Boost your business with presales.

Posted October 2023
2 min read‍

Presales, often referred to as ‘preorders’, is the game changing strategy that more and more merchants are taking advantage of in 2023. They allow customers to order not-of-stock items and have them delivered once they hit the warehouse. If executed well, a great presale strategy can enhance your inventory management and ecommerce operational efficiency in five ways:

Understand your inventory requirements

Even with years of data and impressive demand forecasting, it’s still difficult to know if your product is going to perform well. There’s a very fine line between being conservative with inventory to avoid overstock, or ordering extra units to avoid missing out on potential sales. Let’s face it, we’ve all wished we had a crystal ball after realising an item we didn’t back is a top seller. Tracking inventory during a online presale provides invaluable insight into your product's demand. It acts as your crystal ball allowing you to gauge the level of interest and demand for your product before you invest in large-scale production or ordering excessive inventory.

Reduce your risk

‍While the allure of discounts for placing large inventory orders might be tempting, inaccurate forecasts can lead to excess inventory, slashing prices. increasing costs and decreasing your profits.

According to inventory management software provider Unleashed, Australian fashion retailers are “dangerously” overstocked, holding an average of $248,685 in additional product or material. Presales provide a strategic edge, removing the guesswork and ensuring your inventory remains well-managed and reducing risk of being left with a warehouse full of stock that just won’t sell.

Instead, you’ll maintain a tight leash on your inventory strategically managing the volume of items stocked, reducing financial risks associated with excess inventory. Say goodbye to the days of guessing ecommerce demand.
‍

Trial new styles
‍
Got a good feeling about a new style but don’t want to wear the risk if it doesn’t take off? Presales allow ambitious merchants to trial new products without overspending. Use your presale as market research into new styles before you invest big.

Streamline your operations

Allocating inventory becomes more straightforward when you have insights from presales, particularly if your business operates across multiple warehouse or distribution locations. You can optimise stock distribution, ensuring that products reach customers quickly. While also using what you’ve learnt about your buyers ahead of time to minimise shipping costs and better plan your warehouse team roster around operational needs.

Free up your customer service team

When items are available for presale, you can’t oversell and the likelihood of a customer experiencing product delays due to back orders substantially decreases. This means less upset customers for your customer service team to manage (your team will thank you!) and more time working on bigger picture ecommerce operations.

Automate your presale strategy

What’s even better is that Submarine simplifies the entire process so it doesn’t add to your team's workload.

We offer a best-in-class Shopify Flow integration that uses automation to take care of all the manual tasks associated with presales, from launching and ending them, to seamlessly integrating with your email platform for customer notifications about upcoming charges. Let automation handle the boring stuff, while you focus on growing your business!

To ride the ecommerce wave successfully, your inventory management and operations need to be on point! Presales can be your hidden treasure chest. Track inventory demand, mitigate financial risks, streamline operations, and embrace automation – all with Submarine.
‍