How Handful uses Purple Dot to Sell During Supply Chain Delays

In the event of supply chain delays, use pre-orders as a way to launch collections on time, and derisk missing sales targets.

Handful is a thriving direct-to-consumer business with a mission to create the most comfortable and versatile activewear to outfit women to feel confident, empowered, and supported. Run by four women who share a passion for supporting women everywhere to live life to the fullest, they take special care for the 1 in 8 women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Handful had frustrating experiences with pre-order plugins in the past, which led to warehouse meltdowns and poor customer experience. When their Summer collection was delayed in transit, they needed a true pre-order partner to help launch their collection on time so they could start selling online despite the delays and avoid the risk of loss revenue on the collection.

With Purple Dot’s platform, Handful enabled pre-orders as an end-to-end buying experience across their Summer collection. Handful turned the pre-order drop into a marketable event, using ‘be the first’ as a value prop for their customers. The dedicated pre-order UX and checkout flow built customer trust around the pre-order experience, including crisp transparency of the estimate shipping dates as well as the benefit of free self-service cancelation anytime before it ships. And through Purple Dot’s unique technology, all pre-orders were held outside the downstream systems until the product arrives, eliminating confusion in the warehouse and for internal teams.

Handful avoided a crisis with their supply chain issues, selling 30% of their inventory before it arrived. Customers felt confident with the dedicated pre-order experience, as demonstrated through an outstanding 10% page-to-buy conversion. Internally, the warehouse never experienced the traditional confusion that typically arises with pre-orders at scale-- because they never saw the orders in their systems until the shipment actually arrived. Pre-orders powered by Purple Dot are now a strategic part of Handful’s modern DTC business. They know they don’t need product in the warehouse to sell it, only to ship it -- which opens up the flexibility they needed in their supply chain and inventory management.

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