How Asphalte Blended Pre-Orders and In-Store Retail for €2.4M in Seven Months

Bridging Digital Pre-Orders and In-Store Retail

Asphalte started in 2016 with a simple question: what if customers helped shape the clothes they buy, and paid in advance for a discounted rate? By launching each design as a limited pre-order, they tapped into real demand, slashed overproduction, and built buzz. Their online-only model thrived, but testing popup shops taught them physical retail could boost loyalty, let people try on items, and clear canceled pre-orders. Yet they hit a wall keeping separate ecommerce and in-store systems aligned.

Challenges of a Hybrid Storefront

Moving to a permanent flagship in Paris cast fresh problems into sharp relief: inventory syncing, unified customer profiles, and handling returns without killing pre-order flows. Sales reps needed full visibility on orders placed months in advance, and customers expected seamless checkout for both stocked goods and pre-orders. Without a central platform, staff stacked spreadsheets in backrooms and risked stockouts or overselling.

Shopify POS as the Unifier

Shopify POS arrived and instantly centralized everything: live inventory across channels, customer history bridges online and offline, and pre-orders behave like any other sale in the system—no manual stock edits. Staff at Le Magasin check your past orders, confirm sizes, and gently upsell best-sellers. Returns from canceled pre-orders make their way back on sale in minutes. Behind the scenes, CS and IT see every order’s status in real time.

Impressive Results in Seven Months

The outcome speaks volumes: €2.4 million in retail revenue, a €180 average basket in store (versus €150 online), and a 15 % on-the-spot conversion rate. Even their NPS jumped to 75 within half a year—excellence in retail standards. Armed with Shopify POS, Asphalte is plotting new European openings, confident their omnichannel backbone will scale.

What You Can Learn

This case shows that when you treat pre-orders as first-class citizens in your point-of-sale, and give employees the right data at their fingertips, you turn curious visitors into loyal shoppers, both online and off.