WHY "STOREFRONTS" DON'T WORK

Let me paint the picture for you, an apparel company promised an online store with 6 different items: you have 6 items in the store: a tee, tank, hoodie, long sleeve, jogger, beanie, etc…

The one main issue is simply this, your members do not have unlimited funds to spend on apparel. Most clients will buy just one item. A handful will buy 2. One or two will buy 3. And only you purchase more than 3. 

Here are the issues with this store: 

Your store screams: this is abundant. When something is abundant, it goes on the “wish list”. It doesn’t move to the top of the priority spending list. Your strategy lack scarcity. Scarcity spurs action.

You’re probably running this for the 2nd or 3rd time hoping someone buys that hoodie on their wish list that they “forgot to order the last time”. Turns out, they already have the same design on a tee. No need for the hoodie. It’s the same old, same old design. Your strategy lacks a unique and compelling offer. You need fresh designs.

When I see a business put up one of those stores, it just tells us you’ve given up. It tells us you don’t have a strategy. Putting up an online store with a bunch of items is a bandaid solution for a major cause of why you’re there in the first place: Your strategy lacks vision and organization. You need an apparel plan. 

Well what about choice? My members keep asking for hoodies and hats and pants and this and that! No problem. Give them what they want but spread it out over time. The less you offer, the more you will sell. The more you offer, the less you will sell. I did not invent this idea. Open any behavioral economic book in the past 100 years and this idea will be on page 1. You need an apparel plan focused on “limited edition” options. 

When we first started working with affiliate owners it was “I need someone to print my shirts”…now you can go get shirts printed anywhere. It seems like every gym we work with has a member who works at a print shop. Where we’re taking the next step with this is developing a custom strategy for you. 

Now, owners we work with say “Help me develop a strategy and a system”. That’s where our apparel plan comes in. We’re going to be proactive for you. No more guessing when to offer apparel. No more aimless, band-aid strategies. A 10 minute call is all you need to plan this for 12 months. Less than 1 minute a month to develop a plan that will generate anywhere between $10-20k extra per year for you. 

“My members need choice, Matt!!!”. Sure. We all love the idea of choice until it’s time to act on it. Choice paralysis is real. Chances are, with your last “online store", you barely sold 12 items in any one specific garment. My question is this…once the store is closed…now what? Where do you go from here? Do you set your watch for one year from now and offer it again? Maybe you can keep it up all year round and people will just buy when they want. But, that dries up because the store lacks urgency and scarcity. You’re left with very little solutions. 

If you’re truly ready to plan your retail strategy, shoot us an e-mail.