Somewhere deep inside our brains we believe that abundance is the answer to everything...more! more! more!...But what if I told you the opposite is true?  The truth is, the businesses that sell the most apparel keep choices extremely limited. A tee and tank in 1-2 colors. That's it. No need to offer every and any color. 

It turns out that the less you offer, the more you sell.  This article from the New York Times does an amazing job of illustrating the problem with too many choices. 

"But, I saw another gym do it and it worked. Why can't I?"

I get it. 

The problem is, we have the data on that. less than 20% of sprawling online stores are deemed successful or "met expectations" by owners. You offer more, you expect to sell more, but your client base is a fixed size and their budgets remained fixed as well.

For example, you offer 5 unique products with 40 total orders. That comes out to 8 items per garment. That can be viewed as a flop. But, if you sold 40 tees and tanks, that might be an awesome order for a business your size. As you offer more, you ratchet up the expectations. 

Make it easy on yourself and keep the options limited and keep expectations in check. This will keep the process fresh, enjoyable, and productive. 

When new clients call, the #1 thing we work on is simplifying the process. The problem "too much". The problem is never "too little".

Maybe you're being driven nuts by people asking you for ton of different styles every order.

Maybe you don't have a good process for collecting a preorder and you have 50 people venmo'ing you and they forgot to put in their size. 

Maybe you have no idea what people will wear.

The good news is we have answers to all of that. We are huge fans of keeping things very simple. As I tell all new clients, this process should be fun and enjoyable. If you have no patience for this process, then you will enjoy a straight forward and simple approach to offering apparel in the gym. 

If you're looking to simplify your apparel process, send us an email and we'll be happy to hear your current set up and make a recommendation for simplifying the process. 

One common mistake we see with apparel orders is the urge to offer everything at once. I'm sure clients are asking for a ton of different items in every order.

I've seen the comment threads on social media. Hoodies in June! Crop tops in December! 

The secret to selling apparel and turning it into an income stream is longevity and a unique design. 

Longevity: If you offer everything at once, it is like a lotto ticket. Are there businesses out there who kill it on the "order everything at once orders"? Sure! Are there people out there who have won the lottery? Yep! But it doesn't mean you're going to duplicate the result. The gyms that sell the most apparel year in and year out are the ones who sell the most apparel consistently. If you saw their orders, they are all within 5-10 items of the previous order. Another part of longevity is offering items for the specific seasons. These gyms do a great job of offering apparel for the appropriate season. They offer sweatshirts in the Fall/Winter. They offer tees/tanks in the Summer. The reason they do that is to build up demand for those items when the next season rolls around. Every order is a slam dunk "yes" for their clients. The final piece of longevity has to do with the simple fact of client's budgets. If you offer everything at once, that might cost your client $200+ if they were to seriously purchase all the different garment variations you're offering. When we see these orders, maybe 1-2 people order everything. Most people order one item. So why unload all your ideas in one month? Spread things out over time. Let clients rebuild their budgets for this stuff. They are more likely to buy everything over the long haul rather than purchasing everything up front. 

A unique design: It is very important to keep designs fresh and new. Clients will only buy a tee with your logo on it in so many colors. They need something, fun, fresh, and unique. There are maybe a handful of gyms in the country who get away with offering the same logo shirt on every single item for years on end. For most gyms, the best strategy is to offer a different design every time. Luckily, we have you covered here. Every month we send out at least 3 new designs that are tailored to the season and major themes of the year. We do all the thinking for you. Click here to join that email list. 

If you're ready to get start on an apparel project, send us an email today and let's get started.