Thrift shopping on the web might lack some of the romanticism of an offline experience. Nonetheless, it’s one of the fastest growing e-marketplaces. A well written business plan will enable you to start a thriving online thrift shop.
About the Reviewer
Alex Silensky, a co-owner of a leading business consultant firm OGS Capital, has extensive expertise in business consulting and business plan development for e-commerce.
Exploiting social media platforms
Collaboration with social media influencers is a marketing strategy. Collaborations vary from short term to long-term cooperation. A more risky way to approach an influencer is by gifting. Sending samples or free goods is risky. An influencer can take the freebie without leaving any mention of your business.
Businesses implement this strategy to achieve different goals:
- Raising awareness and building credibility through influencer endorsement;
- Marketing a product or a service;
- Directly reaching out to the target audience;
- Increasing sales by a sponsored social media mention or blog post.
For the collaboration to feel organic choose an influencer who shares your brand objectives. You can reach a segment of the audience that is your target consumer.
Managing consumer experience
Online shopping may provide new means of gathering feedback from consumers. Keep in mind that consumers who shop online tend to use their time efficiently. We’ve all clicked the “please evaluate your experience” button. A nice, short questionnaire is good. An open ended question scares people. No one has the time to write an essay. If they do, it’s to write a bad review.
Simple and short surveys will gather information about your consumer experience. You can use questionnaires strategically to evaluate different aspects of your business. Feedback analysis will reveal areas of improvement. An online thrift store business plan should address how feedback is gathered from consumers.
Generating a competitive business proposition
What makes your e-thrift store unique? This is your selling point. It’s what separates you from your competitors. This message should be clearly communicated to your target audience.
For additional information: https://www.ogscapital.com/article/online-thrift-store-business-plan/
Be unique to be successful. Create a platform for your target audience to donate, sell or exchange their used items. Collaborate with fashion designers who work with up cycling. Everything works to increase the flow of consumers.