Best 4 Shopping Carts For Clothing Stores

Ever since I started writing about online selling, my YouTube advertisements have taken a strange turn. Now, when I click on a video about cooking or interior design, I am first greeted by a man in a graphic tee yelling, “HEY THERE! I’ve made millions of dollars selling clothing online! Take my online course, and you can too!” I’m sure you’ve seen these ads. I’m sure they’re all over your own YouTube feed! Although I don’t believe that this man’s online course will make me a millionaire, these ads do make one thing clear: selling online is a growing trend, especially in the world of fashion.

According to data by Statista, online sales now make up 20.4% of total fashion retail sales in the US, and by 2022, total fashion retail sales are projected to grow to almost $139B. That type of growth is incredible, and it’s certainly something you’ll want to take part in.

However, selling clothing online isn’t a walk in the park. Online clothing sellers face a very high return rate (since it’s difficult for customers to know how an item will look and fit). What’s more, it can be a challenge to retain repeat customers online. And, of course, there’s the ever-present competition from Amazon.

Fortunately, with the help of the right software, you can tackle many of the difficulties that come with selling clothes online. In this article, we’ll be covering the four best shopping carts for online fashion retailers. These shopping carts all offer features that fit the specific needs of online clothing sellers.

Here are a few of the features that we’ll be looking for in each eCommerce platform:

• Ease Of Use: Software should be easy to use. Daily operations should be simple, and web design tools should allow for easy site customization.
• Affordability: Merchants should be able to access the features they need at a reasonable price point.
• No Transaction Fees: You have to pay a fee to your payment processor, but you shouldn’t have to pay a transaction fee to your eCommerce software.
• Image-Focused Design: Find modern, clean design templates that feature large images.
• Multiple Payment Processing Options: We expect to find at least 20 options for payment processing.
• Integrations With Shipping & Email Marketing: If the software doesn’t have these features already built-in, it should be easy to add them.
• Tax Management: These tools allow real-time tax calculation, so you can charge customers accurate tax rates.
• Abandoned Cart Saver: Send emails to customers who have left items in their carts without proceeding to checkout.
• Return Management: Generate return labels, issue refunds, and automatically adjust inventory totals.
• Filtered Search: Allow customers to sort products by color, size, brand, and more.
• Product Variants: List your products with multiple variants, such as size and color.
• Customer Product Reviews: Let customers leave reviews on your products, increasing customer confidence in your brand.
• Multiple Product Image Options: Showcase your items, so customers have a better idea of what the product looks like. Good product imagery can reduce return rates.
• Size Charts: Help users determine their size with sizing charts.
• Related Products: Keep customers on your site by suggesting related products.

While every shopping cart on this list offers most of the features above, no single cart is perfect. You’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of each eCommerce software as you make your decision. However, I can guarantee one thing: Each software on this list is an excellent choice for small to mid-sized fashion retailers. Let’s dive in.

Learn More About Our Top Picks

Company	Summary	Next Steps
	Between Shopify's built-in features and the extensive collection of applications, Shopify offers everything that online fashion retailers need. It's an excellent shopping cart for a range of merchants -- from larger, more experienced vendors to smaller stores.	Start Trial Read More
	BigCommerce is an excellent solution for online fashion retailers who need lots of built-in features and who don't mind BigCommerce's pricing model. The software is highly usable, the themes are well designed, and you can get up and running in very little time.	Start Trial Read More
	If you want a flexible and feature-rich solution, and you don't mind learning a bit of web design, 3dcart is the way to go! They have plenty to offer sellers at every stage of growth, and its features for marketing and selling clothing are hard to beat.	Start Trial Read More
	PinnacleCart is a great solution for mid-sized clothing retailers who don't mind learning a bit of HTML. We love that PinnacleCart includes nearly all of their features on every plan, making it possible for everyone to access the elite features that we sometimes can only find included on enterprise-level plans.	Visit Site Read More

Read more below to learn why we chose these options.

1. Shopify

If you’ve spent any amount of time looking into eCommerce software, you’re familiar with Shopify. Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce solutions and with good reason. Shopify is easy to use, affordable, and versatile. The pre-built themes are modern and easy to customize, and they constantly update their technology with the newest features.

Shopify	Start Trial Read our Review

However, Shopify also has its downfalls. Unlike most modern eCommerce solutions, Shopify still charges merchants transaction fees. Merchants can only have these fees waived if they use Shopify Payments for payment processing.

Another downfall is that Shopify often relies on third-party applications to incorporate the advanced features that sellers need. Fortunately, the Shopify App Store is enormous, including over 2,000 applications. You can find an application to fill any hole that Shopify’s built-in features have, but each application comes with a price tag.

There are plenty of reasons to choose Shopify. However, for this article, we’ll focus on how Shopify can meet the specific needs of online clothing retailers. Here’s what you can expect to find with Shopify:

What Shopify Offers

• Affordability
• Ease of use
• Multiple product image options
• Image-focused design
• Abandoned cart saver
• Built-in shipping and tax management tools
• Product variants (up to 100 combinations of variants)
• Integrations with shipping and email marketing
• Multiple payment processing options
• Return management
• Size charts

What Shopify Lacks

• Unlimited product variants (application required for over 100 combinations of variants)
• Customer product reviews
• Filtered search
• Related products
• Charges transaction fees

Features

Shopify offers all of the features of a good online store builder. The dashboard is easy to use and navigate, and you can list products with multiple image options and variants. I am happy to see that Shopify also has so many features built-in for fashion retailers. The ability to list an unlimited number of products is a huge plus for clothing sellers, and Shopify also allows you to list multiple variants (such as size and color) for each product.

However, it is within this product variant feature that we start to see a few of Shopify’s weakness. You can list up to 100 product variant combinations with Shopify. To list more than 100 variant combinations on one product, you have to add an extension. This scenario is a perfect example of how Shopify works. Most merchants don’t need to list more than 100 variant combinations (to reach this number, you’d have to offer one single product in something like 10 sizes and 10 colors). It’s a highly advanced feature, and Shopify makes that feature available only through an extension. In general, you can find all the basic features you might need already built into Shopify. Anything more than that, you have to purchase as an add-on.

A few other features that Shopify does not offer are product reviews, filtered search, and related products. However, you can add all of these features as extensions.

Web Design

Shopify is well-known for its ease of use and elegant design. Any of Shopify’s design templates could be used to create a clothing store. In particular, you should look for image-focused designs, so you can best display your products on every page. One example of an image-focused theme is Boundless, which you can view in the screenshot below.

Shopify currently offers 67 pre-built themes, all of which are mobile responsive. Many of these themes have different variations, known as “styles.” Because most themes have two to four styles, Shopify says they have over 100 themes total to choose from. Ten of these themes are available for free and supported by Shopify, and the rest are priced at $140-$180 and supported by their third-party developers.

Once you’ve decided on a theme, you can go about customizing it in a few ways. If you have experience with code, you can use Shopify’s own templating language called Liquid to make changes. For the non-tech savvy, there is a drag-and-drop editing tool that allows for a surprising amount of customization.

In Short

Between Shopify’s built-in features and the extensive collection of applications, Shopify offers everything that online fashion retailers need. It’s an excellent shopping cart for a range of merchants — from larger, more experienced vendors to smaller stores. To learn more about Shopify, take a look at our full Shopify review or sign up for a free trial of Shopify to get started.

Get Started With Shopify

Read our in-depth review

2. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is another user-friendly, cloud-based software that markets itself to startup and enterprise-level companies alike. As one of Shopify’s main competitors, BigCommerce offers many of the same advantages as Shopify. The software is easy to use, highly customizable, and affordable.

BigCommerce	Start Trial Read our Review

So what does BigCommerce have to offer online fashion retailers? Take a look.

What BigCommerce Offers

• Ease of use
• Image-focused design
• Multiple payment processing options
• Integrations with shipping and email marketing
• Tax management
• Abandoned cart saver (on the Plus pricing plan and above)
• Return management
• Filtered search (on the Pro pricing plan and above)
• Product variants
• Customer product reviews
• Multiple product image options
• Size charts
• Related products
• No transaction fees

What BigCommerce Lacks

• May be more expensive for some users

Features

BigCommerce offers an impressive range of out-of-the-box features, including unlimited product variants, customer product reviews, and related product features. As a full feature set, BigCommerce seems to offer more than Shopify.

However, some of these advanced features are only available on higher pricing levels. For example, to access abandoned cart saver, you must be on the Plus pricing plan at $79.95/month, and to use the filtered search feature you have to be on the Pro pricing plan (starting at $249.95/month). Like with Shopify, you could instead choose to add these features on via an application. I found an app for filtered search at $20/month, and one for abandoned cart recovery at $10/month.

BigCommerce’s pricing model is also set up in a way that may be less than ideal for some users. While with Shopify any merchant can use any level plan, BigCommerce bases pricing on your store’s annual online sales. If your company’s revenue is higher than the set amount for a specific plan, you are automatically bumped up to the next pricing tier. I have to say, however, that I think the revenue caps are reasonable for each level plan.

Web Design

In the past few years, BigCommerce has done some serious work on their themes. They ditched their old Blueprint themes in favor of a newer (and easier to use!) editor called Stencil. BigCommerce has approximately 135 Stencil themes, along with close to 500 total variations (or “styles”) of those themes. Ten of these themes (34 styles) are free; the rest are available for $145–$235. All are fully mobile-responsive.

Take a look through them for some inspiration — and to get a sense of what BigCommerce does for clothing stores.

You can edit the overall layout and style with BigCommerce’s theme editor, and you can change the content (such as images and text) in your main dashboard admin. BigCommerce does not have a drag-and-drop editor like Shopify does, which makes it not quite as user-friendly. However, it ultimately works fine.

In Short

BigCommerce is an excellent solution for online fashion retailers who need lots of built-in features and who don’t mind BigCommerce’s pricing model. The software is highly usable, the themes are well designed, and you can get up and running in very little time. Read our review for more information on BigCommerce or get started with a 15-day free trial.

Get Started With BigCommerce

Read our in-depth review

3. 3dcart

3dcart is another one of our favorite hosted shopping carts, scoring well in our full review. We like 3dcart for its reasonable and flexible pricing model, allowing users on the startup plan to access features such as real-time shipping, return management, and product reviews. 3dcart is a feature-rich solution that can meet the needs of online fashion retailers who are just starting and who need an enterprise solution.

Shift4Shop	Start Trial Read our Review

However, 3dcart is not the perfect solution. 3dcart has room for improvement in their themes and web design tools, and they could simplify a few elements in their user interface. Despite these shortcomings, 3dcart is an excellent solution for many users. Here’s what it offers clothing sellers in particular:

What 3dcart Offers

• Multiple payment processing options
• Integrations with shipping and email marketing
• Tax management
• Abandoned cart saver (available on the Plus plan and above)
• Return management
• Product variants
• Customer product reviews
• Multiple product image options
• Size charts
• Related products
• No transaction fees

What 3dcart Lacks

• Ease of use
• Image-focused design
• Filtered search (available as an application)

Features

3dcart’s biggest advantage is the number of advanced features that they offer, even on lower level plans. Merchants on the Starter plan (3dcart’s cheapest plan at $19/month) still have access to important features, such as unlimited product variants, coupons, gift certificates, return management, and more. As you move up the pricing levels, you have access to more and more advanced features. It seems that 3dcart offers nearly every feature that clothing retailers need already built-in.

Although some of the most advanced features are only listed on the highest plans (for example, you can access the abandoned cart saver on the Plus plan, and rewards programs are only available on the Pro plan), 3dcart offers incredible flexibility in its features and pricing plans. 3dcart states, “We can customize any of our plans to fit your needs. Contact our sales team…to find out how we can add a specific feature to any plan or add extra staff users.” I have never seen this type of à la carte service offered by any other eCommerce platform. I am impressed by 3dcart’s willingness to change its pricing structure to fit individual sellers better.

What’s more, while 3dcart does include revenue caps in its pricing structure (much like BigCommerce’s revenue caps), these revenue caps are not set in stone. It appears that 3dcart lets you decide when to upgrade your plan, and it merely includes these revenue caps as suggestions.

3dcart isn’t a perfect solution, however. Although many features are built-in, you still need to use an extension to add filtered search features to your site. 3dcart is also not the easiest software to use and learn. If you decide to go with this software, make sure you build in time to experience the learning curve.

Web Design

3dcart’s design options are another area where the software could improve. 3dcart offers a total of 100 themes to choose from. Many of them are free, while others cost between $149-$189 each. These themes are all right, but they certainly aren’t the modern designs that you can expect from Shopify and BigCommerce. Take a look:

3dcart’s editing tools are also a bit behind the times. While Shopify has options for drag-and-drop customization, 3dcart only allows you to change a few colors and font sizes before you have to get into the HTML and CSS. If you choose 3dcart for your online store, be prepared to learn some coding skills or to hire a professional to do it for you.

In Short

If you want a flexible and feature-rich solution, and you don’t mind learning a bit of web design, 3dcart is the way to go! They have plenty to offer sellers at every stage of growth, and its features for marketing and selling clothing are hard to beat. Read our complete review of 3dcart or sign up for a 15-day free trial to get a better idea of how you can use the platform to your advantage.

Get Started With 3dcart

Read our in-depth review

4. PinnacleCart

PinnacleCart is the fourth and final shopping cart on our list. Like the others, PinnacleCart is available as a hosted software solution, meaning that you don’t have to download or install anything to use the software. Instead, you pay monthly for access to PinnacleCart’s many features.

PinnacleCart	Visit Site Read our Review

PinnacleCart is different from the other three solutions here in that it offers all users access to advanced features, regardless of the amount they pay for the software. So, if you want access to filtered search and abandoned cart features, and you don’t want to pay hundreds per month, take a look at what PinnacleCart has to offer.

What PinnacleCart Offers

• Multiple payment processing options
• Affordability
• Integrations with shipping and email marketing
• Abandoned cart saver
• Filtered search
• Product variants
• Customer product reviews
• Multiple product image options
• Related products
• Size charts
• No transaction fees

What PinnacleCart Lacks

• Ease of use
• Image-focused design
• Real-time tax management
• Return management

Features

Of the four shopping carts included here, PinnacleCart has perhaps the steepest learning curve. It will take a bit of time to learn both the back end operations and the design customization tools. Essentially, to effectively use PinnacleCart, you need some understanding of HTML, or you need to hire someone to manage the design element for you. PinnacleCart also structures its plans a little differently than the other shopping carts in this list. Instead of requiring users to pay more to access advanced features, PinnacleCart makes nearly every feature available at every price point. The amount of storage and bandwidth you need (essentially, how much site traffic you get) determines the pricing levels. The starting point for PinnacleCart’s plan is a bit higher than usual, with the lowest plan priced at $44.95/month. However, this price is justifiable considering the number of features you get access to. (PinnacleCart also sells its software as a licensed solution, for those interested in hosting on their own!)

PinnacleCart gives you access to many of the key features that online retailers need. Filtered search and abandoned cart recovery tools are available at every price point. You can also list unlimited product variants and include customer reviews on your product pages.

PinnacleCart is only missing a few features that online clothing retailers look for. They do not have built-in tools for real-time tax calculations or return management. You have to integrate with tax software, such as Avalara’s AvaTax, to access real-time tax calculations. Also, for the most part, you have to manage returns outside of the PinnacleCart software. A support representative did mention, however, that you can ask PinnacleCart about adding on a module that can handle returns.

Web Design

While PinnacleCart is impressive in terms of features, it’s not as strong when it comes to design options. PinnacleCart offers all users 30 free, customizable templates to choose from. All of these options are mobile responsive. While many of these templates are up-to-par with industry design standards, some templates fall short.

Here are a few of PinnacleCart’s more modern templates:

And here are the templates that desperately need an update:

Editing PinnacleCart’s templates isn’t the easiest, either. Although PinnacleCart does offer a WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) editor, it seems that even this editor requires some level of HTML knowledge. If you choose to go with PinnacleCart, you’ll want to take a course in HTML or find a designer to create the site for you.

In Short

PinnacleCart is a great solution for mid-sized clothing retailers who don’t mind learning a bit of HTML. We love that PinnacleCart includes nearly all of their features on every plan, making it possible for everyone to access the elite features that we sometimes can only find included on enterprise-level plans. Read our complete review of PinnacleCart to learn more, or test it out for yourself with a free 14-day trial.

Get Started With PinnacleCart

Read our in-depth review

Final Thoughts

Every eCommerce software included in this list is a top-notch solution for clothing sellers. Each software includes the features that online retailers need to market and sell their clothing effectively, all at a reasonable price point. Your choice between these four options will depend on your business’s specific needs and strengths.

If you need ease of use, Shopify is your best bet. BigCommerce is best for users who want functionality and usability but who’d rather avoid Shopify’s transaction fees. 3dcart and PinnacleCart are for merchants who want advanced functionality and don’t mind working with code.

No matter which shopping cart you go with, you’ll have access to a wide range of features to help create your online clothing store. So sign up for a trial, take some gorgeous photos of your products, and let business boom!

A Last Look At Our Top Picks

1. Shopify
   Summary - Between Shopify's built-in features and the extensive collection of applications, Shopify offers everything that online fashion retailers need. It's an excellent shopping cart for a range of merchants -- from larger, more experienced vendors to smaller stores.
2. BigCommerce
   Summary - BigCommerce is an excellent solution for online fashion retailers who need lots of built-in features and who don't mind BigCommerce's pricing model. The software is highly usable, the themes are well designed, and you can get up and running in very little time.
3. Shift4Shop
   Summary - If you want a flexible and feature-rich solution, and you don't mind learning a bit of web design, 3dcart is the way to go! They have plenty to offer sellers at every stage of growth, and its features for marketing and selling clothing are hard to beat.
4. PinnacleCart
   Summary - PinnacleCart is a great solution for mid-sized clothing retailers who don't mind learning a bit of HTML. We love that PinnacleCart includes nearly all of their features on every plan, making it possible for everyone to access the elite features that we sometimes can only find included on enterprise-level plans.

Looking for more tips on tackling the challenges of starting an online store? Read our article: How To Start (And Fund) An Online Boutique.