Shopify is the best ecommerce platform for clothing stores in 2024. Here's why!

Shopify merchants made $ 9.3 Billion in the Black Friday sales in 2023 with the top industry being clothing and accessories. 23.4% of all Shopify stores sell apparel products. A larger population of clothing stores including big brands like Fashion Nova, Gymshark and Taylor Stitch.

In this blog, you'll read 13 reasons why 'Shopify is the go-to choice to set your online clothing store.

And wait, there's more on setting up your Shopify clothing store, app suggestions, and some handy comparisons  all packed in this blog!

13 reasons why Shopify is the best ecommerce platform for clothing stores

Getting straight to the point, here's the 13 reasons why Shopify will be the best choice to start an online clothing store. 

1. Easy setup, no coding required

Even if you're a beginner with no coding knowledge, setting up a Shopify store is very easy. Be it a growing small business or an established store, migrating and setting up is flexible.

The Shopify theme store's drag-and-drop template allows you to set up customized stores. In fact, Shopify has been rated 4 out of 5 on the testing for ease of use. 

2. Built with a scalable technology

Shopify is built with advanced technology. The scalability and handling speed of Shopify makes it stand out from other e-commerce platforms. 

During the Black Friday sale in 2023, Shopify handled 967,000 requests per second which is equal to 58 million requests per minute.

Handling such larger requests from shoppers around the world proves the technological infrastructure of Shopify. 

Shopify has reported as the easiest ecommerce platform to use, scoring 4 out of 5 in a testing conducted by WebsiteBuilderExpert.  

3. Customizable store themes

By default, Shopify has 12 free themes to choose from and has more than 160 premium themes. If you're setting up your Shopify store for the first time, start off with free themes available. 

You can choose a theme that suits your clothing store and even fully customize it. The best part is every clothing store Shopify theme is mobile responsive and designed with the apparel industry in mind. 

Many Shopify themes come with in-built features such as lookbooks, discounts and email captures. 

Other than themes designed by Shopify, there are trusted third party themes designed by third party Shopify partners and developers. 

Here are a few best Shopify themes for clothing stores:

- Symmetry

- Impulse

- Retina

- Streamline

- Blum

- Mavon

Read more about the 12 best Shopify themes for clothing stores.

4. 8000+ apps to add more features

One of the pros of Shopify is its rich app ecosystem. Shopify app store hosts more than 8000 apps and with new Shopify apps developed every now and then. 

The reason why Shopify has an app store is that Shopify is used by versatile e-commerce industries. Moreover, every Shopify store might need unique features to run the business. 

Apparel industry being the major industry that runs on Shopify, there are numerous Shopify apps for clothing stores. 

There's an exclusive list of Shopify apps for clothing stores in a section below. Read on!

5. Mobile friendly design and themes

Mobile e-commerce is set to hit  $620.97 billion by 2024 and around 76% of adults in the US use smartphones for online shopping.

Apart from these data, we all know how we shop online - the smartphone, of course!

Well, Shopify is designed to work seamlessly on mobile, understanding the significance of smartphone shoppers. 

Here are a few tips on how to make your shopify store mobile friendly

6. Best for apparel dropshipping

The Global drop shipping market size is set to grow reaching $301.11 billion in 2024 and $372.47 billion in 2025.

No doubt, more than 12% of all stores on the Shopify platform are using at least one dropshipping product.

Shopify is preferred more for apparel drop shipping for its user-friendly interface. Moreover, you can choose from a range of dropshipping apps like Oberlo, Zendrop etc. 

Whether you're a beginner or an experienced entrepreneur, Shopify's mobile-friendly design, multi-channel support, SEO features, and diverse app ecosystem make it the top choice to start with apparel dropshipping.

7. Supports multi-channel marketing

Selling clothes has become common now in social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. 74% of the consumers make shopping decisions on social media. 

Shopify boasts a multi-channel marketplace without being stuck on a single source. 

You can integrate Shopify with multiple channels such as social media and even e-commerce sites like Amazon and eBay. 

8. Multi payment and gateway integration

A smooth checkout experience is essential for clothing stores on Shopify which is achieved through multi-payment and gateway integration.

Shopify supports diverse payment options such as credit and debit cards, digital wallets, Buy Now, Pay Later services, and other international methods. Moreover, this can reduce cart abandonment boosting higher conversion rates.

Shopify's default gateway- Shopify Payments, and additional options like PayPal and Stripe can be integrated. 

9. Built-in SEO features to boost traffic

Shopify comes with the benefit of  SEO (Search Engine Optimization) features. The built-in blogging tools let you share your brand story, attract organic traffic, and establish yourself as an authority.

Here's a quick tip to improve your Shopify clothing store's SEO:

1. Identify relevant keywords for your products and brand. You can use Google Keyword planner or Aherfs keyword tools for this. 
2. Add the keywords into content, such as page titles, descriptions, and image alt text.
3. Ensure URLs and file names align with your keywords
4. Adding your complete domain (e.g., https://www.your-shopify-domain.com/sitemap.xml) to Google Search Console helps you monitor and improve your store's visibility in search results.

Enhance your SEO with apps like Booster SEO & Image Optimizer and Plug in SEO Optimizer. 

10. Shipping and fulfillment integration

Shopify's shipping and fulfillment integration simplifies order management to configure shipping settings, generate labels, and automate fulfillment. 

You can also integrate with third-party fulfillment services like ShipBob, Red Flag Fulfillment and Amazon. Install delivery rate Shopify apps to order tracking and manage multi-location inventory management.

For shipping your products, you can integrate with logistic services such as DHL, FedEx etc.  Calculate shipping rates using shipping apps from the Shopify App Store for additional features and carrier integrations.

11. Send email campaigns through Shopify 

Send promotional emails to your customers to promote or inform them of any special sale with emails. 

Shopify merchants can send 10,000 free emails every month with Basic, Shopify, Advanced Shopify and Shopify Plus. Emails sent after 10,000 will be charged as per Shopify�s email pricing regulations. 

If you've been underestimating email marketing, stop right there.

Email marketing can drive more sales to your clothing store. Retail brands like clothing stores have an average click rate of 2.25% and average open rate of 18.39% on the email marketing campaigns.

With Shopify's inbuilt email features, things are easier since you don't have to look for external email marketing tools.

You can also use email marketing Shopify apps like Klaviyo, Omnisend, MailChimp etc.  

12. Point-of-sale (POS) features

Apart from your online store, you can sell your clothing in person with the Shopify POS  (point of sale) app. Whether you own a physical store or set up a temporary pop-up shop, Shopify POS solves it.  You can install the Shopify POS in devices such as smartphones or tablets to offer in-person shopping  experience. 

13. Different pricing plans and versions

If you're just starting off, the Basic Shopify plan or Shopify plan  would be a good choice. You'll get unlimited products, multichannel selling capabilities, and other useful sales features, such as abandoned cart recovery and gift cards. As you get familiar with Shopify and need more inbuilt features, you can opt for more advanced plans like Shopify, Advanced Shopify or Shopify plus.

Now, you've got 13 reasons to choose Shopify for your online clothing store, here are a few steps to create one.

How to create an online clothing store on Shopify?

Whether you have a  physical store or an online store in a different ecommerce platform, setting up a clothing store on Shopify is easy. 

Assuming you're about to start your first online store, here's the step by step process to get started. 

1. Decide on the clothing to sell

If you've got a clothing niche already planned, cool! 

If you still haven't decided, start off with choosing the clothing category you wish to sell like t-shirts, vintage clothes or women's clothing.

It all depends on the category of clothing that has a demand in the market and the type of business you plan for such as dropshipping, print-on-demand or manufacturing your own brand.

Choosing a clothing category depends on the market demand and how you wish to run your business: drop shipping, print on demand, or selling your own brand. 

2. Create your brand

Fashion Nova, Taylor Stitch, Gymshark, Good Fair are a few of the top clothing brands on Shopify. 

The reason why people prefer these brands is the name and the brand value they've created. 

To grow big from scratch, here's a checklist to create your clothing store brand. 

• Brand name

Coming up with a brand name is the first step to start your Shopify clothing store. Always choose a generic brand name so that you can always sell multiple clothing types. 

Do: Choose names like Taylor Stitch, Adored Vintage or Hiut Denim

Don't: Don't go with names like streetwear, swimwear unless you're fixed with the niche

• Create a brand logo

Your logo goes bold on your Shopify store, visible on Google search and social media. So, make sure to design a simple and relevant logo aligning with your brand. You can also create a logo creator powered by Shopify. 

3. Set up your Shopify store

Choose your preferred Shopify plan and start setting up your online store. Import product images, add price, descriptions and discounts. Make sure to categorize your clothing collection, add contact us page and a blog page if needed. 

Select a sales channel

Once you've created your store, choose a sales channel to sell your clothes. It can be your online store, retail store, wholesale, resellers etc. 

Having multiple sales channels can allow you to sell clothing across channels to tap every sales opportunity and target your audience. 

4. Set up shipping and fulfillment

Shopify has a limited standard shipping and fulfillment features to make your logistics process easy. 

By default, customers can choose the standard delivery and shipping with minimum conditions. 

You can also install delivery apps to add local delivery options and shipping apps to get a more broad shipping and fulfillment conditions.

5. Launch your store

You're all set to launch your Shopify clothing store and start-off with the next steps like advertising  and marketing. 

As a prerequisite, make sure to conduct a full audit of your Shopify store if all pages work fine. 

Shopify has been designed in a way to suit any e-commerce or online business. And so, to add additional features, you can install Shopify apps to get it done. 

9 Shopify apps to run your online clothing store

As highlighted above, Shopify has a rich app ecosystem that allows you to add extra features to your stores. 

There are more than 8000 apps on the Shopify app store with various features. You can install suitable apps to run your clothing store. 

Here are a 9 Shopify apps that every clothing store must have:

1. Upsell & cross-sell - Selleasy (Rating - 5.0 | Reviews - 1200+)

Recommend complementary clothing to customers, to increase your store AOV. The Upsell & Cross sell - Selleasy is a user-friendly app for creating high-converting upsell and cross-sell offers.

The best part - Selleasy is a 'Built for Shopify' app compatible with all themes and apps.

Display upsell offers on:

• Product page
• Cart page
• Post-purchase page, and 
• Thank you page.

The Selleasy app comes with a flexible setup of offers through widgets like:

• Frequently bought together, 
• Product add-ons, 
• Pop-ups, and 
• Funnels.

2. BON: Loyalty Rewards Referral (Rating - 5.0 | Reviews - 1241+)

Provide points or exclusive benefits, encouraging customers to make repeat purchases to engage with your brand.

Boost customer loyalty with BON's rewards program. With BON, you can offer unlimited perks, robust referrals, VIP tiers - all customizable to your brand. 

Other key features include

• tailored rewards
• multilingual support, 
• advanced features at affordable prices. 
• fast page speed 

3. Outfy - Automate Social Media (Rating - 4.7 | Reviews - 1264)

Manage your store's social media presence to promote your products. For this, here�s a pick from us : Outfy - Automate Social Media.

Whether on TikTok, Facebook, or other platforms, automate social media posts on new arrivals, sales, or fashion tips across platforms.

Key features:

• AI-powered automated content creation: Videos, Gifs, Collages
• AI-generated captions from product titles and trending hashtags
• Themed templates for creating eye-catching sale promotional content
• Configurable post captions and hashtags for automation efficiency

4. Pickup and delivery rate - Pickeasy (Rating - 5.0 | Reviews - 832)

Improve order fulfillment processes with local delivery and shipping solutions. Pickeasy app allows your customers to schedule store pickup and local delivery. 

The app has a different setup for local delivery, pickup and shipping. 

Key features:

• Product-wise preparation time, fulfillment type, availability, blackout dates
• Manage Multiple locations, Delivery days by Zip/Post code, Language Translations
• Delivery rates by zip code, postal code, product, weight, cart value, time slot

For example, you can choose between home delivery or convenient local pickup, offering  a good shopping experience.

5. Air: Product Reviews app & UGC (Rating - 5.0 | Reviews - 3022)

Create trust among potential customers by displaying product reviews and user-generated content. 

With Air: Product Reviews app & UGC, you can boost  customer trust through social proof, photo reviews, and SEO optimization. The app provides an automated solution to gather customer feedback, featuring customizable review displays and management tools. 

• Customize review blocks, widgets, and popups.
• Efficiently handle import, edit, preview, approve, reject, etc.
• Send reminders for reviews and photos.
• Benefit from structured data for SEO.
• Ensures optimal display on any device.

For example, you can display positive feedback and customer photos near the products to reassure shoppers about the quality and fit of your clothes.

6. Abandoned Cart Recovery Email (Rating - 4.8 | Reviews - 1071)

Send email to re-engage with customers who have left items in their shopping carts. 

The Abandoned Cart Recovery Email helps recover abandoned carts by sending emails.  With this app, you can automate personalized email reminders to customers who left items in their carts.

Key features:

• Track and target all abandoned carts quickly.
• Collect email subscriptions using engaging email popups.
• Deliver BFCM discount codes and utilize Spin to Win for abandoned order recovery.

7. Automizely: Email marketing & SMS (Rating - 4.9 | Reviews - 5924)

Create email marketing and SMS marketing campaigns. Automizely, is an all-in-one marketing platform to drive leads, customer engagement and sales.

The app  offers advanced features like AI-driven product recommendations, countdown timers, and promotional bars.

Key features: 

• Automated, personalized email sequences
• Pre-designed templates for emails, SMS, and interactive pop ups
• Easy A/B testing and unified performance monitoring
• Built-in CRM for creating meaningful customer segments
• All-in-one functionality of multiple marketing apps in a no-code platform

8. Volume Discount - Dealeasy (Rating - 4.9 | Reviews - 59)

Use discounts to boost sales in your clothing store. Volume discount - Dealeasy allows you to create converting volume discounts & quantity breaks. Moreover, Dealeasy is a 'Built for Shopify' app. 

Dealeasy uses a native discounts technique and  seamlessly integrates with your theme. The app  does not  disrupt the checkout process and, automatically stacks with other discounts,  

You can create up to 5 automatic discounts and 200 auto-applying discount codes.

For example, Offer tiered discounts, such as "Buy 2, Get 10% Off" or "Buy 3, Get 15% Off," to encourage customers to purchase more clothes.

Key features:

• Create volume discount using the new native discounts (functions) feature. 
• Easily display tiered pricing and quantity breaks on the product page. 
• Does not conflict or break the usual Shopify checkout flow. 
• Create up to 5 automatic discount tiers.
  

9. BixGrow: Affiliate marketing (Rating - 5.0 | Reviews - 802)

Encourage your customers to promote your products and earn commissions to increase traffic and sales for your online clothing store.  BixGrow app allows you to create affiliate marketing and referral marketing to drive sales from your customers and influencers.

Benefit from flexible commissions, auto-generated affiliate links and coupons, collaborate on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and blogs.

• Flexible tracking methods with affiliate links, affiliate coupons, and linked emails
• Convert existing customers into brand advocates through a referral program
• Easy and transparent commission payout with one-click PayPal
• Recruit affiliates into affiliate programs with a multi-level marketing structure
• Alternative to Goaffpro, Uppromote, Affiliatly, Loyalty & Rewards, and Affiliate App

Shopify vs other ecommerce platforms

Let's compare Shopify with other ecommerce platforms based on certain factors.

1. User-friendly interface

2. Customization options

3. Responsive design and mobile optimization

4. SEO features

Getting started with Shopify for your clothing store

Of many reasons to choose Shopify, features such as user-friendly setup, Shopify apps and the advanced technology make it the top ecommerce platform for clothing stores. 

Despite having many e-commerce platforms, Shopify offers multiple solutions all at one place.  

We've shown you some light and now decide on starting your clothing store on Shopify.

Start off by creating a Shopify account with a free trial period of 3 months. 

Before you go, here's another article that you'll be interested in - 12 best Shopify themes for clothing stores. 

All the best for your new venture!