After watching what actually gets ordered across team stores, some clear patterns emerge — and a few of them surprise every admin. If you're setting up spirit wear for a team, school, or club, steal these.
1. The hoodie is your bestseller. Price it with confidence.
Hoodies outsell everything from fall through spring. Parents will happily pay for quality fleece with their kid's team on it — don't race to the bottom on price, especially with a fundraiser amount built in.
2. Youth sizes aren't optional
Stores with youth tees and youth hoodies consistently outsell adult-only stores — kids want to match the team, and grandparents are the most reliable buyers on the roster.
3. Give the parents their own gear
"Hockey Mom," "Baseball Dad," booster-club versions — parents don't want to wear a player jersey; they want their own identity in team colors. A parent-oriented design is free money for a fundraiser.
4. Two or three garment colors beat one
Offering your main color plus a neutral (black, heather grey, or white) noticeably lifts orders — some people simply won't wear teal, and that's fine. Stella & Sage lets you offer up to three colors per product.
5. Tanks carry your summer
Racerbacks and premium tanks turn summer practices and tournament weekends into merch season. Seasonal products keep the store feeling alive.
6. The back print is the pro move
Logo on the front, something on the back — a motto, a roster year, an established date. Back designs make merch feel like real team gear instead of a printed blank.
7. QR codes at real-world moments
The single best sales moment is sign-up night and the first game. Put your store's QR code (built into your share tools) on the folding table, and watch orders roll in from the bleachers.
8. Announce restocks that aren't restocks
On-demand stores never sell out — but attention fades. Adding one new product mid-season ("Crewnecks just dropped") re-sends everyone to the store, where they buy other things too.
9. Show the goal bar
If you're fundraising, make the progress public. "We're 70% to new uniforms" turns every supporter into a recruiter and gives people a reason to buy now instead of someday.
Put it to work
Every idea here is a checkbox, not a project, on a Stella & Sage store: youth sizes, extra colors, back designs, QR sharing, and a live fundraiser bar are all built in. Start your store and set it up in an afternoon — here's the walkthrough.
