How Pocket Sport uses Purple Dot to Never Go Out-of-Stock

Our brand customers continue to inspire us in how they leverage sell earlier strategies to drive growth for their business. Learn more about their experience using Purple Dot for pre-order operations.

15%

of the restock purchase order sold before reaching the warehouse

Goal

Enable a never ‘truly’ go out of stock strategy for merchants by offering their customers a seamless way to join a pre-paid waitlist for out-of-stock items that will be restocked.

Background

Pocket Sport is a leading DTC women’s label in London, co-founded by influencer Louise Thompson and Edward Page. Through making trendy, premium activewear available at friendly prices, their success quickly exploded, and they struggled to keep products in stock. This meant they were frequently turning away customers who were ready to buy right then and there.

Having tried solving this problem with pre-order plugins in the past, Pocket Sport was frustrated with the hacky nature of the plugins, as well as continued warehouse confusion and poor customer experience. They needed a premium pre-order solution, and a partner that was always on hand for support and to evolve the solution as they grew.

When we were out-of-stock, we used to have to turn customers away. We’d capture their email addresses but trying to get them back once we re-stocked was a pain. Now, our customers can pre-order onto our re-stock, and buy right then and there. This provides a smoother experience for our customers and an opportunity for us to get more sales, sooner.

Edward Page

CEO, Pocket Sport

The Solution

Built on Shopify Plus, Pocket Sport was able to quickly enable Purple Dot’s waitlist solution to sit seamlessly alongside their existing in-stock experience. When variants or SKUs of target products go out-of-stock, instead of a traditional out-of-stock customer experience, Purple Dot automatically flips to offer a pre-order option. This allowed Pocket Sport customers to buy right away instead of needing to come back later. By getting on the waitlist for Pocket Sport’s top products, their customers could guarantee to be first to have it the moment the restock hits the warehouse. And by leveraging Purple Dot’s best-in-class, dedicated waitlist checkout and self-service cancel, customers knew they were in trusted hands even though their order had a longer lead time.

We tried to solve pre-orders in the past with a plugin we found in the Shopify store but the experience was terrible. It looked cheap to our customers, it was confusing for our warehouse and there was never anyone available to support us. We knew being out-of-stock was starting to damage our brand, and we needed something better – and fast. We uninstalled the old plugin and turned to Purple Dot as a premium, pre-order partner. As our business grows, Purple Dot continues to introduce new features based on our suggestions, like buying directly from our Quick View panels, which is exactly the collaboration we were looking for.

Edward Page

CEO, Pocket Sport

The results

Pocket Sport’s most popular items are now always available, even if the product is currently being manufactured or on its way to the warehouse. Pocket Sport customers that arrive at their eCommerce store can always complete their order, whether it’s from the PDP or a product quick view panel. This enables Pocket Sport to sell up to 15% of their restock before it’s marketed or even lands in their warehouse – while also eliminating previous pre-order friction with their customers, and their internal warehouse and customer service teams.

Get in touch

Selling earlier can transform your business. A pre-order strategy gives brands the selling flexibility they need to accelerate sales, never truly go out of stock, and optimize costs. We’re here to partner with you to help make your pre-order operations a strategic pillar towards your growth. Reach out to hello@getpurpledot.com

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