OMS for the Apparel Industry

Happy customers are returning customers

In fashion, first impressions are everything. A trendy website will only get you so far, and if you are unable to couple your site with a smooth shopping experience, your customer retention will suffer. Delivering that smooth shopping experience comes with particular challenges for online apparel retailers. Why?

1. Fashion customers are savvy. Fashion is the largest B2C eCommerce market and its global size is estimated to grow 9.1% annually to reach $1.2B by year-end 2025. This means fashion and apparel customers are some of the most experienced online shoppers, who have a plethora of buying options for a single item. Successful retailers must prevent stock-outs and delivery delays at all costs. 
2. Fashion is fickle. Fashion trends are cyclical and where they used to last an average of 3-5 years, they now can be less than two years. Social media has given rise to new fashion micro-trends, which can have lifespans of only 1-2 seasons! Quickly-changing trends complicate inventory management and demand planning. Successful retailers must have on-trend items in stock, at the right location, and quickly liquidate slow-moving inventory in order to minimize their own carrying costs. 
3. Fashion is everywhere. While online shopping is the preferred method for younger generations, older demographics with strong buying power still require a physical presence in many cases. Further, 50% of customers expect to buy online and pick up in-store (“BOPIS”). Successful retailers must be truly omnichannel, allowing for the flow of inventory across many paths and directions. 

In order to stay ahead in a global, competitive market, fashion retailers of all sizes require a robust inventory and order management system (“OMS”) like SkuNexus to run their backend operations.

SkuNexus & your business

SkuNexus navigates the challenges of the fashion world effortlessly, allowing retailers more time to focus on what they do best: getting the most creative designs into their customers’ closets. 

1. SkuNexus provides real-time inventory information to your business and your customers at all times, across all channels. Inventory data is pushed instantly to integrated eCommerce sites (native integrations with Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento), so you’ll never have to worry about backorders or stock-outs again. Plus, integrations with over 150 shipping carriers and instant rate shopping means customers get on-time delivery and you get the highest margin– on every order. By consistently providing this smooth buying experience, you can build trust with your customers and be seen as the most reliable vendor for their needs. 
2. SkuNexus allows you to customize order decision rules (which can automatically direct fulfillment to warehouses with particularly high stock levels), easily transfer stock to a location where an item is faster-moving, set global low stock notifications, or create reorder POs. These sophisticated inventory management tools mean you can optimize your inventory levels and carrying costs, while still delivering the latest trends to your customers. 
3. It doesn’t matter if a customer wants to buy shoes online for delivery at home, or BOPIS, because SkuNexus is truly omnichannel. No matter where stock leaves or lands, it’s tracked within SkuNexus, which allows you to give your customers what they want, how they want it, and when they want it.

Fashion is always ahead of the curve. Globalization, digital demands, and evolving customer expectations are introducing new challenges for eCommerce retailers, but they don’t have to be a drag on your sales or growth. SkuNexus is an all-in-one order, inventory, shipping, and warehouse management platform that creates business optimization through automation. We’re here to set you ahead and take your fashion business to the next level. Schedule a demo today to learn more about how SkuNexus can help your business grow!