How do you prepare stock and sizing for Eid orders?
For occasions with both gifting and personal buying, plan a sensible size range, hold depth only in the middle sizes and be ready to say clearly what is sold out.
Eid brings two kinds of buyers. Some are buying for themselves and need the right fit. Others are buying a gift and are less sure. If you sell clothing, accessories or anything with sizes, stock planning is mostly a sizing question, and a wrong guess hurts twice, once in unsold stock and once in exchange requests.
Separate the two buyers
Personal buyers read size charts and ask about measurements. Gift buyers often pick a size by guessing and may not know the recipient well. Plan for both:
- Make your size chart easy to find and correct. See how to make a size chart for your clothing store.
- For gifts, consider recommending a looser or free-size option, if you have one. See how to handle sizes when you sell free size.
Do not assume what people will buy. Look at your own records instead.
Build the size curve from your own orders
A size curve is simply how your sales are spread across sizes. Pull your past orders and count units per size for each product. You will usually see that a few middle sizes carry most of the sales and the extremes sell slowly. Use that pattern, not a general rule, to split your next purchase.
Illustrative only, suppose you ordered 30 pieces last time and sold 3 of the smallest size, 9 and 10 of the two middle sizes, 6 of the next and 2 of the largest. For your next batch of 30 you might keep that shape rather than splitting evenly. Even splits tie up cash in the sizes that sit.
Where you have no history, start with a smaller batch and read the first week's orders before reordering.
Decide the depth for each size
For each product, set:
- A core quantity for the middle sizes
- A thin quantity for the extremes
- A reorder point, if your supplier can restock in time
The method in reorder point formula, worked example helps with the second part. Remember your lead time, because a reorder that arrives after the cut-off does nothing for the season.
Be honest about measurements
Garment measurements and body measurements are not the same thing. Show actual garment measurements in centimetres or inches for every size. See body measurements vs garment measurements explained. A correct chart cuts exchange requests more than any policy does.
Prepare for exchange requests
Even with a good chart, some people will need a different size. Decide in advance whether you offer a size exchange, who pays the shipping and how long they have. Keep a few units of the popular sizes aside for exchanges, or you will have to refund instead. Our guide on handling size exchange requests for clothing covers this.
Show what is out of stock
Rather than removing sold-out sizes, mark them clearly so shoppers know the size exists but is not available. If you track stock per variant in your Varchas catalogue, the store can reflect that, so you do not take orders you cannot fill. See how to track stock per variant in your catalogue.
Keep spare time before your cut-off
Alterations, last-minute restocks and exchanges all take time. Pick a last-order day with a buffer, and explain it in plain words. Setting honest delivery time expectations is a good reference.
A short plan
- Count units per size from past orders
- Weight your next purchase toward the sizes that actually sell
- Publish garment measurements for each size
- Keep a small reserve for exchanges
- Mark sold-out sizes clearly
- Choose a last-order day with a buffer
Good sizing prep will not guarantee sales, but it reduces the most avoidable problem, the wrong size reaching the wrong person.