The eCommerce Stack Every Apparel Brand Needs in 2023

New year, new eCommerce opportunities 

As the apparel industry turns the chapter on 2022, the time to refine your brand's eCommerce stack is now. This, of course, is no easy task, as there are a plethora of potential additions to your 2023 stack, each promising to boost performance, reduce costs, and save your team valuable time. 

But worry not. To keep you from starting the new year banging your head against the wall, our team has compiled a list of essential additions to your 2023 eCommerce stack, each with a proven track record of driving success for industry-leading apparel brands in 2022.

Try Now Buy Later Programs (TryNow)

One of apparel eCommerce's most prevalent issues is the fact that shoppers are forced to pay for items they cannot see, feel, or (most importantly) wear. For example, imagine if you were shopping at your favorite department store and wanted to try on several pairs of jeans. Upon entering the fitting room, the store clerk asks you to purchase the items beforehand, saying, "If you don't like them, you can get a refund at the front counter." Sounds like fiction, right? Yet, sadly, that is the modern clothes shopping experience for millions of online shoppers. TryNow helps leading eCommerce apparel brands bridge the gap between physical and digital commerce by providing the technological infrastructure to automate Try Before You Buy programs. With TryNow, shoppers can purchase the clothing they are interested in at no initial charge and simply keep the items they love while returning the ones they don't, a process that significantly boosts their overall confidence and satisfaction. The results speak for themselves, as brands using TryNow have seen an average 22% increase in conversion rates, 63% higher AOV, and 76% higher ROAS.

Get the TryNow Shopify app here

Virtual Fitting Rooms (WAIR)

Did you know one of the leading causes of apparel returns and shopper dissatisfaction is poor sizing and fit? Of course you knew because, as a shopper yourself, you've probably spent hours wrestling with a measuring tape trying to figure out what size you should order online. So, how can your brand remedy this issue and delight its shoppers? Rather than spending countless hours trying to improve your existing size charts, leverage WAIR to help your shoppers find their best-fitting sizes via data-backed and personalized size recommendations at the point of sale. How it works is simple, WAIR asks a few questions about the shopper's body type to gauge their unique dimensions, and their answers are filtered through its vast database of over 3 million body scans to predict the shopper's best-fitting size. Once the shopper completes WAIR's sizing survey, their best-fitting size will appear for every product in your brand's catalog! Oh, and did we mention that WAIR captures body and journey data from every shopper who uses its solution on your site? Imagine what those insights could help your brand achieve in 2023. 

Get the WAIR Shopify app here

Branded Recommerce (Treet)‍

Balancing sustainability with profitability is becoming increasingly important in today's evolving political climate and worsening environmental climate. Your shoppers want access to the products they love while having the option to reduce their impact on the environment during their journey, so help show your solidarity with branded recommerce by Treet! Treet helps brands like Cuts Clothing and Boyish establish P2P, branded resale experiences that keep your products out of landfills and provide your shoppers with reasonably-priced alternatives to your best-selling items. Not only does branded resale help your brand unlock an entirely new revenue stream, but it also decreases your environmental impact. Even better, Treet will help your brand offload unsold, off-price, damaged, and returned items and even construct a recycling program to account for each product's end of life.

Enhanced Returns Processing (Loop)

Returns, it's a dirty word in the world of apparel eCommerce, but despite its ability to make you nauseous when looking at your brand's monthly performance numbers, what if we told you you could transform returns from a hindrance to your brand's competitive advantage in 2023? Loop specializes in delivering a customer-centric returns strategy that builds shopper loyalty and retains revenue. How do they achieve this feat? Loop begins with its on-demand returns portal, where shoppers can initiate a return anytime, regardless of your team's availability. Next, they optimize for exchanges with their "shop now" feature, which encourages them to explore other items from your store if they don't want a direct exchange. Finally, Loop tops it all off by capturing actionable insights on each shopper and why they returned/exchanged the item to further limit the possibility of future returns. It's a simple yet incredibly effective solution to the nightmare that is eCommerce returns, and the resulting boost in retained revenue and reduction in refund rates are often substantial for Loop's brand partners. 

Get the Loop Shopify app here

Data and Analytics (Triple Whale)

Without data and analytics, no brand would have a clue whether its eCommerce strategy was successful, including those in the apparel and fashion industry. While somewhat of a new kid on the block, Triple Whale has been making significant waves (no pun intended) within the eCommerce industry with its groundbreaking reporting and insights solutions. Rather than scrambling to find your brand's critical data across several different platforms, Triple Whale consolidates essential sales and marketing data into its powerful all-in-one dashboard, empowering your team to make highly-impactful decisions with the click of a button. With a seemingly endless list of integrations, and features such as sales cycle tracking and LTV calculations, Triple Whale makes diving into one's data an easy and fruitful experience every time. View a few of their customer success stories here. 

The eCommerce Stack That Smiles Back

A properly compiled eCommerce stack can make or break your business, and singlehandedly set your brand apart from others struggling to scale in 2023. While no two eCommerce stacks will look identical to one another, and the needs of every business can vary significantly, the aforementioned tools have proven their worth in providing significant value to brands across the apparel industry. If your brand makes products for the human body, look no further.

Interested in learning more about WAIR? Schedule a demo here, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook for all your eCommerce content needs!