Written By: Zach Dewhurst
(May 3, 2025)
Read Time: 8 Minutes
After you’ve nailed down your business model—whether that’s print-on-demand, local fulfillment, contract printing, or building your own brand—the next step is one that too many beginners skip: understanding your competition.
Before you press a single shirt, it’s important to get a clear picture of the landscape you’re entering. You’re not just starting a t-shirt business—you’re joining a competitive market that includes everything from established print shops and e-commerce brands to hobbyists selling custom tees on Etsy. The good news? With DTF transfers and a heat press, you have the tools to compete—but only if you understand where you fit in.
Competitive research is your secret weapon. It helps you:
Avoid pricing or marketing mistakes
Uncover what’s already working in the marketplace
Identify where others are falling short
Position your business to stand out
Make smarter decisions about products, pricing, and promotions
It’s not about copying what others are doing—it’s about learning from their successes and failures so you can carve out a niche and deliver real value to your customers.
Start by figuring out who you’re up against. Your competitors might include:
Local t-shirt and embroidery shops offering screen printing, vinyl, or heat press services.
Online stores and Etsy sellers targeting the same niche (e.g., pet lovers, gym goers, teachers).
Print-on-demand giants like Printful, Printify, or Teespring.
Other DTF heat press businesses offering gang sheet printing or custom fulfillment.
Boutique brands on Instagram or TikTok that share your audience or aesthetic.
Make a list of at least 5–10 competitors. Check out their websites, storefronts, social media accounts, pricing structures, and customer reviews. Look at what they're doing right—and more importantly, what they’re not doing at all.
To take your research to the next level, use a SWOT analysis to evaluate both your competitors and your own position in the market. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Here's how to apply it:
✅ Strengths
What do you do well—or plan to do well—that your competitors don’t? Examples:
Faster turnaround times thanks to local DTF pressing
No minimum order quantities
Offering high-quality blanks or premium brands
Niche expertise (e.g., youth sports leagues, pet lovers, schools)
⚠️ Weaknesses
Where are you limited or less experienced than others? Examples:
Limited budget or inventory
Still learning DTF best practices
No physical location or limited customer base
New to online marketing or design
Be honest. Recognizing your weaknesses helps you avoid overcommitting or under-delivering.
🔍 Opportunities
Where are the gaps in the market that you could fill? Examples:
No one in your area offers custom tees with full-color prints and no setup fees
Existing businesses are slow, expensive, or hard to work with
A trending niche lacks dedicated apparel (e.g., teachers, runners, dog moms, local landmarks)
Event-based apparel (like reunions or festivals) is under-served
This is where your creativity and vision come in.
🚨 Threats
What external factors could challenge your growth? Examples:
Competitors with bigger marketing budgets
POD platforms with lower prices due to scale
Customer loyalty to existing shops
Supply chain issues with blank apparel
By knowing these threats upfront, you can plan strategies to work around them—or even turn them into opportunities.
Let’s say you live in a mid-sized town. You research and find 3 local shops:
Shop A: Offers embroidery and screen printing but has a two-week turnaround and 24-shirt minimums.
Shop B: Specializes in schools and sports teams but doesn’t work with small businesses or individuals.
Shop C: Is focused on corporate wear with high price points and no creative design options.
Using a SWOT analysis, you realize:
Strength: You can fulfill small orders in 1–2 days with full-color designs using DTF.
Weakness: You don’t have a storefront (yet).
Opportunity: Offer no-minimum, quick-turn custom shirts for entrepreneurs, local events, or family reunions.
Threat: You’ll need to compete on service, convenience, and creativity—not price.
That insight shapes your marketing, pricing, and branding. It also helps you avoid trying to be everything to everyone—and instead focus on the market you can best serve.
One of the best ways to research the competition is by reading customer reviews. Look at Google, Facebook, Etsy, and Yelp. Pay special attention to:
Common complaints – Slow shipping? Poor communication? Bad print quality?
Consistent praise – Fast service? Friendly staff? Great product variety?
What customers wish for – This reveals what they want but aren’t getting.
This is direct feedback from your future customers—use it to fine-tune your services.
Choosing your business model is the “what” of your t-shirt business. Researching your competition is the “why”—it helps you understand where you belong, who you're serving, and how to build something that lasts.
This is where real strategy begins. Don’t just dive into printing shirts and hoping they sell. Take the time to learn your market, do a SWOT analysis, and build a plan that gives your DTF heat press business a real shot at success.
