In the eCommerce business, it’s becoming more and more common for boutique owners who used to sell cheap items to switch to selling high-end items. I don’t understand why they made such a choice. Even though it’s a pretty safe option, selling cheap items doesn’t bring in much money. So they ask themselves what else they could do to make more money.
As it turns out, there is a bigger chance to make more money in the market for luxury goods. The most recent statistics say the following:
- The luxury goods market is worth $312.60 billion right now, and it is expected to grow by 5.40 percent each year from 2023 to 2027.
- As of 2023, Luxury Fashion is the biggest part of the market, bringing in US$97.23 billion. By the end of 2023, up to 20% of the total profit is expected to come from online sales.
This information puts luxury items, especially fashion items, in a better position than low-cost items, which is why many store owners are thinking about selling luxury items instead. If they try to sell low-quality items for more money, they might lose the trust of their customers. Also, selling these things online can change the game even more, since the eCommerce industry is known to be very profitable.
Statista says that online retail sales have reached more than $5 trillion, which proves our point. They won’t stop there, either. The same study says that by 2026, they will be worth an incredible US$8 trillion.
Keeping all of that in mind, we’ll go over the most important parts of selling luxury goods online on the fashion market in this guide. We’ll start by explaining what “luxury goods” are and then go on to talk about how to sell them online.
What are some examples of high-end items?
Luxury goods are often used as a synonym for high-quality goods. Some examples of luxury goods are high-end clothing and accessories, luxury luggage, cosmetics, cars, and estates. Learning how to sell them is a very good way to make money, and the reason is very simple. Some people know how important good quality is, especially when it comes to clothing brands. They often spent a lot of money to look good and dress well. So, when you choose your luxury goods niche, you might want to think about stocking your store with luxury fashion brands.
How do I sell my high-end items?
To give you an idea of what you’ll need to get started selling fashion luxury goods, we’ll go over the basics you’ll need and the skills you’ll need to learn in order to promote your business and start making sales.
Set up an online shop.
The first thing a seller needs to do to start an online boutique is to set up an online store. The world of eCommerce is so modernized now that you can set up your own store in a flash on any of a number of platforms. Check out our detailed guides on how to open an eCommerce store with the following top web-building tools to help you decide on the best eCommerce platforms:
- Shopify
- Wix
- Shift4Shop
- WordPress (via WooCommerce plugin)
Figure out who you want to sell to.
After you open your store, you have to answer an important question: to whom will you sell your high-end goods?
People who know what to buy and wear and have good taste in clothes will be very interested in your store. Most likely, these are “Gen X” shoppers, or people between the ages of 36 and 52. This group is mostly made up of successful business owners, lawyers, doctors, investors, real estate agents, and other people with high-paying jobs. People in these age groups often spend a lot on designer clothes because they have a high income, a pension, and a higher social status. So, one of the main groups of people you should try to sell your products to should be these people.
Find places that sell luxury goods.
It’s not easy to find vendors for your business who have a good name. But once you find one and do business with it, you’ll start to see how it helps your business. But it’s important to remember that while you’re looking, you should try to find a supplier, preferably a luxury dropshipping supplier, who will help you every step of the way and show you the way to big success. This is because dropshipping suppliers not only send clothes to your store, but also handle everything else related to stock, orders, and shipping.
Here are a few things that a good dropshipping supplier should offer you to give you a general idea:
- Wide range of products,
- Genuine products,
- On-time delivery,
- Excellent customer service.
Use dropship-empire as your source for high-end clothes
Dropship-empire is a wholesaler and dropshipper of 100% real high-end clothing. This supplier has warehouses in both Europe and the United States. They will stock your online store with only the best and most popular clothing and accessories made by well-known fashion houses.
dropship-empire stands out from other suppliers because of the following key features:
- Lots of high-end clothes and accessories in the catalog;
- All products are guaranteed to be 100% real;
- All items are delivered with their original tags and in their original packaging.
- Fast shipping service all over the world;
- Customers can take advantage of automated dropshipping in stores built with Shopify, WooCommerce, Wix, or Shift4Shop;
- Automatic stock updates and automatic orders for drop shipping;
- The RMA policy for eCommerce makes it easy for customers to return items within 14 days of buying them.
Trustpilot and other review sites make it easy to show that dropship-empire is a reliable company. dropship-empire also doesn’t hesitate to talk about the success of their trusted dropshippers who have been working with the company for years.
Selling your high-end items
If you want to make money in the eCommerce industry, you need to use eCommerce marketing tools. One of the best ways to promote your products and connect your store to new customers is through social media channels. The new “word of mouth” is through social apps. In this age of the “curation generation,” remember that you’re in charge of your content. Make sure you have a unique voice and recognizable content so that when a customer sees it, they know it’s from you.
For example, let’s say you sell designer watches that you dropship. To successfully promote them on social media, it’s important to show them in a unique way by using different post formats, descriptions, and captions that will make people recognize your brand right away. So, here are a few “hacks” for social media and a bunch of other general marketing tips for promoting your store in the best way possible.
Promoting your online clothing store on Instagram
People love pictures and videos more than words. This is a known fact. Especially when you’re selling clothes, your customers need to see the items you’re selling, not just read about them. Because of this, there is a lot of demand for social media sites that let you share pictures. Instagram is one of the most popular social media sites around the world as of 2022. In 2022, the platform said it had 1.28 billion monthly active users. In 2025, that number is expected to rise to almost 500 million.
With this many users, you and other online store owners can do a lot of advertising on the platform, whether it’s free or paid. Here are some ways you can build a marketing plan for Instagram:
Instagram ads. Instagram ads for dropshipping are helpful because you can target potential customers by using lookalike audiences. This lets you reach a new audience of people who are similar to customers you care about. Using the information you’ve gathered about what your customers are interested in, you can use the Facebook Ads manager to make all of your ads. Then you can use Instagram and Facebook to run them. Even better, Instagram ads aren’t too expensive. They can cost as little as $1 per day, so even if you don’t have much money, you can still make things work.
Instagram shopping. If you want to promote your luxury goods on Instagram, you can set up a product feed and then turn on the settings for Instagram shopping. So, you can post a product with a price tag and a link to your website where the product can be bought.
The stories and posts on Instagram. If you’d rather only get traffic from search engines, you can use Instagram stories and posts to show off new products and let people know about sales and discounts.
Using Pinterest for promoting your online clothing store
Statista says that as of 2022, Pinterest has more than 400 million monthly active users around the world.
Pinterest is great for advertising because it only has pictures, which is great for showing off your high-end products. As you probably already know, the platform’s main feature is that it lets people pin things that catch their eye as they go through their feed.
When they pin these images, many Pinterest users want to buy the products they show, which gives you as a seller a chance to find them. They usually pin things they like to keep track of them for later, which makes this the best platform for getting people to visit your front-end store.
Read our Pinterest marketing dropshipping article to learn more about how to start your marketing campaign on Pinterest.
Give out deals and coupons
If you sell luxury goods, one way to boost sales is to take care of the customers you already have. When old and new customers mix, it makes people feel like they are part of a group. You can buy something and add coupons to it. You can also have a program to keep customers coming back, like a membership card. Customers who use this card get discounts, a free gift with a certain number of purchases, gifts on their birthdays, and an exclusive offer if they bring in another member.
Make use of the names of designers and brands to your advantage.
Dropshipping name-brand clothes is a good way to market on its own. Who wouldn’t want to buy a dress from Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, or Versace? Who wouldn’t want a real Michael Kors handbag or a pair of cool designer sunglasses? People love well-known brands and designer names, and they follow the latest fashion trends.
If you bring some classic pieces from Dolce & Gabbana or Michael Kors, you can show them off and get more attention. With respect to these giants, you can use their names to your advantage, but make sure to follow the rules and regulations for advertising.
Explore geotargeting
If you want customers all over the world, you should know that not just the U.S. stands out from the rest. When selling branded clothes, you can dropship to many different countries. Platforms like Google Adwords give you the option to target certain places. You’ll have to check with your local delivery services first, though. If you only want to reach people in the United States, you can learn a lot about the most successful cities in the country. So, you can be more specific about who you want to buy from you.
Don’t raise your prices very much.
When running an online boutique that sells high-end clothes, most sellers buy their items at wholesale prices. So, it’s important not to get too greedy and set retail prices that are way too high. Obviously, if you sell expensive clothes, you’ll be able to make more money than if you sold cheap clothes. If you made a lot of money last month, don’t get too cocky with your customers. They’re the main reason for this kind of income, and if they weren’t there, the next month’s balance would definitely go down.
Provide exceptional customer service
Good customer service is the best way to run a successful online store and build a loyal following through dropshipping. The more happy customers you have, the more people will hear about how well you treat your customers. Make sure they are well cared for so they feel like they are “cared for.”
How can you make this happen?
- Safe live chats in real time;
- Offer free shipping on orders that cost more than a certain amount.
- Give out discount coupons;
- Accept customer critiques;
- Give them a tracking code so they can see where their shipment is right now;
- If you’re late, say you’re sorry.
In a few words
It’s not hard to open an online store to sell luxury goods, but there are a few things you’ll need to take care of. To sum up the steps we’ve talked about so far, the first step is to set up a shop on a good eCommerce platform.
Once you’ve set up your store, it’s important to find a real supplier of luxury goods with whom you can do business for a long time. When you find a safe supplier for your high-end goods, it’s important to keep this business relationship going strong. If you don’t want to lose customers, keep in touch with your supplier at all times to make sure you always have a steady supply of goods.
Later on, you can’t forget to learn the skills and ways to promote your luxury goods and brands. Use many different ways to market your luxury items, such as social media apps. In the end, you will benefit most from giving your customers the best service and support you can. As long as your customers are happy and satisfied, they’ll keep coming back, and your business will do well.