Sourcing products is one of the major choke points for many boutiques. Leaning too heavily into mainstays can leave you behind competitors, while going full trend can make your store isolating and niche. How should slipper boutiques source wholesale slippers given this balancing act? We will outline four general principles that should help you craft your wholesale slippers inventory for any season. Whether it is a staple of your product lineup or an occasional product, the following are some things you need to consider when procuring this perenially fashionable product.
Two different product categories provide a major dividing line in this category: the mainstays or products that are produced year after year and the somewhat more trendy and experimental ones. The second can be in terms of form, style, material, color, pattern, design, or any combination of the above. The first category, as the name explains, is the traditional slipper, which is varied in terms of producers and price points. For both, you want to target a manufacturer that provides you with a price point that will attract your customers while also appealing to their tastes.
What do your customers tend to prefer? Are they into staples, or do they tend to splurge on avant-garde items? This will help you determine your product mix as well as your overall pricing and quality strategy. You will want to source appropriately for your market. In essence, you will need to know something about your customers and why they will wear the slippers. Is it for fashion, comfort, some combination, or even for athletic events? These slippers all have different product features and ranges which makes interchangeability somewhat difficult. Again, you want to know what your customer wants to buy and source appropriately.
This also applies to pricing which is tied to material, construction, manufacturer, and, to some extent, quality. How often your customers purchase slippers will also help you determine the best product lineup for your boutique. Another aspect to consider is volume, or how often and how much your customers buy in your boutique. If you are a source for slippers, then you might want to go broader, whereas if slippers are one among many products, you will want to use a very targeted, limited approach.
Suppose you have a wide variety of slippers or your slipper boutique is known for carrying on-trend products. In that case, you will want to research what is going on in this product category to make sure your inventory is relevant to the current market. Luckily for modern store owners, there are more than enough resources out there to help you find out what works, with a few being Google, social media, traditional fashion media and press, and last but not least, direct customer feedback and requests.
You’ll notice a theme with our advice on sourcing wholesale slippers: you want to be responsive to customer demands and expectations. This also involves understanding product seasonality, what sells, when, and why. Look at general trends and maximize products in categories that move the most. For example, slippers for outdoor wear in the winter months may not make as much sense as other products. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep some kind of stock during those down months – if customer demand warrants it, stock it, naturally – but understanding that, broadly speaking, certain items have peaks and valleys throughout the year will help you optimize your slipper boutique’s products.
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