How to launch and run a successful digital showroom for fashion wholesale

We've already discussed why DTC fashion brands should digitize their wholesale operations, but in a nutshell, it helps brands explore new revenue opportunities, smoother order management, and expand their retail footprint. A digital showroom is central to this transformation, acting as the storefront for the buyer experience while the backend powers the entire operational flow.

Whether you're new to online showrooms or transitioning from traditional wholesale methods, building and launching a digital showroom can feel overwhelming—and that’s where this article can help.

How to launch a digital showroom: 8 key considerations

Step 1: Identify goals and key buyer accounts

Before digitizing your wholesale operations and launching a digital showroom, it’s essential to define your objectives. Start by identifying key buyer accounts. Stay updated on industry trends and collaborate with your sales and marketing teams to gain deeper insights into your buyers’ needs. This will help you craft a showroom that perfectly aligns with the complexities of the fashion wholesale process

Set clear, measurable goals, such as:

Optimizing the buying process: Make the buying journey seamless and friction-free.

Increasing sales: Find ways to encourage larger pre-orders and re-orders.

Engaging with buyers: Create a personalized, interactive experience.

Shortening sales cycles: Speed up decision-making and purchases.

Increasing order values: Use upselling strategies like product bundles or promotions.

Reducing unsold stock: Improve inventory management through real-time data.

By aligning your showroom with your goals and target accounts, you’ll set your digital showroom up for sustained success.

Step 2: Select a platform vendor

Selecting the right platform is critical to building a successful online showroom that drives growth and streamlines your entire wholesale operations, not just one part of the process. Look for one that is flexible, scalable, and rich in features that support the intricacies of fashion wholesale. 

Evaluate platforms based on:

• Ease of use: Can your team quickly learn and manage the system?

• Customization options: How easily can you tailor the showroom to your brand’s unique needs?

• Integration capabilities: Can it sync with existing systems like ERP, CRM, and payment providers?

• Total cost of ownership: Be mindful of hidden fees or long-term commitments.

(Bonus points if it handles both DTC and wholesale in a single backend…)

Step 3: Create an engaging and on-brand design experience

Your digital showroom’s design should reflect your brand’s unique aesthetic. Give buyers a browsing experience that mirrors an in-person appointment.

Use your platform’s flexibility to customize how products are merchandised across different markets or regions, showcasing the most relevant collections and local prices to each audience and even down to each account you wish to serve. Create dedicated pages for seasonal campaigns, product drops, or key events to keep buyers engaged. Let them explore styled lookbooks and shoppable hotspots, so they can seamlessly add pieces to their wishlist without leaving the showroom.

Step 4: Add your products

The next step is populating your online showroom with products. This is where collections really come to life. Each product should have detailed descriptions, high-quality images, and accurate, account-specific pricing information to help buyers make informed decisions.

Organization is key. Group your products into logical categories (by type, size, collection, or season) to make it easier for buyers to navigate and find what they’re looking for. You could also create tailored categories based on specific buyer preferences or trends in the market, ensuring each visitor gets a personalized browsing experience.

Populate your showroom with enriched product data, including  detailed description, multiple images, material breakdown, care instructions, and sustainability details to help buyers make informed decisions.

Finally, keep your inventory up to date and ensure that product availability, prices, and shipping details are accurate and visible. The smoother and more transparent the buying experience, the better.

Step 5. Set up payment and shipping options

Wholesale buyers expect flexibility and clarity when it comes to payment and delivery. Here’s what to consider:

Offer the right payment terms

Buyers often work on tight margins and structured buying calendars so offering flexible payment terms of buyers can make the difference between landing a large seasonal order or losing it. 

Common wholesale payment strategies:

• Net terms (e.g. Net 30, Net 60): Trusted buyers expect the option to pay after delivery. Offer this to repeat or top-tier accounts.

• Deposit + balance: For pre-orders or made-to-order items, collect a percentage upfront (e.g. 30%) and the rest before shipping.

• Prepayment: For new accounts, international buyers, or smaller orders, consider upfront payment to reduce financial risk.

• Card payments: Some buyers prefer to pay immediately—offering credit card options at checkout can remove friction.

Tip: Align payment terms with account tiers. Give your top buyers the flexibility they need, while protecting your margins with more cautious terms with new or smaller accounts

Set clear shipping expectations

• Provide multiple shipping options (standard, express, international) with estimated timelines.

• Disclose duties and taxes clearly — especially for cross-border buyers.

• Be consistent with how you communicate delivery windows (e.g. “Drop 2: Wk 28–30”).

• Partner with  reputable shipping carriers to ensure timely and reliable delivery.

• Offering free shipping promotions or a flat rate to encourage sales.

• Offer tracking details or shipping confirmation emails so buyers feel in control post-checkout.

Step 6. Test your digital showroom before the launch

Before launching your digital showroom, thorough testing is essential to ensure a smooth user experience. This means checking every page, link, and navigation element to make sure everything works as expected.

Don’t overlook the purchase process itself: test the entire buyer journey from browsing to checkout, ensuring that every step is intuitive, quick, and hassle-free. Pay attention to details like loading times, payment processing, and confirmation emails. A smooth checkout process can make the difference between a completed order and a lost sale.

Online showrooms should also be mobile-friendly. Test how it displays across various screen sizes, devices, and browsers to ensure a consistent experience for all users. 

Step 7. Monitor performance

By keeping a close eye on key metrics and buyer behavior, you can identify areas that need more attention, optimize the buyer journey, and make data-driven decisions to enhance your showroom's effectiveness. Understanding buyer behavior through analytics is critical for refining your wholesale sales strategy and customer experience.

For example, if you notice a dip in sales for a particular collection, you can tweak product placement, promotions, or marketing efforts to re-engage buyers. By continuously analyzing this data, you ensure that your showroom remains optimized for both short-term sales and long-term growth.

Step 8. Iterate and refine

To maintain buyer engagement, regular updates are essential. This includes adding new products, refreshing existing editorial content, and launching promotions to keep your online showroom dynamic and relevant.

Gather insights from buyers on what they like, and where they experience challenges. This feedback will be invaluable for improving product offerings, refining features, and optimizing user experience.

Take time to regularly review and adjust the user interface, navigation, and overall functionality of the showroom. Small tweaks can have a big impact on improving the overall buying experience, from making navigation smoother to streamlining the checkout process. Continuous iteration not only enhances the UX, but also helps you stay ahead of the competition.

Elevating digital wholesale: digital showroom best practices

Once your digital wholesale ops are up and running, here are some key practices to follow to take the buyer experience up a notch.

Deliver personalized buyer experiences

With your analytics and historical data on buyers and orders, you can segment buyer groups and provide personalized product recommendations for cross and up-sells. In this way, you increase your chances of making a sale and establishing a long-term relationship with retail buyers.Another key differentiator? Making your showroom accessible in multiple languages, allowing buyers to explore product collections in their preferred language. This includes all product details, attributes, and tags. 

Provide detailed product information

Provide detailed product information like localized sizing charts, fit, material composition, and care instructions. This crucial information helps replicate the physical showroom experience, where buyers can see collections up close, feel fabric samples, and interact with the products. Offering this context allows buyers to make informed decisions and ensures a seamless digital shopping experience.

Maintain a high level of customer service

Great customer service plays a vital role in maintaining buyer satisfaction. First, your customer success team should be easy to reach and responsive. It’s also good to give buyers different channels to contact the customer care team if any questions arise while they are browsing. Keep communication transparent with order status, shipping, and delivery details all available in user accounts. 

Leverage your wholesale data to optimize DTC

To truly maximize the potential of digital wholesale, consider using your wholesale data to further optimize DTC inventory management. Pre-orders help brands ensure units will sell even before production begins, offering a level of predictability that DTC alone can’t provide for sales forecasting. With digital fashion wholesale, brands can also optimize inventory planning by identifying key ‘never-out-of-stock’ items and carry-over pieces, while using order data to predict wholesale volumes for upcoming collections.

A digital showroom is key to unlocking new growth in the digital wholesale space. By setting clear goals, crafting compelling visual narratives, and continuously optimizing, you can transform your wholesale operations end-to-end and give buyers an experience that keeps them coming back for more.

Learn how brands like Paul Smith, Nudie Jeans, and Eton Shirts have grabbed the digital wholesale opportunity with Centra and experienced big gains.