Dropshipping: What does it mean?
This is a complex question that cannot be answered in a two-minute summary. Dropshipping is a order fulfillment channel that is primarily used by online retailers.
That’s only the beginning of what it involves. Dropshipping is a popular option for budding entrepreneurs. Dropshipping is a method that allows retailers to sell products without the need for inventory.
Dropshippers source products directly from manufacturers or suppliers once customers place an order. You might be wondering if this business model is profitable.
Let me briefly outline the most recent statistics to dispel any initial reservations.
Data-driven projections indicate that eCommerce sales will account for 13.7% of all retail transactions in 2019. This is a remarkable increase.
This guide outlines all dimensions that a potential ecommerce store can use in order to get into dropshipping.
Nielsen reports that fashion is one of the most popular categories in all regions around the world. In addition, more than half of all online shoppers said they would purchase at least one fashion item in Asia Pacific, North America and Western Europe by 2021. If done right, this clearly indicates that a fashion eCommerce store could be a profitable business opportunity.
When you start your eCommerce fashion business, a website that is quality is a must. 85% of shoppers consider it a very important factor because they form an opinion about a website within 50 milliseconds . It is essential that your CMS (Content Management System), allows you to customize the theme of your online shop to suit your fashion selection and target audience. Shopify, , which was ranked in the top three CMSs in 2021, allows users to create responsive, high-quality, traditional and dropshipping eCommerce shops.
Shopify has over 500,000 stores that are currently online. These stores have generated over 40 million dollars in sales. The global eCommerce market saw a 21% increase in sales in 2019, but businesses built on Shopify saw a 50% increase of eCommerce sales. Additionally, more than 50% customers who made a purchase via Shopify will return to make at most one more purchase. These statistics show Shopify is a good option for choosing your eCommerce platform. We will be listing the top Shopify themes you can use to excel as a fashion eCommerce store owner.
What is a Shopify theme exactly?
Shopify themes are basically templates that create the first impression for your customers. They set the tone and establish the style of your fashion eCommerce store. Shopify offers many themes that can be customized to provide different layouts, styles, and experiences to your customers. Make sure to consider your brand’s identity and target audience when choosing a theme. Also, make sure to choose the template architecture type that is most appropriate for your business. You can create Shopify themes for your store free of charge, but you can also buy a paid theme for as low as a few hundred UDS. There are many factors that will determine whether you need a paid theme.
Shopify: Paid vs. Free themes
It is important to fully understand the benefits of Shopify themes both paid and free before we present the top Shopify themes.
When:
- Your customers already trust you and your website will help them build trust. Your website will reach a majority of your existing customers, allowing them to order and contact you online.
- It is not possible to sell a large number of products. You don’t need extra features to help you organize and filter a large catalog of products such as clothing and shoes .
- If you have only a limited amount of money to invest in your startup business. This could mean that you are unable to purchase a theme if you have limited funds.
A paid theme would be required when you:
- You want to sell to people who don’t know you or your business. A professional website is essential to sell to new customers, particularly if you are selling luxury products from well-respected brands.
- Your website should be modern and as up-to-date as possible. While Shopify’s free themes are a great alternative, they offer more customization options and can improve your customers’ shopping experience.
- There are certain features you want your theme to include. When it comes to free themes, it can be difficult to choose between the desired features and others. You are more likely to find a paid theme that meets all your requirements if you look at the themes.
Shopify’s top themes for clothing eCommerce shops
This section will show you the top free and paid themes to make your fashion eCommerce site stand out. Fashion and apparel markets require a visually striking, catchy theme that highlights your brand’s essence while allowing you to showcase your merchandise in the best possible light.
Shopify’s best free themes
Minimal
Shopify created this theme with a clean and minimalistic design. This allows your customers to concentrate on the fashion items you are selling. The main benefits of this theme include the quick setup that allows first-time eCommerce sellers to get their stores up-and-running as quickly as possible. Shopify’s Minimal theme is best for small product inventories. Minimal offers features like cart notes, recommended products section and stock counter.
Simple
Shopify has also created Simple, a minimalistic theme which is great for showcasing your products. The theme has an accordion-style menu to the side for main navigation, product zoom while hovering over it for better visibility, image animations and smooth transition effects. You can also showcase product recommendations to improve discoverability.
Boundless
Boundless, another minimalistic theme, helps you showcase your amazing photos on your website. This theme is optimized to display large images, so that you can showcase your products in the best possible way. You can add a slideshow with fade effect to your homepage that will feature multiple products or categories. Boundless allows you to add YouTube or Vimeo videos to your homepage. This will help your brand get across your message to your visitors. Finally, sticky navigation allows you to keep your menu bar at the top of the page and scroll down for better usability and navigation.
Narrative
This Shopify theme is a great choice if your products or brand have a unique story. This theme can be used for one or a few products with a clear message. This theme was created for visual storytelling and highlights the details of your product. With Narrative you can tell the story of your brand with embedded autoplay videos on your main page. The full-width layout can be used to display high-resolution images. You can also fix the navigation bar at the top of your screen to make it easier for your visitors to navigate to your site.
Brooklyn
Brookly is a Shopify theme that’s specifically designed for modern apparel stores and is focused on brand imagery. The theme’s header slideshow allows you to display multiple brands and product images. To tell your brand’s story and engage your customers further, you can include a YouTube video or Vimeovideo to your main page. Your customers can add items to their carts without leaving the current page with the slide-out feature. This will make your site more mobile-friendly.
Dawn
Dawn is the last Shopify free theme. It is currently an online store 2.0 theme. This theme is modern and flexible, allowing you to customize it to fit your brand. The Shopify theme has many more features than the ones that were previously listed. This theme uses blogs, cross-selling and product reviews. It also includes promo banners and a recommended products section. This theme will improve marketing and conversion. This Shopify theme allows you to include lookbooks, size charts, image zoom, product videos, as well as usage information. Your customers will be able to make an informed purchase decision and are less likely to return your products.
Shopify’s most popular themes
Vantage
Vantage is a conversion-focused Shopify theme. It is suitable for small and large fashion product catalogs. The theme can also be used as an Online Store 2.0 theme. This allows you to drag-and-drop sections such as images, videos, and codes across your store’s pages without needing any coding knowledge. Vantage’s focus is on visual storytelling in order to help your brand identity and communicate it to your visitors. The 240 USD price tag for Vantage seems fair, given its extensive customization options and 93% positive reviews.
Loft
Loft is a Shopify theme that’s more affordable at 160 USD. This theme is a classic Shopify theme, but it does not offer the benefits of Online Store 2.0. This theme combines visual storytelling with editorial content. It features a combination of great images and longer-form text sections. This Shopify theme is great for brands that rely heavily on promotions. It offers options like in-menu promos and banners as well as promo titles. You can use color swatches and image zoom to display your products at their best.
Envy
Envy, a Shopify theme with a 350 USD price tag, is on the higher end. The theme’s minimalist design makes it easy to highlight products and run promotions on your store’s site. Online Store 2.0 theme Envy allows you to create highly customized pages with well-designed blocks you can move around easily. The Shopify theme allows you to run time-based Flash Sales without any additional apps or ad promo popups. It also shows recently viewed items. It is also suitable for any size catalog due to its large menu and product sorting/filtering features.
Motion
You can also purchase Motion, a Shopify theme for 310 USD. The theme allows you to create visual storytelling that brings your brand to life with multiple embedded animations. You can also customize the page structure according to your preference with this Online Store 2.0 theme. You can use features like in-menu promotions, product badges and press coverage highlights. Also, you can create promo banners and pop-ups to promote your brand. These tools will help you increase sales and decrease cart abandonment , something that many eCommerce retailers are trying to combat. For stores that offer a larger product range, motion is a great option. It allows customers to navigate easily with collection page navigation, enhanced search bar, sticky head, product filtering, sorting, and product filtering.
Lorenza
Lorenza is the last on our list. It is a Shopify theme but does not offer Online Store 2.0. It is available at a lower price of 180 USD. The Shopify theme is editorial-inspired, and may be the ideal fit for fashion boutiques. The editorial layout of this theme allows you to display your brand visually with large format brand and product images. This theme offers great navigation with a sticky navigation menu and product filtering by type, price, and top sellers on collection pages.
To sum up
It can be difficult to choose the right Shopify theme for you store. Before you make a purchase, consider your brand’s unique characteristics and the purpose of your website . It is a good idea to first test the free themes available on the platform. This will give you an overview of the features and help you decide if you need additional options. You will get a clear picture of what you want and can create a list to help you find the best paid Shopify theme.
