People have been used to buying clothes in brick-and-mortar stores for long. However, the popularity of the internet, eCommerce have gradually changed the shopping behavior of many people.
Whether you already have an idea in mind or are starting from scratch, this article can help you with your embryonic shirt business.
>>> Discover the best clothing brand name ideas!
How to Start a Shopify Tshirt Business
5 steps to start a shopify t shirt business
No worries if this is your very first time launching a store on Shopify. The seven steps below are all you need to start selling Tshirts.
Step 1: Define your niche
Simply speaking, it is choosing to sell what type of T-shirts to which consumer segment. Are you going to sell all-over T-shirts or graphic tees? What is your dominant style (e.g., vintage, funny, elegant)? The more specific your niche is, the easier it will be to distinguish your enterprise in a crowded market.
Step 2: Choose a Business Model
Popular plans for an online T-shirt store are:
- Private label brand
- Custom cut and sew
- Print on demand
- Dropshipping
Step 3: Sign up for your Shopify store
You can start a free trial at Shopify. Shopify will offer you some free domain names.
>>> Get more inspirations to create Shopify store names
Step 4: Customize your Shopify store for a t-shirt business
Once you set up your store, it’s time to give it a good look. On your Shopify homepage, go to Online store > Themes. Start with a free theme or make an investment in a premium theme for faster loading speed, branded appearance, and more features.
Theme suggestion: Blum - Budget-friendly theme with captivating visuals.
Customizing your theme to match your brand's aesthetics and functionality will help create an engaging shopping experience for your customers.
Step 5: List your products
To add new items, head to Products > Add products. There, you need to complete a few steps, such as writing the product title & description, setting the price, setting up shipping. If you want to improve your product images, you can refer to product retouching services for your business.
Step 6: Publish your store
When you are satisfied with your store’s customization and have a certain number of items posted, you can launch your brand and start selling Tshirts. The publish date & time is always up to you!
Best Shopify T-Shirt Stores For Your Inspiration
1. Shirtwascash
Niche: All-over print clothes
Estimated traffic: 2K (monthly visit)
What contributes to the success of Shirtwascash?
A wide range of products: The brand catches their customer’ interest with numerous designs for each clothes type. Besides T-shirts, this Shopify store also sells sweaters, hoodies, leggings, or swimwear. Each product type comes in various patterns, from street style to quirky ones.
Example of Shirtwascash’ stunning T-shirts
Customer-friendly policies: Shirtwascash offers its buyers flexible policies, which allow them to return or exchange products under certain circumstances. People can return their orders for any reason, even when they don’t love it anymore. The conditions for returning/exchanging orders are 1) The item is unworn, and 2) They request within 30 days of receiving the order. Without a doubt, such friendly policies act as a driver of buying decisions, which contributes to increased sales and higher customer loyalty.
Link to Shopify store: https://thatshirtwascash.com/
2. Factory43
Niche: Graphic T-shirts
What contributes to the success of Factory43?
- Good visual: Anyone who visits Factory43’s website for the first time must be amazed at its well-designed template, which allows the graphics to speak for the brand. The product page has a simple but effective layout, with squares being the design of T-shirts.
- Unique graphic designs: What makes Factory43 a competitive T-shirt brand is its stunning T-shirt ideas. The store doesn’t focus on quantity but quality. Though having a small number of designs, they grab customers’ attention at the first look.
- Good traffic on social media networks: Factory43 also has its page set up on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter. For instance, its Pinterest account has up to 66,000 monthly views. This source can drive a lot of traffic for the money site!
If you're interested in leveraging Pinterest to grow traffic and sales, check out this video guide:
Link to Shopify store: https://factory43.com/
3. The Organic T-shirt
Niche: Organic clothes
What contributes to the success of The Organic T-shirt?
- Promised high-quality material: In recent years, organic products have become a booming trend around the globe. For that reason, this brand promises to deliver 100% cotton T-shirts. It not only brings comfort for customers but also prevents contamination of the planet.
- Brand ethics: As consumers are getting more mindful of the environment, they tend to boycott businesses with unethical practices. Therefore, The Organic T-shirt has won the hearts of many people with its commitment to social responsibilities.
- Affordable price: The price for a T-shirt made of high-quality fabric is 29.90 USD. It is quite a good deal for organic goods! Shoppers can also get long sleeve tees at the same price.
Read more: Successful Shopify Dropshipping Store for Inspiration
Link to Shopify store: https://theorganictshirt.com.au/
4. Tees For Humanity
Niche: Print T-shirts
What contributes to the success of Tees For Humanity?
- Commonplace designs: Tees For Humanity targets young men and women with a liking for ordinary tee shirts. Though not being unique, such T-shirts meet the demands of a large number of customers. In other words, all the people without a specific fashion taste are their potential customers.
T-shirts of Tees For Humanity often bear a slogan on a simple background.
- Discounted items: You can often find several items at sale prices in the shop. This strategy both encourages people to buy more and forms a customer habit. Whenever a person searches for a cheap basic shirt, Tees For Humanity will come to his/her mind.
- Custom T-shirts available: Sometimes, people prefer stuff that reflects their traits and identity. For that reason, the brand offers numerous choices for a custom tee, which displays sayings or words based on the buyer’s request.
Link to Shopify store: https://teesforhumanity.com/
5. TeeFury
Niche: Pop culture T-shirts
Estimated traffic: 9.6K (monthly visit)
What contributes to the success of TeeFury?
- Limited edition T-shirts: New apparel designs are released for sale every 24 hours. If you don’t buy before time’s up, you will lose the chance to own your favorite item at a discounted price. By leveraging the psychology of FOMO, the brand has successfully encouraged customers towards an impulse decision.
- Up-to-date ideas: Artists of TeeFury are those with an endless passion for creating incredible designs. Overall, their designs convey a sense of parody and pop culture. But to meet the needs of more people, the store also provides shirts for particular genres, such as anime, dystopian, paranormal, etc.
- Excellent Instagram following: With more than 96k followers on one of the most powerful social networks, TeeFury has gained lots of engagements for each of its designs. Those tons of traffic naturally bring in higher sales volume for the brand.
Link to Shopify store: https://teefury.com/
Read more: Successful Shopify Blog Design Examples to Follow
6. Think Pup
Niche: Dog-themed T-shirts
What contributes to the success of Think Pup?
- Market understanding: Think Pup has nailed its niche with shirts illustrating specific breeds of dogs. The brand speaks dog lovers’ minds by naming those shirts creatively like “Corgifornia”, which appeals to corgi owners in California. That’s a good way of digging deep into the niche!
- Good Instagram following: Just by posting adorable dog images, the shop drives tons of traffic for its page. They even make audiences speak for the brand voluntarily by encouraging them to use the hashtag #thinkpup for their posts. Then, their dogs get featured, the brand gets promoted – such a win-win situation.
- Supportive shirt customization: The brand makes efforts to accommodate its customers’ needs, such as changing a shirt’s color or adopting a shirt idea. Their kind service both promotes the store’s image and increases customers’ loyalty.
Link to Shopify store: https://thinkpup.com/
7. Underground Printing
Niche: Custom printed clothes
Estimated traffic: 240k
What contributes to the success of Underground Printing?
- Expansive product catalog: There is an array of collections by which shoppers must be overwhelmed for their first visit. With a wide range of choices, Underground Printing can cover the needs of a majority of buyers. It explains the excellent traffic volume of the site.
- Good customer service: The brand shows its willingness to support by different means of communication. Customers can chat with the shop’s team through their website’s chat box or call directly to the provided number.
- A 20-year-old brand: Underground Printing has a history of decades, which helps it secure a place in the market. When it comes to considering a credible brand, customers incline towards one with more years of playing in such a field. So, the shop doesn’t need to go to great lengths to promote itself as its 20-year-old name has done a lot!
Link to Shopify store: https://undergroundshirts.com/
8. Surfside Supply
Niche: Beach shirts for men
What contributes to the success of Surfside Supply?
- Attractive store layout: Surfside Supply has a minimal but nice-looking Shopify store for a t-shirt business that impresses first-time visitors right away. It is easy to navigate and locate your desired products in such a logical-arranged layout. In other words, you will want to stay and look around in the shop. To inspire your store’s layout, explore some of the best Shopify product pages from successful merchants, which can guide you in creating a page that drives sales.
Surfside Supply’s homepage
- High social media following: Having 6k followers on Instagram and 32k of such on Facebook, Surfside Supply has fertile soil to grow its profit. The team has its feed updated daily on Instagram, which keeps its audiences engaged in a chaotic network. Besides, the brand also has 133k views per month on Pinterest – a great source to drive traffic for its website.
- Free return policy: Yes, buyers can return their goods within 60 days from the delivery date if they are not completely happy with their purchase. Good news for USA customers – you have no return shipping cost to pay!
Link to Shopify store: https://www.surfsidesupply.com/
9. Elevated Faith
Niche: Christian-themed T-shirts (for women mainly)
Estimated traffic: 245k
What contributes to the success of Elevated Faith?
- Beautiful store design: The brand fills its Shopify layout with several lovely images that create a strong sense of femininity. The most stunning items pop up with some positive vibes in the air. Looking at those products makes you want to scroll up and down to explore every corner of the site.
Elevated Faith’s homepage
- Incredible social media following: Of all Shopify T-shirt businesses mentioned above, Elevated Faith has the most outstanding traffic on every social platform. For example, its number of followers on Instagram hits 295k, which results from its maintaining engaging content effectively on this platform. Also, the store’s Pinterest account reaches 115k followers and 10 million monthly views.
- Free shipping & gifts: Everyone loves free stuff! Elevated Faith has successfully dipped into the pocket of new customers by offering attractive benefits for orders from 50 USD in the U.S.
- A crowded community of influencers: It is astounding that the brand has built a team of 30,000 ambassadors! Now we understand how the brand has its place remained in the market.
Link to Shopify store: https://elevatedfaith.com/
10. Shelfies
Niche: All-over print T-shirts
What contributes to the success of Shelfies?
- Strong brand identity: From the start, Shelfies chose quite a good niche - all-over printed tees and has run consistently with it. Its products are so funny and witty that you can’t help browsing the site to see more.
Shelfies’ homepage
- Happy policies: Again, brands with better policies win more customers’ hearts. If Shelfies’ products are not up to your expectation, feel free to send back within 60 days of the delivery date. Moreover, buyers also enjoy a 25% discount on their next order after featuring the brand on their social media account. Of course, this strategy not only retains old customers but also brings in new ones for Shelfies.
- Good stuff at best prices: The store has a separate ‘Sale’ category which displays lots of beautiful items at discounted prices. Such a collection serves the needs of a group of shoppers who are on a small budget.
Link to Shopify store: https://www.shelfies.com/
11. MAKE
Niche: Apparel and accessories
What contributes to the success of MAKE?
- Eye-catching website: Colorful store design with yellow being the tone really grabs the attention of new guests. The use of vibrant pictures and some blank spaces creates such a perfect balance!
- Creative designs: MAKE sends creative vibes into the air! The brand offers numerous choices for every product collection, which amazes customers with its sarcasm and funniness. Also, their consistency with this vibe increases the exclusivity of the brand.
MAKE’s homepage
Link to Shopify store: https://www.makevancouver.com/
12. Spreadshirt
Niche: Custom design apparel and accessories
Estimated traffic: 2.83m
What contributes to the success of Spreadshirt?
- Extended merchandise: Not a Shopify store for a t-shirt business, Spreadshirt also branches out its product categories to serve a larger number of customers. From accessories to home & living necessities, the brand has the most commonly-needed products to show.
- Personalized design: Spreadshirt allows you to put whatever you want on your merchandise. The design process is also easy to understand and use, especially for new buyers. Once tried, customers will enjoy this art-creating activity!
- Exceptional social media traffic: The brand has performed excellently on all social platforms in which it stepped. It has a nice-looking Instagram feed that can make you nod your head in a second. On Youtube, Spreadshirt has also done well with more than 100 videos featuring its goods. Utilizing buyable pins on Pinterest has brought the brand 76k followers with 10+ million individual visits per month.
- Other: Effective product page SEO is essential for attracting customers to your products and improving overall sales.
Link to Shopify store: https://www.spreadshirt.com/
13. BustedTees
Niche: Printed T-shirts
Estimated traffic: 257k
What contributes to the success of BustedTees?
- Unique ideas: BustedTees provides many one-of-a-kind shirt designs that can turn some heads at a first look. Their passion for creativity really makes audiences long for each of their new items. Slogans and features displayed on mockups are up-to-date and follow the trend also.
- Custom T-shirt printing: Not only offer personal customization, but BustedTees also has a clear and easy guideline for first-time buyers. However, the required minimum quantity is 24 pieces. It perfectly serves groups like companies or schools, which are all potential customers in such a field.
- Consistent style: You can tell from the website that BustedTees is not a big business. Their main products are shirts of quirky and street styles. The number of collections is 4. Nevertheless, their stickiness to primary individuality is also a way to make customers remember better.
Link to Shopify store: https://www.bustedtees.com/
14. Textual Tees
Niche: High-humor T-shirts
What contributes to the success of Textual Tees?
- Large quantity of product collections: Textual Tees covers a wide range of topics for better satisfying the tastes of their customers. This store is such a good choice for those who are seeking tee shirts for specific purposes.
Textual Tees’ homepage
- Highly affordable price: Of all Shopify T-shirt stores I mentioned, Textual Tees offers the best pricing. You can buy a well-designed T-shirt there for only 9.99 USD. The brand has successfully touched the insight of low-income people.
- Amazing customer reviews: Due to the nature of buying online, people make their decision based significantly on other customers’ opinions. Textual Tees has created a big driver for new visitors by showing them 5000+ positive reviews on their products. It is an effective way of assuring the credibility of the store.
Link to Shopify store: https://www.textualtees.com/
15. In God We Must
Niche: Inspirational apparel & accessories
What contributes to the success of In God We Must?
- Motivational insights: In God We Must (IGWM) was founded by Elijah Richards when he was in the darkest moments of his life. Therefore, IGWM has grown as a brand that caters to people searching for their life purpose. This spirit appears in every item of the shop and helps IGWM stand out among other players.
In God We Must’s homepage (updated)
- Quality products: Though IGWM doesn’t come with a vast number of products, their goods are so stunning and well-printed. For example, every T-shirt displays a meaningful saying - like a message for a particular circumstance. It explains how fast items are sold out, despite their high prices.
Link to this Shopify t shirt business: https://www.igwm.co/
Other Shopify T-shirt store examples
- UNTUCKit
- Homefield
- Out of Print
- Surfside Supply Co.
- m00nshot!
Marketing Strategies for a Tshirt Business
By leveraging the power of social media, SEO, and influencer collaborations, you can create a sustainable and scalable business. Below are key marketing strategies optimized for selling tshirts.
Social Media Marketing
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are essential for visually-driven stores like Tshirt business. A well-executed social media strategy can increase brand visibility, drive customer engagement, and boost sales.
- Engaging Visual Content: Utilize high-quality photos and short-form videos to showcase your products. Highlight customer stories, user-generated content, and behind-the-scenes footage to build emotional connections with your audience.
- Influencer Collaborations: Partner with influencers whose followers match your target demographic. Micro-influencers (10k-100k followers) are often more cost-effective while driving higher engagement rates.
- Targeted Social Ads: Use precise audience segmentation to ensure that your ads reach the right people. Leverage platforms like Facebook Ads Manager to run campaigns targeting specific demographics, behaviors, and interests.
SEO for Shopify Stores
Search engine optimization (SEO) is critical to ensuring that your Shopify t shirt business ranks well on Google and other search engines, making it easy for potential customers to discover your T-shirts organically.
- Keyword Optimization: Conduct keyword research to identify search terms like “custom graphic T-shirts” or “eco-friendly tees” that resonate with your target market. Integrate these keywords seamlessly into your product titles, descriptions, and blog posts.
- Technical SEO: Ensure your Shopify store is fast-loading, mobile-optimized, and free from broken links
- Content Creation: Write blog posts and guides that answer common questions about T-shirts, such as "How to Style Graphic Tees" or "The Best Fabrics for Comfortable T-Shirts." This helps build authority and drives long-term organic traffic.
SEO is a long-term strategy that requires consistent effort, but it pays off by driving high-quality traffic to your store.
Conclusion
We’ve already finished with guidelines on launching a Shopify t shirt business, 15 shirt store examples and marketing tips. Now, you must be ready to build your own POD business with Shopify. If you're into open an apparel brand, then choose a name is very important, these lingerie store names may is just what you need for your plans!
Good luck with your future endeavors!
