For brands that rely on limited-run drops or peak season sales, customer behaviour is a hidden cost driver. A phenomenon you might not even notice—customers checking out multiple times during a short window—could be costing you hundreds of thousands in shipping fees. Here’s why it happens, what it means for your bottom line, and how to address it without disrupting your operations.
The Behaviour Brands Overlook
In high-demand sales environments, especially for brands with limited inventory, customer behaviour can become highly predictable—and expensive. During product drops or flash sales, customers will often add a single item to their cart and check out immediately to secure it. Then they’ll return, sometimes multiple times, to repeat the process. Why? Fear of missing out. Limited runs create urgency, and platforms like Shopify don’t reserve stock until checkout is completed.
This behaviour makes sense for the customer. If they take too long to browse and select everything they want, the items they care about most could be gone. What’s less obvious is the strain it puts on your logistics. Each order is processed and shipped individually, multiplying costs unnecessarily.
What the Numbers Reveal
This isn’t an edge case—it’s often a significant trend. Let’s break it down with some fictional (but not uncommon) numbers:
200,000 orders
40% of orders were multi-orders (80k orders), where customers placed more than one order to the same address on the same day
By consolidating orders placed within a 120-minute window, we can confidently estimate:
45% consolidations - 36k orders.
55% despatch removals - 44k orders.
The savings on these numbers will be dependant on your average cost per despatch (shipping, packaging, picking etc). In this example £5 (nice round numbers) saves this brand: £220,000.
Why Changing Customer Behaviour Is Difficult
Let’s address the elephant in the room: you can’t just ask customers to change how they shop. For brands relying on scarcity to drive demand, this behaviour is deeply ingrained. Limited runs and product drops thrive on the thrill of urgency. Customers will always prioritise securing what they want over optimising their shopping habits.
This is why brands need to adapt, not the customer. If your sales model includes limited-edition drops or peak season sales, your analytics should be your starting point. Are customers placing multiple orders to the same address within a short window? If so, order consolidation is a strategy you can’t afford to ignore.
Building a Solution Around Behaviour
We developed an elegant order consolidation solution that aligned with our clients operational needs. Here’s how it worked:
Identify Opportunities with Data: Orders were grouped using a unique hash, based on customer and address data. This allowed us to spot opportunities for consolidation without disrupting the original order records.
Introduce a Remorse Period: A two-hour “remorse period” gave customers a window to make changes (e.g., update addresses or cancel orders) while holding orders for potential consolidation.
Streamlined Data Exposure: Consolidated orders were exposed to middleware via customised NetSuite reports. This allowed for grouping without altering the integrity of individual orders.
Manage Complexity: For returns and downstream processes, we ensured every line item retained its original Shopify order reference. This provided full visibility for warehouses and returns providers, reducing operational friction.

Why This Matters for Your Brand
Order consolidation doesn’t just cut shipping costs—it’s a practical response to unavoidable customer behaviour. It reduces logistical inefficiencies by easing the strain on 3PLs, lowering despatch volumes, and minimising error rates. It also enhances customer experience by consolidating shipments, meaning fewer packages arrive separately. Finally, it’s scalable, providing a system that evolves alongside your brand and adapts to shifting demands and operational needs.
Don’t Wait for the Cost to Add Up
If your brand relies on scarcity—whether through limited drops, peak seasons, or flash sales—take a closer look at your analytics. Chances are, a significant portion of your customers are exhibiting this behaviour. If you’re not consolidating their orders, you’re leaving money on the table.
You don’t need to change your customers’ behaviour—just the way you handle it.