Inventory glossary
What is Launch inventory?
Launch inventory is the stock a store buys to cover the first sales period of a new product, before any real sales history exists to guide reordering.
Getting launch inventory wrong is common because a new product has no sales history to build a forecast from. Order too little and you sell out during the exact window when customers are first discovering the product. Order too much and the extra stock sits as dead weight on a product that may never repeat its early interest.
Small stores should treat launch inventory as a deliberate guess, not a forecast. Base the number on a similar existing product, a supplier minimum, or a small test batch, then watch the first two or three weeks of real sales closely. Have a plan for a fast reorder before the launch stock runs low, since lead time does not pause just because the product is new.
Formula
Example
A store launching a new scented candle line estimates 20 units a week for the first eight weeks based on similar past launches. That gives a target of 160 units. The supplier's case pack is 12, so the store orders 13 cases, 156 units, close enough to the target without leaving a part case unordered.
Common mistakes
- Ordering based on hoped-for sales instead of a comparable product's actual history.
- Ignoring supplier lead time, so a reorder is placed too late if the launch sells faster than expected.
- Buying a full season of stock up front with no way to adjust once real demand shows up.
Launch inventory and SteadyShelf
For a new variant with no sales history, SteadyShelf cannot forecast from past data, but once the first sales come in it starts tracking velocity and can suggest reorder timing and quantities from there.
SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.
Related terms
New product forecasting · Case pack · Safety stock · Demand forecasting · Pre-season buy
FAQ
How do you forecast launch inventory with no sales history?
No. New product forecasting looks at every launch separately, since it has no history. Demand forecasting usually leans on past sales, so for new SKUs you either borrow data from a similar product or start with a judgment-based launch inventory number.
How much launch inventory should a small store order?
Order enough to cover your planned sell-through window plus the supplier lead time for a reorder, rounded up to the nearest case pack. If a case is 24 units and your target is 90 units for the first six weeks, order 96.
Let SteadyShelf do this math for every SKU
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