What Online Giants Can’t Replicate: The Fabric Store Touch Advantage

Amazon has free shipping. Online fabric retailers offer thousands of bolts at the click of a button. Specialty sites like Fat Quarter Shop and Missouri Star Quilt Company promise fast delivery and an endless selection.

You run a single store. Maybe you have two employees on a good day. And your overhead costs are real and immediate.

So how do you compete?

Yes, more than 84% of U.S. consumers shop online, but brick-and-mortar stores are still alive and well. Online shopping accounts for less than 20% of all retail sales. You don’t need to match the inventory or shipping speeds of large online shops. You have something they can never replicate: the ability to let customers touch, feel, and see fabric before they buy.

That tactile advantage is more powerful than you think. In this blog, you’ll learn how to turn your physical presence into your strongest competitive edge against online retailers.

Let’s dive into six ways your fabric store can stand out.

1. Let Customers Feel What They’re Buying

Online retailers show photos. You offer something they can’t — touch.

A quilter shopping online sees “100% cotton” in the description. They see thread count and weight measurements. But they can’t run their fingers across the weave. They can’t test if it’s soft enough for a baby quilt or sturdy enough for a tote bag.

Those product descriptions don’t tell the whole story. A fabric labeled “medium weight” can feel completely different depending on the manufacturer. Cotton sateen drapes differently than cotton poplin, even when both are listed as “quilting cotton.”

Customers know this. That’s why they walk into your store before starting a project. Bolts of fabric are bulky enough that returns can be a hassle. If it’s a project where they plan to spend a pretty penny on fabric, getting it right the first time is important. 

How You Can Compete

Your store gives customers certainty before they cut. That certainty is worth more than free shipping. Make the most of this advantage with these strategies:

• Create touch-and-feel stations: Set up designated areas where customers can handle fabrics without unwrapping bolts. Display swatches of your most popular weights and textures so shoppers can compare.
• Stock tactile variety: Carry fabrics with distinct hand-feel differences — crisp quilting cottons, flowing rayons, structured canvas, soft flannels. When customers can feel the difference between a Kona cotton and a premium batik, they understand why they’re paying more.
• Train staff to explain fabric hand: Make sure every employee can describe drape, weight, and texture. When Sarah comes in asking for fabric that “doesn’t wrinkle too much,” your team should immediately walk her to the right section.
• Keep samples available: Let customers take home small swatches for big projects. When someone’s trying to match upholstery or coordinate a whole quilt, testing fabric at home builds trust and ensures they come back to buy the full yardage from you.

Related Read: What To Do With Fabric Scraps: 10 Small Business Ideas

2. Show True Colors In Real Light

Online photos lie — not intentionally, but they do.

A fabric that looks like warm cream on a screen might arrive as stark white. That “dusty rose” could appear hot pink under your customer’s studio lights. Computer monitors, phone screens, and photo editing all distort color accuracy.

Color matching is critical for quilters — one shade off can ruin an entire block pattern. Interior designers need fabrics that coordinate perfectly with existing furniture. Garment sewers want to ensure their handmade dress matches their favorite shoes.

Online retailers can’t solve this problem. No matter how many photos they include, customers are always guessing.

How You Can Compete

Your physical store eliminates the guesswork. Turn accurate lighting and in-person comparison into advantages:

• Display fabrics in natural light: Position your bestselling bolts near windows. If you don’t have natural light, invest in full-spectrum bulbs that mimic daylight. This shows customers true color without the yellow cast of standard fluorescent lighting.
• Create coordinating displays: Group fabrics that work well together. When someone’s building a quilt palette, seeing five bolts right next to each other beats toggling between browser tabs.
• Encourage side-by-side comparison: Let customers pull bolts and lay them out together. When Linda’s trying to decide between three navy blues for her grandson’s quilt backing, she can see them next to each other instead of relying on memory.
• Offer color-matching services: Keep a record of what customers bought for ongoing projects. When David comes back six months later needing more of that green he used for his curtains, your point of sale (POS) system should help you pull the exact match.

Related Read: 10 Trending Fabrics To Stock in Your Sewing Store

3. Help Customers Assess Weight and Drape

A fabric’s weight determines everything. Too heavy, and it won’t gather properly. Too light, and it won’t hold its structure.

Online product descriptions include weight specs, usually in ounces per square yard or grams per square meter (GSM). That number tells you nothing about how the fabric actually behaves when you sew with it.

Two fabrics with identical weight specs can drape completely differently. A stiff cotton canvas and a flowing rayon might both be listed as “medium weight,” but try making curtains from canvas or tote bags from rayon — it doesn’t work.

Your customers need to see how fabric moves. Online retailers can’t show them that.

How You Can Compete

You can drape fabric over your arm. You can hold it up to the light. You can show customers exactly how it behaves. Put that hands-on advantage to work:

• Demonstrate drape in person: Pull a yard off the bolt when Jennifer asks if a fabric will work for a flowing skirt, and hold it up so she can see how it moves. This takes 10 seconds and answers the question definitively.
• Label fabrics for specific uses: Mark which fabrics work best for quilting, garment sewing, home decor, or bags. When customers see “perfect for curtains” on a tag, they trust you’ve already assessed drape and weight.
• Showcase finished projects: Display sample projects made from your fabrics — a tote bag sewn from your canvas, a quilt made from your batiks, or curtains from your decorator-weight cotton — so customers can see what’s possible.
• Train staff to assess fabric behavior: Teach your team how to test if a fabric will work for a customer’s project. Will it fray easily? Does it need lining? Can you wash it? These questions can’t always be answered by reading product descriptions online.

4. Offer Instant Gratification

Online orders take days. Your store takes minutes.

A quilter suddenly inspired to start a new project doesn’t want to wait. A garment sewer who just ripped their favorite fabric needs a replacement today. A parent making a Halloween costume three days before the holiday can’t afford shipping delays.

Big-box stores might offer same-day pickup, but that requires ordering ahead and hoping the item’s actually in stock when they arrive. Online retailers promise two-day shipping, but that’s still two days.

You have the fabric in stock right now.

How You Can Compete

Immediate access is a massive advantage. Customers pay more to walk out with fabric today. Capitalize on that urgency:

• Keep popular items consistently stocked: Use your POS system to track bestsellers and reorder before you run out. When someone needs basic quilting cotton or interfacing, they should never hear, “We’re waiting on a shipment.”
• Promote in-store exclusives: Carry unique fabrics or limited-edition collections that aren’t available online. When customers know you have prints they can’t get anywhere else, they’ll come to you first.
• Offer same-day cutting services: Cut fabric to specific dimensions while customers wait. This is standard practice for you, but online retailers can’t compete with it.
• Build a reputation for having what sewers need: Stock notions, thread, patterns, and tools alongside your fabric. When customers can complete their entire shopping list in one visit, they’ll choose your store over placing multiple online orders.

5. Provide Expert Guidance During Selection

E-commerce giants provide product descriptions. You provide expertise.

A customer shopping online can read specs and reviews, but they can’t ask questions. They can’t explain their project and get personalized recommendations. They’re left guessing whether a fabric will work.

Your store changes that dynamic completely. When Karen walks in with a photo of a dress, you can recommend the right fabric weight. You suggest coordinating prints and warn her about potential pitfalls.

That level of personalized guidance builds loyalty online retailers can’t match.

How You Can Compete

Your knowledge is the product. Fabric is just what customers pay for. Use your expertise strategically:

• Ask questions before recommending fabric: Find out what customers are making, how they’ll use it, and their skill level — don’t just show them what’s pretty. A beginner quilter needs different fabric than someone entering competitions.
• Share real sewing insights: Let customers know if a fabric shrinks significantly or if a print doesn’t cut well for garments because of pattern direction. These small warnings build trust and prevent frustration.
• Recommend coordinating fabrics proactively: Pull matching solids when someone buys a bold floral for a quilt. Suggest binding options. This saves them a second trip and increases your average transaction.
• Remember customer preferences: Use your POS system to track what regulars buy. When Susan comes in, you remember she prefers 100% cotton. You know she hates anything with metallic threads. That level of personalization is impossible for online retailers.

Related Read: How To Write a Product Description for Your Online Fabric Store

6. Build Personal, Lasting Relationships

Amazon doesn’t know your name. Your store does.

Large retailers and online giants rely on algorithms and purchase history to “personalize” experiences. You rely on actual human relationships.

When Rebecca walks through your door, you remember she’s working on a quilt for her granddaughter. You ask how her daughter’s wedding turned out. You notice she always gravitates toward jewel tones and pull new fabrics you think she’ll love.

That’s not data mining — that’s genuine connection, and customers will pay for it.

How You Can Compete

Relationships turn one-time buyers into lifelong customers. Small gestures make the biggest impact:

• Learn names and projects: Note what customers are working on in your POS system. When they come back, reference it. “How did that baby quilt turn out?” takes five seconds but makes someone feel valued.
• Host in-store events: Offer sewing circles, technique workshops, or trunk shows with fabric designers. These events create community that online retailers can’t replicate.
• Send personalized recommendations: Text or email customers when you get new fabric that matches their taste. “Just got in a new batik collection and thought of you” is far more effective than a mass email blast.
• Celebrate customer milestones: Acknowledge birthdays, project completions, or anniversaries. A small discount or a handwritten note goes a long way.
• Showcase customer work: Display finished projects made with your fabrics. Create an Instagram wall featuring customer creations. Celebrate the community you’ve built around your store.

Online retailers can send automated birthday emails with generic discount codes. You can hand someone a card and genuinely wish them a great day. That difference matters.

Turn Your Physical Presence Into Your Biggest Asset With Like Sew

You don’t need to copy major online fabric retailers.

Your advantage is proximity, expertise, and letting customers touch fabric before they buy. Those strengths require the right systems to maximize their impact.

Like Sew is a cloud-based POS system designed specifically for independent fabric stores. It gives you the technology to compete with larger competitors.

Track sales patterns so you always have the tactile fabrics customers want in stock. Store detailed customer notes about project preferences and past purchases. This lets you deliver personalized recommendations every visit.

Send targeted messages when new arrivals match a customer’s taste. This brings them into your store instead of online. Monitor inventory levels to ensure your most popular items are always available for immediate purchase.

Smart technology paired with your in-store expertise creates advantages online retailers can’t touch.

Ready to see how Like Sew can work for your store? Use our Build and Price tool to create your custom solution today.