The 5 Game-Changing Apps Fashion Retailers Need Now

hen I'm working on something that feels frustrating or boring, I usually think "surely there's a better way".  Being a tech head, I find that there is almost always some nerd who's actually bothered to build software to solve the exact problem I'm working on.

Style Arcade was founded on that idea - that we could make fashion retail more straightforward.

Here is a list of tools that I've come across that can be game-changing for fashion retail teams:

1. ClipDrop ✂️

Ghosted images with a click of a button

There are a few stages in getting your product imagery ready when you're planning your range. Often you start with a sketch or photo before your Production team can do their magic. Clipdrop lets you take a pic on your mobile, and instantly get it on your computer so you can push it into your spreadsheet or your shared folder or Style Arcade. It strips out the background behind the image so it looks pretty good too!

WHY YOU NEED THIS - take photos of product samples and upload them into your range in seconds

2. Airwallex 🤓

International payments for businesses and track team expenses

If you're thinking about expanding your online channel (who isn't!?) and launching an overseas e-commerce store then you NEED to check out Airwallex. It will help you setup overseas bank accounts seamlessly, collecting sales $$ and paying vendors in their currency - oh, it will reduce your FX fees while you're at it too. Another cool feature is you can create virtual credit cards and issue them to you and your team, setting limits and keeping track of spending. We love it here at Style Arcade to manage all our software subscriptions (and being an appaholic there are quite a few!)

WHY YOU NEED THIS - expanding your online presence overseas is hard enough, save yourself the fees and drama and install this to streamline the financial admin

3. Gorgias 😺

Customer support chat and AI chatbot for eCommerce

There are a lot of customer support chat tools out there and soooo many of them are terrible (so, SO many.) Gorgias is designed specifically for eCommerce, and shines in fashion because it's set up to discuss people's orders with them. It has a chatbot so customer support doesn't even need to answer every question, and when they do, it gives them a whole bunch of info about the customer like their prior orders, prior queries etc. It connects with all your other customer tools and supports your company's Facebook and Instagram accounts. And we all know how chatty customers can get on socials!

WHY YOU NEED THIS - online purchases are up +41% YOY, and if you're not taking good care of your new customer base, they WILL go somewhere else that does

4. Shop 🛍

Create a better experience for Shopify orders

Usually in eCommerce we think of our website as the primary storefront, but if you're using Shopify then your customers can also find you using Shopify's Store app.  It lets customers know how their orders are tracking automatically, but you can also help customers find your products through it, so it actually serves as another sales channel as you can set up a store profile on it.

WHY YOU NEED THIS - Additional sales channel + a better experience for Shopify orders with great tracking = WIN WIN!

5. Reviews.io 👀

Collect reviews and increase conversions

Great customer reviews online are what can be the difference between making that sale, or not. Reviews.io gives customers the ability to add photos and videos to their review and really strengthen your brands's social proof. And you can really leverage Influencer Power with a real-time list of who has shopped your products on Instagram.  

WHY YOU NEED THIS - Amplify the positive reviews your brand receives, lift conversion rates and enhance your future ranges with invaluable and detailed feedback from customers

There are so many amazing pieces of software that can make everyday life faster and easier, but the ones I've listed I believe could have the biggest impact on staff members or owners of fashion retail businesses.

Please reach out to me at brent.maxwell@stylearcade.com if you have any other favourites I've missed, I'm always open to new apps!

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