If you are looking to start a new E-Commerce, Online Store or Retail Shop, then you most likely want to come up with a catchy name. Your brand name will be the cornerstone of your marketing strategy, and it is a good idea to spend plenty of time coming up with good ones.
A good retail/e-commerce or online store name can make all the difference between a mediocre and a great business. Many people struggle with choosing company names, so breaking down the naming process can help ease this.
New Online Store Name Ideas
Choosing the best brand name can have a major impact on your e-commerce business.
A snappy, memorable brand name gives you an immediate advantage when starting an online store. It makes it easy for potential customers to remember both you and your product and can set you up for long-term success.
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Short and Catchy Store Name Generator
Customers won’t remember a brand name if it isn’t distinct. Catchy branding is all about setting yourself apart from your competition and that starts with a cool, unique store name. Short brand names offer a strong message in very few syllables that show the power of a brand.
A unique brand name that grabs a customer’s attention will be remembered later on.
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Great and One-Word Marketplace Names
Oftentimes, simply using one word for a business name can be immensely powerful and engaging for clients/customers. Carefully consider your brand and brainstorm adjectives and synonyms that describe your business idea. For instance, if you own a marketplace website business, ask yourself how you would describe what you’re offering (online marketplace, goods for sale, etc.).
One-word names can be a solid foundation when it comes to naming your brand.
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Smart and Alliterative Retail Business Name Ideas
Alliteration is when a phrase starts with the same sound or letter. Alliterations can be a great way to add a touch of fun and creativity to your company name. If you’re looking for a unique and memorable name for your business, consider using an alliteration.
A good alliteration example is “cats climb cactuses, carefully.” Along with rhyming and the unusual spelling, this is a powerful tool for creating memorable business names.
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Cool and Colorful Shop Name Ideas
If you‘d like to start a shop that has a brand name mainly representing a colorful theme, you need to come up with a name for your store. But how do you choose a name for your retail business? Well, you don’t necessarily have to choose a very fancy name. In fact, you can keep it simple and straightforward.
You should begin by asking yourself, “What are some recognizable brand names that famously have a color in them?” A great example of this is Red Bull. Not only is this a great combination of a color and an animal, but the color red is up at the front. A dominant choice such as this can help your brand stick out above the competition.
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Cute and Animal Online Store Name Ideas
If your brand fits the mould for it, you can think of cute brand names with animal names in them. The best place to start is by nailing down your business strategy. Think about your vision, goals, and audience.
Once your strategy is complete, brainstorm some words that best describe your animal-themed brand. Then, research what other businesses are doing. What animals resonate best with the audience you’re trying to target or impact? Brands such as Dove and Puma are timeless names that are easily recognizable and have an edge over their respective competitions. Your brand’s animal choice should depend on what kind of theme you want your business to portray to your target audience.
One of the most important things is to verify the animal you choose for your brand isn’t already taken.
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Best Feminine Store Name Generator
There are many different aspects that go into starting a business. If you’re looking to come up with a clever and catchy name, female empowerment business names will make you stand out from the rest in this modern era. Thematically, a feministic approach should focus on inclusivity of women not only in the name but as a whole brand.
But one of the most important aspects of starting a store is making sure that you are empowering women!
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Powerful and Masculine Marketplace Names
A marketplace with a masculine name can appear as powerful and authoritative in its industry and will appeal to men who want to style themselves on traditionally masculine symbols. However, masculinity can take many forms and can appeal to a broad spectrum of men.
Understand who your audience is and what appeals to them. Your brand should align with the values of your audience, so it is important to understand how your audience resonates with a powerful and masculine name.
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Famous E-Commerce and Retail Brand Names
When naming your e-commerce or retail brand, the natural inclination is to follow the herd and do what others in the industry have done.
But keep in mind that established giants in the e-commerce/retail space such as the ones below have had decades or a few centuries to make a name for themselves. What worked back in the day may not work in a highly competitive and modernized marketplace.
- Amazon
- Samsung
- eBay
- Rakuten
- Tradeinn
- Urban Retreat
- Alibaba
- Shopify
- Meituan
How To Name A Retail Brand
1. Clearly envision your brand
Ask, who do I want to be when I (my brand) grow up?
Everything has a name – a word we attach to it to give it meaning. Words and names are terms of reference for us when we communicate.
Concrete, clear, and well-defined ideas are much easier to name than hazy, vague ones.
If you’re planning to open a clothes shop, for example, you need to know more about it than the simple fact that you’ll be selling clothes! So, let’s dive in.
2. Create a brand tone
The best way to make sure that a business name is set up for success is by making sure you’re choosing a business name that sets up the proper brand tone.
Tone is a general term for a character or attitude of a place, story, song, business, and more. The tone of your business should connect to your audience and appeal to the business values you are trying to achieve. Your tone can help audiences identify and meet those values.
3. Understand Secondary Branding Elements
Think of these as the building blocks of your brand.
While an overarching tone is essential to the development of a great brand and its name, the tone by itself will not be enough. Secondary branding elements are the building blocks that you’ll use to develop great name ideas.
To help build a successful name, you should write down other aspects that contribute to your brand. The elements below can all be materials to help shape your business name. Try to write down a few ideas for the story you’re trying to tell and the value of your brand.
Examples of secondary branding elements are values, story, industry specifics, benefits, feelings, and value proposition. These elements play a vital role in the naming process because they contribute to how you can develop your brand through exploring these elements.
4. Brainstorm a lot of names
It is time to start generating unique brand name ideas. We encourage you to be brave, captivating and more importantly, bold in your choices.
Whether you are crowdsourcing or coming up with names on your own, a team effort to try out naming activities is not only recommended but essential to begin generating creative business names.
5. Avoid Legal Issues
Like other aspects of your business, choosing a name has legal implications that have to be considered. This is why coming up with a unique name is so important.
A trademark allows the seller to protect what’s trademarked from use and/or misuse by competitors while building brand loyalty among repeat customers. Trademarks also help prevent confusion or manipulation of consumers, who come to associate distinct attributes with a particular brand.
When you are deciding on a potential brand name, always remember to check if that particular name is already trademarked or in use. Avoiding the selection of a trademarked name can save you from many legal troubles such as cease and desist letters.
6. Don’t Forget Audience Validation
Time for the final step! And that is to obtain some audience validation. Make sure your target audience – real people who aren’t in your inner circle – give feedback on the name. For individuals beginning a new venture, audience validation provides satisfying and encouraging validation. Your audience will let you know the true effectiveness of your name selection.
7. Final Tips for Choosing a Name with Confidence
After going through the whole process of naming, you may find that it is an arduous process. How do you know that the names you are brainstorming and filtering are actually worth using? The naming process can seem like a never-ending trial and error, especially during brainstorming. But perseverance and truly understanding what you want your brand to convey is the key to choosing a name with confidence.
Grant Polachek is the Director of Marketing at Squadhelp–transforming the way names are developed by combining an affordable agency-level brainstorming process with the unmatched creativity of “the crowd.”
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