Frances Valentine: Mastering Demand with Pre-Orders

“The pre-order app has allowed us to offer products that might be delayed and are part of an upcoming launch or promotion. This has helped us stick to our marketing plans while still being able to offer new products to our customers.”

Benjamin Bradley, Director of Ecommerce at Frances Valentine

Company Overview

Frances Valentine is a contemporary fashion brand known for its unique and vibrant designs. Founded with a spirit of creativity and innovation, the brand offers a range of products including clothing, accessories, and shoes. Their dedication to quality and style has garnered a loyal customer base who eagerly anticipate new product launches.

Key Takeaways

Improved Inventory Management: Pre-Orders enabled Frances Valentine to continue selling delayed products , allowing them to stick to marketing plans and manage high-demand periods effectively.

Enhanced Customer Experience: Customers could secure purchases despite shipping or production setbacks, experiencing little to no friction in placing pre-orders.

Effective Marketing Strategies: Promotional campaigns and proactive communication about pre-orders drove customer engagement and anticipation for new products.

Lessons Learned: Padding pre-order quantities and using the “coming soon” feature were crucial practices identified to enhance the pre-order process.

The Challenge

Ben and the Team at Frances Valentine faced challenges in managing inventory for high-demand products and dealing with potential delays in product availability. Traditional inventory forecasting methods did not always align with the dynamic nature of fashion trends and customer demand, leading to stockouts and missed sales opportunities during critical promotional periods.

To address these challenges, Frances Valentine integrated the Amai PreOrder Manager + Notify app with their Shopify store. Allowing them to offer pre-orders for upcoming products, enabling customers to secure purchases even when items were not yet in stock.

Forecasting Success: Managing Stock with Pre-Orders

“Pre-order has allowed us to offer products that might be delayed and are part of an upcoming launch or promotion – this has helped us stick to our marketing plans while still being able to offer new products to our customers.”

Benjamin Bradley, Director of Ecommerce at Frances Valentine

Pre-orders provided Frances Valentine with a flexible solution for managing inventory. While it did not directly aid in forecasting, it allowed the brand to offer products that were part of upcoming launches or promotions, thus adhering to their marketing plans. This approach helped reduce stockouts and manage periods of high demand by ensuring that customers could place orders despite any delays in shipping or production.

Delighting Customers with Hassle-Free Pre-Orders

“We are about to launch a small capsule of hand-embroidered pieces and to draw excitement we have been messaging something new is coming and to sign up for email/SMS to learn about your earliest chance to preorder these items.”

Benjamin Bradley, Director of Ecommerce at Frances Valentine

 A seamless integration of pre-orders into Frances Valentine’s website theme ensured a smooth shopping experience for customers. The ability to secure purchases for new items, even during production or shipping delays, was highly appreciated by their customer base. The brand received positive feedback regarding the ease and convenience of the pre-order process.

Lessons Learned and Best Practices

“One best practice I would recommend is to always pad your preorder quantities just in case any product arrives damaged or you are short shipped. I would also recommend using the coming soon feature if your products are not expected to arrive to your DC within 14 days of launching the preorder product. We have found that customers do not want to preorder an item they will have to wait 2+ weeks for”

Benjamin Bradley, Director of Ecommerce at Frances Valentine

Frances Valentine encountered some initial challenges, such as issues with theme updates affecting the visibility of the pre-order button. However, the prompt support from the app’s customer service team helped resolve these issues quickly. Based on their experience, Frances Valentine recommends padding pre-order quantities to account for any potential discrepancies in product shipments. They also suggest using the “coming soon” feature for products expected to arrive more than two weeks after the pre-order launch to manage customer expectations effectively.

Summary

The integration of the Amai Pre-Order + Notify app has been instrumental in helping Frances Valentine manage inventory more effectively, enhance customer satisfaction, and execute successful marketing campaigns. By allowing customers to pre-order high-demand products, the brand has been able to navigate production delays and maintain its commitment to delivering new and exciting products to its customers. Visit the Frances Valentines.