What is an apparel app?
An apparel app is a web, mobile, or desktop application that enables users to purchase and view apparel. Apparel apps usually include features for uploading images of clothing that the user currently owns and allowing them to add items from their wardrobe into their shopping cart.
Fashion apps are similar to other consumer finance apps, such as banking apps, credit card management apps, and budgeting apps. Popular fashion apps include Stitch Fix, Warby Parker, H&M, and StyleSeat.
Examples of apparel apps built with Crowdbotics:
- An on-demand laundry-specific task app built for the apparel industry that allows users to schedule pick up and drop off of their laundry and select the detergent and settings they’d like someone to use.
- An e-commerce web app built for an apparel store in the retail industry.
- A delivery app built in a similar vein to Uber Eats or DoorDash but for dry cleaning that allows users to schedule the pickup and dropoff of their dry cleaning orders, track the status of the order, and receive updates.
What is the typical cost to build an apparel app?
An apparel app usually costs about $37,500 to build. However, the total cost can be as low as $25,000 or as high as $50,000. An apparel app with a low number of features (also known as a minimum viable product, or MVP) will be more affordable than an app that includes all intended functionality.
For example, here are some previous apparel app price quotes from Crowdbotics:
How long does it take to build an apparel app?
An apparel app usually takes 268 hours to build. However, an apparel app can be built in as few as 100 hours, or in as many as 400 hours. The exact timeline mostly depends on how complicated your specific app is. As a general rule, it will take longer if you require highly custom designs, niche features, complex logic, or non-standard release platforms.
For example, some previous apparel apps build with Crowdbotics received the following hourly estimates:
Not seeing what you’re looking for?
Crowdbotics has quoted and built hundreds of applications for teams of all sizes. Browse our historical estimates by industry and app type to understand possible costs and considerations.
How to successfully grow your apparel application
An apparel app can grow virally by making it easy to share images of the garments that users purchase. Many apparel apps use referral programs to incentivize sharing, and they also provide an in-app social network for users to share their favorite outfits with each other. In order to make the selling process more convenient, apparel apps can allow their users to try on different items before purchasing them, and they can offer free shipping. Also, they should make it easy for customers to return or exchange items that don’t fit properly.
Risks and challenges of building an apparel application
An apparel app faces legal risks related to the display of copyrighted materials on the clothing, as well as reputational risks related to the exploitation of factory workers. Before building your app, you will want to ensure that you are complying with all of the applicable laws of every country in which your app will operate. Additionally, you will want to have an adequate system of monitoring factory conditions for all of the factories that produce your final product.
