Digital Marketing Plan to Sell Second Hand Clothes – International Institute Of Digital Marketing™

In the past couple of years, thrifting has gotten a new lease on life. Now, it is no longer for the poor; many teenagers and young adults are embracing the trifting lifestyle, buying quality clothes at low prices.

Currently, many young people are trifting to turn a profit, buying clothes at rock-bottom prices from trift stores and upselling them online. If you want to or are already a commercial trifter, here’s an easy list on how to manage your business.

Target Audience

Who are you buying clothes for? Is it the broke college student, a new professional just starting their career, or a teenager wanting to fit in with her rich friends?

What you buy depends on your answer. Think. What are they looking for? Will a young working woman prefer a pair of ripped jeans, or a smart business suit? Put yourself in your clients’ shoes and imagine their wants and needs.

One thing you can try is to create a target persona. For example, “Lucy is a new working woman. She wants to look cool and mature. But she’s only being paid a starting salary and good business clothes aren’t cheap.” Think about what Lucy would like and how much she’d be willing to pay. Try to center your inventory around Lucy’s needs and wants. Ask yourself “would Lucy like this dress” or “is this the type of bag Lucy would take to the office” to decide if you should buy something to sell.

Sourcing

Where to buy your stock? Thrift stores, charity shops and flea markets offer a good range of clothes for low prices.

Look for clothes or accessories in a style that can be easily resold, in as good condition as possible and aim for branded goods if possible. Also, don’t overbuy. If you keep clothes for too long, not only will they take up space, they might also deteriorate from mold or insects.

Online Store

Will you sell your clothes using a platform or by making your own website? It depends on who you’re targeting. Some platforms like Rebelle and Kidizen already have a target audience, which is a good place to sell clothes aimed at them. Other platforms such as Carousell and Ebay cater to a wide range of customers, allowing a greater variety in what you can sell.

Some platforms allow you more freedom than others. On Shopify, you can create your own online store, complete with your own brand.

Another option is to create a whole new website, selling only your clothes. Use platforms such as Wix and Squarespace to build and design your online store.

Before deciding on a platform, you should carefully consider the pros and cons of each option. See which one will suit you and your needs best.

Measuring Success

Use social media sites like Twitter and Instagram to gain attention for your business. You can make a separate account for your business, or just use your own. Don’t forget to link back to your store.

**Use SMART objectives to set goals and keep track of your business.**

Make a plan to grow your business. Use SMART to come up with measurable goals within a set time. For example, “I want to increase the number of visitors to my webpage by 20% in the next month”. To meet that goal, try using social media to promote your clothes and business. Also, you can hire friends and family to wear your clothes and post pictures of your “models” to gain traction.

Another thing you need to keep track of are key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are measurable values that see whether a company is achieving key business objectives. Some examples of KPIs are website traffic, bounce rate, revenue per visitor, etc.

Use SMART objectives and KPIs together to make measurable KPIs within a time frame, such as “reduce bounce rate by 50% within 6 months”. Bounce rate represents the percentage of visitors who enter the site and then leave rather than continuing to view other pages within the same site. That means the landing page isn’t attractive enough and you should change the page design to keep customers engaged from the get-go

SMART objectives and KPIs allow you to keep track of how well your business is doing and identify areas for improvement. Make use of them to grow your online store.

Conclusion

Selling second-hand clothes is both a good way to make extra income and help the environment. Anyone that puts in the effort and research will be able to turn a profit.