Back on the Rack Consignment Boutique

We’ve looked at a wide variety of industries when choosing sites for awards, but one thing we hadn’t yet considered was the reseller world. Since many resell small businesses are solopreneur operations, it took some time to find a few we felt had excellent website designs for the purpose they were intended. Back on the Rack Consignment Boutique offers a minimalistic look that appealed to us here at Designerly.

With over 1.8 billion websites in the world, it’s tough to narrow down which site we want to feature each month. Narrowing down niches helps considerably and we love to feature small businesses others can start and take toward success. 

It took us some time to narrow down the options to one winner. First, we chose resell businesses. We then moved to clothing categories. Finally, we narrowed down the options and chose the design we liked best that also functioned in a way that was easy for users to interact with. 

Winner: Back on the Rack Consignment Boutique 

The world of consignment resale shops is forever changing. Stores open and close. Inventory fluctuates. Prices rise and fall. However, with some people feeling an economic crunch, buying second hand has become more appealing. 

Many want to buy previously owned items to reduce their carbon footprint. A reporter for Medium took a look at whether reducing consumption of new clothes saves the environment. She reported that the majority of clothing manufactured today is made of polyester or acrylic, taking around 70 million barrels of oil to produce them each year. Buying previously loved items saves the direct consumption as well as pollution during the manufacturing process. It also saves you money. 

We chose Back on the Rack Consignment Boutique for our award because their site features the clothes in beautiful images. It also has a strong navigational and search system, features latest arrivals and makes ordering online simple. 

What Does Back on the Rack Consignment Boutique Do Differently?

Everything about the website is minimalist. Even the About Us page gives a short rundown of the owner, how she got into women’s pre owned fashion and the store hours. To the right is their address, phone number and a map to the store. 

The store got its humble beginnings on eBay about 20 years ago. Today, they have the one location and sell directly to their customers in sizes extra small to 3X. They carry clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories. 

Rather than taking everything brought to them, as a thrift store might, Back on the Rack Consignment Boutique schedules appointments for large batches of clothing or takes 10 items at a time. They inspect each piece to ensure it looks like new and give a preference to designer labels. 

The attention to quality ensures every item in the store speaks to one of the customers entering or shopping online. With more people seeking ways to shop without leaving their homes, they put many of the items on their integrated Shopify store to help people order the items they love most. The store has a no return policy, so people should only buy items by makers they know their sizing in or they’re willing to take a chance on. If it doesn’t fit, you might be able to resell it, but you won’t be able to take it back. 

Why We Chose Back on the Rack Consignment Boutique as Our Site of the Month

If the overall design aesthetic speaks to you as it did to us, you likely see why we chose this one as our Site of the Month. 

Minimalism

As mentioned before, we love the smooth, clean lines of this design. Ample white space puts the focus on the clothing being featured. 

Navigation

The number of navigation options are limited to a handful. It is clear where the user should go to access various areas of the site. Categories include:

• Schedule an Appointment 
• About Us 
• Shop 
• How to Consign
• Contact

The focus is on the calls to action (CTAs) moving users toward the site goal of shopping. 

Social Media

Even though it is only a link on the website, the company has an active Facebook page that pulls the audience in and keeps them updated on new arrivals and hot items. They use their story to share new pieces, including the size and brand and a link to add it to the shopping cart. 

Mobile Responsiveness

The site and their participation in Facebook stories makes the site extremely mobile-friendly. People can order with a single click on the social media photo. The site itself sizes nicely for smaller screens without losing any of its minimalistic qualities. 

Beautiful Images

It would be easy for a smaller business to take quick snapshots of low quality. However, this site takes the time to stage the photos and create lovely images that pull the reader in. The mix of colors and close-up views of various features on each piece make it useful to shoppers. 

Frequent Updates

The owner uses the social media page and the website to post fresh arrivals every day and sometimes several times a day. This keeps the content fresh and engaging for those visiting. People are more likely to get in the habit of checking back frequently to ensure they don’t miss anything. 

What We Would Do Different

There isn’t a lot we’d change about the Back on the Rack Consignment Boutique website. The simplicity of the layout and categories makes it easy to use and find what you’re looking for. 

One thing we might change is adding in a bit more detail to the About Us page. The owner is the personality behind this brand. She’s almost always in the store when one goes into it. Her personality shines through the products offered and the social media posts. Adding some details about her and a photo would be beneficial without overwhelming users. 

We’d also love to see some style tips where she shows ideas for putting together an outfit using various pieces. The tips could be general, such as that wide-legged pants look great with this type of top since the inventory changes frequently. 

We truly loved taking a look at resale sites and finding one with such a stellar design. There’s a lot to learn about creating a small e-commerce or brick-and-mortar retail store by studying this website.