, and take cues from stars’ styles to determine what can go with your fashion product niche.
Similarly, if you are selling fashion accessories like shoes, belts, and bags, going with societal influences is necessary such as ethical manufacturing. Environment-conscious persons are realizing the importance of using products from cruelty-free brands that don’t make use of leather, exotic skins, and other materials derived from animals. So, you need to understand whether your customers are eco-conscious and subsequently, create your products using recycled, environment-friendly, and cruelty-free materials.
2. Tell your brand story
Another effective tip to adapt your wholesale business to the latest trends is by telling a story that your customers can connect with. People like to keep up with the latest trends but often are not aware of what’s happening in the fashion world. It is only when you are starting a wholesale business, if an event/incident goes viral on social media or a celeb wears it, a trend comes into the limelight.
For this reason, big brands take to popular fashion magazines such as Vogue and ELLE and their personal social media accounts to tell about a new trend and explain how they are adapting their collection to it. You can use this too for highlighting the trends that you are flowing with to make your products modish.
Storytelling focusing on a trend can make people aware of what’s new in the market and at the same time give meaning to your branding! It shows your urge to stay relevant with time and the commitment to always come up with the latest fashionable outfits.
3. Provide higher quality products
To be ‘trendy’, you must not forget to fulfill the quality requirements of the customers. Just being trendy might get you recognition in the online marketplace but not ensure customer loyalty. Thus, no matter how well you design your new collections, it will not be worth it if the quality of the clothes is not up to the mark.
To focus better on ‘quality’ while adapting a trend, the basic requirements to keep in mind are the feel of the fabrics, durability, comfort, and manufacturing ethics. Also, to keep your customers happy and satisfied, make sure to keep the prices reasonable while maintaining the quality.
In the end, when you offer quality fashionable items, it will enhance the satisfaction level of your customers, who would keep coming back again and again. Thus, while keeping with the trend can attract potential customers, assuring quality will retain them giving you a loyal customer base.
4. Make use of social commerce
While social media platforms and influencers are significantly amplifying the reach of brands, you can leverage them to adapt to the latest fashion trends in the wholesale segment.
You can engage influencers to showcase your new products in Facebook or Instagram videos and promote your products in a big way. You can also post images, stories, and live videos, and use hashtags to drive more organic traffic to your store in the online marketplace. With every post provide the link to your store so that customers can directly reach you. Pinterest, which allows posting only pictures, is another popular social media platform where you can pin your products with the store’s link.
If you are willing to make your wholesale business competitive in the marketplace by going with the latest trend, leverage the social media platforms thoroughly to promote your new designs, styles, and collection in whatever way possible.
5. Keep custom services at the forefront
While customer satisfaction is the secret ingredient of success for every business today, providing amazing customer services will help you stay competitive as well as trends in the marketplace. Regardless of the marketplace you sell your products, you should provide fast and reliable services to the customers whenever they have a query, complaint, or issue with your products.
So, you need to focus on building an effective customer management team that will work to provide support to the customers. You can also ensure fast and responsive customer services while working with the common technology trend of AI automation. Many brands are using AI assistants or Chatbots in their online stores and social media pages to recommend personalized offers, respond to any customer query, and so on.
We mentioned this tip here because following the wholesale fashion trends will do no good if your brand is not adapting to the common global trends such as AI (Artificial Intelligence), AR (Augmented Reality), and personalized product recommendations that are influencing brands across all sectors. For instance, Ray-Ban, a popular sunglass brand is not only known for its premium stylish shades but also for its AR capabilities that help customers better understand how the products will look on their faces before buying.
Prominent Examples Of Marketplace Websites Successfully Adapting The Trends
If you want to know how to keep up with the latest whole fashion trends, understand how other established retailers on online marketplaces are doing it!
Saks.com:
Saks Fifth Avenue or commonly known as Saks is one of the oldest marketplace websites that never fails to keep up with the trend and offer clothes according to the latest designs and styles. It is trusted by many top designers and luxury retailers. One can even collect some of the runaway pieces from designers’ collections at Saks.
FWRD:
frwd.com is a gem of a marketplace website that is always bursting newest trends in its designer collections. With its stunning and free-spirited collections from reputed brands, it is winning the hearts of millennials. It lists brands such as Saint Laurent whose collections strike a chord with modern mavens to minimalists.
Revolve.com:
This popular online marketplace brings an exclusive collection of trendy outfits and accessories from straight from designers and celeb-endorsed brands. A great USP of this marketplace website is that its garments are directly sourced from the designers. So, for anyone who wants to go with the hottest trend or wear something of celeb’s choice, Revolve is the marketplace.
IntermixOnline.com:
If there’s one marketplace that introduces spring collection, fall collection, and so on every season every year, Intermix is the one. From tops, dresses, and shoes to striking collections from designers and wardrobe icons, you can get everything on the website that is currently trending.
Benefits Of Following The Trends For Your Wholesale Fashion Business
Wholesalers or online retailers who will not update their product line according to the changing scenarios in the fashion industry will soon get overshadowed in the competitive marketplace. While many sellers tend to stick to the tried and tested products that have successfully helped them earn a lot of revenue, incorporating the trends will raise their revenue potential even more.
Offering outfits by adapting to the current trends will benefit your wholesale fashion business in several ways. Let’s discuss some of them.
1. Better forecasting
Forecasting is an everyday function of businesses, regardless of the industry. If you are a wholesale fashion retailer, keeping your focus on ongoing and upcoming trends will help you become better at forecasting.
When you closely stay in the loop to identify the trends in your fashion industry you can better predict what can be trending next. You will make accurate predictions based on your observations from year-on-year and season-on-season trends, popular global events, and celeb styles. You can better plan your future product line and release your products on the online marketplace faster than other sellers.
2. Get recognized as an industry leader
When you are one of the wholesalers who moves by infusing the latest trends into your garments, customers as well as other sellers will consider you a leader or specialist in the industry. They will consider your business as the ‘forward-thinking’ and ‘most fashionable’, which never refrains from experimenting with new things.
This gives you an authority in the industry apart from a competitive advantage. You will gain recognition as a leading brand, and other sellers in the marketplace will follow in your footsteps and even catch up on some of the hot trends that you are following.
3. Get promotional opportunities on big platforms
When you are going on with the latest trends, you can never be caught off-guard in conversations and promotional events within your industry. Nowadays, a lot of promotional events take place in the form of celeb shoots, real-time chats with fashion experts, interviews with designers, etc., on television and online platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
When you go with the trends, your business gets the opportunity to feature in any of these promotional events on the big platforms and suitably promote your brand. Also, you get introduced to new people and new events, which helps grow your networking channel and give you the chance to sell on other marketplaces.
4. Achieve growth continuously
As everything in the fashion world keeps on changing, it may be challenging for you to grow amidst the continuous changes. However, with every change, there is an evolution in the fashion industry that brings freshness to consumers’ fashion sense and style.
If you adapt your brand to the changes, you will be able to grow since customers look forward to purchasing from brands that bring on new things for them to try on. Thus, as a fashion wholesaler, don’t miss out on the opportunity to grow and succeed in the competitive marketplace by not implementing the latest wholesale fashion trends.
5. Give your better ideas
The new trends will give open your eyes to new ideas for your particular product niche that can take your small business to a new level. There are many hidden ideas that you can discover from the trends and uniquely incorporate into your business. That helps you innovate and diversify your products and stand out in the crowd.
Also, when you keep yourself updated with the trends, you can understand the risks and opportunities in the fashion industry i.e., what works and what does not. So, you will be able to develop a reliable business model for your online wholesale business and sell only the products that will be a sure-shot success.
Some Insights Of Wholesale Fashion Trends OnSales And Customer Satisfaction
If you are still unsure how the marketplace website has benefited from keeping up with wholesale fashion trends in the past, we have drawn some data and insights to make you believe it.
- The eCommerce fashion industry’s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is expected to reach 14.2% between 2017 and 2025, according to a report by Statista. A major factor driving the growth is increasing wholesale revenue. With mass retailers like Walmart having seen a rise in their sales, DTC is also going for wholesale.
- Despite the pandemic situation, the apparel and accessories segment saw a surge in their eCommerce sales, including wholesale, and accounted for 29.5% of the overall eCommerce sales.
- As a key segment of the fashion industry, footwear also saw a great rise in its global revenue.
- The fashion accessory segment, which includes bags, belts, etc., is expected to have a CAGR of 12.3% between 2016 and 2026, as per Statista.
- The global jewelry market is also expected to increase and contribute up to 20.8% of the sales in the luxury goods segment.
Clearly, these insights of the wholesale fashion segment show how people derive great satisfaction from buying fashion items from online marketplaces. It’s largely due to the increasing preferences of consumers to buy from online stores instead of brick-and-mortar stores.
Relevance Of Customer Behavior In Driving Wholesale Fashion Trends
Understanding customer behavior is crucial for driving your business along with the surfacing fashion trends. With competition in the industry growing incessantly, you need to identify what styles, colors, designs, and materials consumers prefer the most. It will help you know which of the changes or evolutions will grow as a trend and appeal to your target customers.
In short, customer behavior is at the core of future trends. By analyzing what they prefer or love to wear, you can identify the impactful trends to adapt to your product offerings. For instance, the increasing preference for sustainable clothing is compelling many brands to switch to eco-friendly materials.
Two effective ways for wholesalers to identify customer behavior are following social media drifts and taking cues from influencers. Let’s understand them better.
How Do Social Media And Influencers Shape Fashion Trends?
Fashion and social media go hand in hand. Most brands or sellers use social media for customer engagement and to boost their promotion and brand loyalty.
But, what type of content do whole fashion brands use on social media? Well, nearly half of the new-age customers want to watch videos to see how a product will look on them. This behavioral tendency of consumers gave rise to the idea of ‘influencers’.
Influencers are popular users on Instagram and other social media platforms who have a vast follower base. Brands use their vast reach on the platforms to advertise their products. The influencers wear or use the products letting the buyers accurately visualize how a product will look on them. A bonus point here, a social media influencer is just one of the social media users who have worked hard to raise his or her follower base. Thus, the person is already trusted and hence, makes your products more reliable for use.
Therefore, long gone are the days when a brand can only promote its products through TV commercials or by a star or celeb. The influencer concept only made it easier and highly cost-effective for wholesalers to market their products on different social media platforms and attract their target audience.
Best Tips For Wholesale Retailers To Stay Ahead Of The Competition
If you are a wholesale retailer, you need to stay ahead of the competition in online marketplaces to secure a potential customer base and make your business successful. Following are a few tips that will surely help you to stay ahead.
1. Keep your prices competitive:
This is the first rule to succeed in wholesale fashion retailing where competition is never going down but continuously rising. If you have found the right marketplace website for selling your trending clothing line, make sure to keep the prices reasonable compared to the competitors. Remember consumers have unlimited options in the same marketplace, and they are consistently reviewing the prices offered by other sellers. So, set a pricing strategy that offers the best value to your customers.
2. Determine a USP of your brand:
Don’t forget to set a USP (Unique Selling Point) of your business that will differentiate you from other sellers on the marketplace. It could be anything, ethical manufacturing, premium-quality fabric, personalized customer experiences, or seasonal discounts. Talk about your USP in every promotion to make your target customers aware and win their loyalty.
3. Stay updated with the social media trend:
Being a fashion business, just adapting to the current trends isn’t enough. Social media and fashion go side by side. Thus, stay updated with the social media trends, like trending reels, viral songs or videos, the newest consumer craze, hashtags, gala events, movie promotions, etc., to make sure that you incorporate the trends while promoting/posting for your brand.
4. Embrace technology:
To stay competitive, you also need to stay relevant with the technological evolutions taking place around the world. AI, AR, and VR are some of them!
Apart from these tips, there are many more effective ways to sell clothes online effectively, like providing precise size chart, being specific with the listings, trusted payment system, and so on.
Marketing & Merchandising Of Wholesale Fashion Products
With intense competition in online marketplaces, effective marketing and merchandising are the chief aspects that will help wholesalers to sell their fashion products profitably. From knowing the target audience well to defining a strong brand message, there are many things to take care of to build your online presence and make your wholesale business prominent to widespread customers.
Best Practices To Follow For Marketing And Merchandising
Here are some of the best practices to follow for marketing and merchandizing your fashion products.
1. Storytelling on homepage
The homepage of your online store is the first point of interaction with your customers. Hence, try to make use of this first encounter as much as possible to tempt the customers to buy your products. If you are not sure what kind of story to tell, convey your unique value proposition, the types of products you offer, and most importantly, the trends you keep up with.
2. Go for visual merchandising
While shoppers cannot touch or feel a product when it’s about online selling, visual merchandising helps you make the products appealing and reliable to the shoppers. It’s not about providing HD (High-definition) images of the products but showing 360-degree images and displaying how the product looks when used. For instance, a picture of a bag or a t-shirt on a plain background isn’t helpful. Instead, it looks more convincing when a model carries it in a real-life setting such as an office and you show it through a video shoot.
3. Collection-based merchandising
By displaying your products in a group or bucket, you will make it easier for shoppers to find what they need along with some complementary products that they may like to buy. You can display your special or trending collections to help customers identify their interests. Highlighting products in groups is useful for wholesale retailers in fashion because shoppers are mostly visiting online marketplaces with clear intentions of purchasing.
4. Optimize your keyword searches
Discoverability is a crucial aspect when it comes to online selling. The faster and easier it is to find your products, the better it is. Therefore, make sure to get optimize your keywords and choose the most relevant ones so that shoppers can quickly find your products, whether it’s on the search engine or marketplace website. We suppose it is also useful to use keywords based on wholesale fashion trends since anyone looking for the latest fashionable items can easily find your products.
5. Display customer reviews or feedback
If it’s about selling products online, there’s a big question regarding the reliability of the products as well as the sellers. To make sure shoppers trust your store, highlight real customer reviews and feedback on your store, which will develop trust in them and give them the confidence to shop.
5 Ways To Make Your Product Display Attractive And Reliable
If you are a wholesaler of fashion products, these little ways along with concise planning will help you create a smart and engaging display for your products.
1. Keep it simple:
Simple, de-cluttered, and clear presentation are the keys to making your online product display convincing to the buyers. Also, when you are selling everything trendy, just put your on-trend fashion wholesale products on display because that’s what shoppers are mostly enticed by.
2. Display the price clearly:
While it is quite obvious to show your prices, most retailers just show the selling price and not the additional charges such as packing and delivery fees. You should make sure to show the price clearly and not keep any hidden charges.
3. Immersive displays:
Gone are the days when people got just convinced about the quality of the products by just seeing them in a plain background or mannequins. To make your products truly visually appealing, shoot a story with a model and put the video or just show the products from every angle in video format.
4. Put a compelling product description:
Just a few immersive displays aren’t enough to attract online buyers if you are not telling them what’s good or unique in your products, why it’s a trending one, and so on. So, put a beautiful and realistic product description explaining the fabric, purposes/occasion to wear, manufacturing method, etc.
5. Give a clear CTA (Call-To-Action):
Without a proper CTA (Call-To-Action), it might not be useful to get appropriate sales because buyers would simply get lost on the product page. To help your customers find an item in just one click, put the CTA in a prominent position on the page, use an easy-to-understand and action-oriented language, and make it navigable to the cart in just one click.
Tips To Effectively Promote And Advertise Your Products On Online Marketplace
To successfully sell your products on an online marketplace, make sure to use all the possible and effective marketing strategies to boost your sale. Here are some effective tips to promote and advertise your products.
1. Launch an email marketing campaign:
It will help notify your existing customers about your new arrivals or trending products and persuade some of them to make a purchase.
2. Offer discounts/freebies:
Offering discounts or some free items related to the main product is a great way to make your products attractive to the target audience. You can also provide discount coupons on referrals or repeat purchases which help build your customer base.
3. Integrate social media buttons:
The most effective way today to advertise your online products so that it gets you more customers is through social media postings. Use hashtags for wholesale urban fashion trends, encourage customers to share user-generated content, organize giveaways, and so on.
4. Partner with influencers/bloggers:
Influencers/bloggers have many followers and are capable of influencing your target audience by reviewing, wearing, or demonstrating your trending apparel. So, make use of an influencer or blogger in your niche who will help promote and advertise your products.
5. Highlight customer testimonials:
Do not forget to take advantage of the positive reviews or feedback you have got for your products to promote your business. Satisfied shoppers are your greatest advertisers! When potential buyers see a good review on the online store or your social page, they will be easily influenced to buy products from your store.
Main Street Market & Gifts: The Ideal Marketplace For Wholesale Fashion Trends
While the fashion industry is evolving fast and consistently, wholesalers who stay along with the latest fashion trends are going to win in online marketplaces. The year 2023 is no doubt promising for the fashion industry with many interesting and off-beat designs, attires, and accessories coming up. From redefined styles of denim to cargo culture, there’s a lot to catch up on for wholesale fashion retailers.
If you are one of them, get ready to adapt to these top wholesale fashion trends, exclusively picked by our experts. We also defined how adapting to the trends will help you stay ahead and succeed better than the competitors.
If you are looking for an appropriate marketplace website where you could sell your trending and seasonal arrivals, Main Street Market & Gifts is the one! We are an excellent marketplace for apparel and accessories and are providing wholesalers with a great opportunity to scale up by selling their products effortlessly.
Find tomorrow's best sellers! At Main Street Market & Gifts, we empower retailers and wholesalers to chase their dreams of growing into big independent shops or brands.
