How to Start a Clothing Business Online: Top Dropshipping Products Guide

Between 2023 and 2030, the fashion segment is expected to experience a massive growth of 24.8% in the dropshipping market alone.

Moreover, if you examine the fashion industry more closely, you’ll find that clothing is the most popular category, with a total demand of 20.8% compared to other product categories.

Thus, it only makes sense if you’re thinking about starting a clothing dropshipping business. Take a look at our guide below to understand how to get started and find the winning products of 2024.

5-Step Guide to Starting a Clothing Dropshipping Business

1. Choose Your Niche

Most dropshippers confuse product categories with niches. While clothing is your product category, your niche depends on who you’re selling to. Simply put, your niche is determined by your target audience.

Here are some points to help you select the best niche for your clothing business:

● Choose what interests you: How would you describe your interests? Are you into working out or doing yoga, or are you someone who’d love to slip into something comfortable and spend the day at home? When you sell products you’re genuinely interested in, you can target consumer interest more accurately.

● Observe the trends: Look for trends. The easiest way to do this is through Google Trends, social media hashtags, or online forums. If you sell products that people are actually demanding, you have a higher chance of acquiring huge sales.

● Do your homework: Once you’ve shortlisted a few niches, take a deep dive into their audience segment, growth opportunities, profit margins, and market size to have a strategic advantage.

2. Find a Reliable Supplier

There is no lack of clothing dropshipping suppliers in the market, but that doesn’t mean you should go ahead with the first option you come across. Take your time when selecting your supplier, as the wrong choice can be a slow death for your business.

Some ways to gauge the credibility and performance of your supplier include:

● Check customer reviews

● Verify credentials

● Contact them directly to resolve queries about their products, policies, and shipping methods

● Compare price points

● Look for technological features

● Quality of customer service

● Check the locations they ship to

3. Choose Products

Now that you’ve successfully selected your fashion niche, it’s time to choose niche-specific clothing products that sell like hotcakes.

Remember that while selling stylish clothes is important, you must also update your product catalog with trendy, in-demand products to maintain consistency in sales. (We will discuss this further in the next section)

4. Analyze the Competition

Fashion and apparel are a crowded niche in dropshipping, with market size increasing at a CAGR of 7.56% between 2024 and 2028. This means there’s a high chance that there are already several other dropshippers selling the same products as yours.

Here are a few ways you can ensure you stay ahead in this race with your competitors:

● Analyze their website structure, such as layouts, product descriptions, visuals, etc.

● Survey their product range and pricing structures

● Monitor their marketing tactics and how customers respond to them

● Keep an eye on their social media accounts

The key here is to see where your competitors are falling short and stepping in with your expertise and materials to fill the gaps.

5. Choose and Set Up Your E-commerce Store

When it comes to choosing the perfect dropshipping platform for your business, don’t be tempted by platforms that generally have high traffic. Track your target audience instead.

Whichever platform(s) is most visited by your target market, make sure that you’ve established an e-commerce platform there. This could be marketplaces like Amazon or Shopify or social media channels like TikTok or Instagram.

Another thing you must keep in mind is that your customers connect with your business through your e-commerce store. Therefore, your online store needs to be captivating enough to make visitors stay.

Also, remember that most customers window shop before making a purchase. Thus, your store must be easy to navigate, responsive, and flooded with visually engrossing images, making your products irresistible.

Top 5 Trendy Clothing Products for Your Business

Athleisure Wear

The growing trend of fitness was reflected in the athleisure market, which was $358 billion in 2023 and is expected to witness a positive growth of 9.1% between 2023 and 2030.

Rising trends in this niche include leggings, oversized hoodies, and jackets. While Gen Z and millennials are major consumers of athleisure wear, baby boomers and Gen X still have a considerable share of the market.

Graphic Tees

You can never fail with graphic tees. These are clothing items that will always be in demand. Look for tees with unique designs, memes, or catchy phrases to cater to the existing demand in this niche.

Vintage-Inspired Clothing

Celebrities, models, and fashion influencers alike are donning retro styles inspired by the late ‘70s, ‘80s, and ’90s. This has set the stage for the grand comeback of vintage clothes like cargo pants, midi dresses, flare jeans, etc.

Again, millennials and Gen Z are the major contenders for these fashion choices, as well as fashion influencers.

Loungewear Sets

With companies worldwide shifting to a remote work model, people are ditching formal office wear and opting for loungewear sets to maintain comfort while working.

These include pajamas, tracksuits, relaxed pants, and onesies. Besides remote employees, loungewear has become a fashion staple for people who desire fashionable yet comfortable clothing options.

Yoga Pants and Leggings

While yoga pants and leggings fall in the athleisure category, their rising popularity has prompted us to mention them separately. North America has the largest market share of these products, with Europe and Asia-Pacific regions following closely.

Their popularity is owed to their unisex appeal. They can be worn by women, men, kids, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. In terms of revenue, women’s yoga pants are marketed more widely than other categories.

Doba: Your Trusted Partner in Clothing Dropshipping

In the field of clothing dropshipping, you’re playing a very time-sensitive game. As soon as a trend hits the market, it’s up to you to include it in your product category.

However, to do that, you must have a supplier that regularly updates their product list with changing trends.

This is where Doba clothing comes in, with an extensive collection of trending products to ensure your business is destined for success!