Kick-off call | 05.04.2026

Loot

Prepared by: Josh + Matt

Approach
Challenges & Solutions
You're building a standalone rental brand from the ground up. The site needs to feel like a concept store while managing shared inventory across two businesses and supporting both rentals and direct sales.
Challenge

Shared inventory

Loot and Stemz share the same equipment. Availability needs to stay in sync without doubling the workload.

Solution

Webhook-driven sync

Rentman stays your single source of truth. When inventory changes on either side, the website updates automatically.

Challenge

Manual confirmation needed

Your team needs to verify availability before a booking is locked in, especially while workflows are being established.

Solution

"Request to book" flow

Clients submit selections with a credit card hold. Your team reviews in Rentman and confirms. No surprises on either side.

Challenge

Complex product families

Items come in multiple colors, sizes, and combinations. Each has a unique ID but should feel grouped on one page.

Solution

Mapped variant system

Shopify variants linked directly to Rentman IDs. Clients see clean selectors. The back-end knows the exact SKU.

Challenge

Rental + direct purchase

Some items are rental-only. Others, like consumables or retired pieces, should be available for outright purchase.

Solution

Hybrid storefront

One site, two flows. Rental items go through the request process. Purchase items checkout instantly. Same design, same cart.

Integration
Rentman <<->> Shopify
Rentman remains your central system for inventory, availability, and fulfillment. The website reads from it and writes back to it. You manage one database, not two.
Rentman
Inventory, availability, fulfillment
Sync layer
API + webhooks
Shopify
Client-facing storefront
products, images, availability →
← orders, requests, contacts
Product sync

Scheduled pull from Rentman. Aaron updates equipment data once; the site reflects it automatically.

Order capture

Client requests push to Rentman as pre-filled projects. Your team reviews and confirms in their existing workflow.

Availability signals

Directional flags on the front end ("available" / "limited") reduce dead-end requests without requiring a live calendar.

Webhook updates

When Stemz books equipment for an event, a webhook fires and the website availability adjusts in real time.

Experience
Two approaches, one recommendation
Your site serves a broad audience with a unified, premium experience. The question is how the rental flow behaves. We have two strategies to walk through.
Recommended

Curated request

High-end showroom meets concierge booking
  • Editorial homepage with seasonal, mood-driven curation
  • "Add to selection" language for rentals (not "add to cart")
  • Date picker and request submission with credit card hold
  • Confirmation sets clear expectations on timing
  • Purchase items (used, consumables) use standard buy-now checkout
  • Mixed carts handled natively in one session
  • Feels like a library of objects, not a warehouse

Hybrid cart

Familiar e-commerce with rental modifications
  • Standard Shopify collection and product page conventions
  • Unified "add to cart" for both rental and purchase items
  • Cart includes date fields for rental items only
  • Checkout collects deposit (rentals) or full payment (purchases)
  • Faster to build, easier to automate later
  • More transactional feel, less brand-aligned at launch
  • Strong option as automation matures in phase 2

One site, two flows

Product tags (rental vs. purchase) drive conditional behavior across the entire site. The product page adapts automatically. The cart groups items by type. Checkout applies the right logic per group. No separate stores, no clunky workarounds. One theme, one brand, one experience.

Data model
Variant families, mapped cleanly
Each variant in Rentman gets its own Shopify variant with the Rentman ID stored as a metafield. Clients see intuitive selectors. The system knows the exact SKU.
Your inventoryWhat the client sees
Votive holders: clear, red, amber, smoked (4 IDs) One product page with color swatches
Crystal candle holders: small, medium, large (3 IDs) One product page with size selector
Glass vases: clear 6", clear 8", smoked 6", smoked 8" (4 IDs) One product page with color + height dropdowns
Wax candles, batteries (consumables) Purchase-only items, shown as add-ons alongside rental pieces
Retired rental items Listed for direct sale in a dedicated "for sale" collection
Phasing
Launch now, automate next
Phase 1 gets you live with everything you need. Phase 2 builds on the same architecture to remove manual steps as your team is ready. The plumbing for automation is built from day one.
Phase 1

Launch

Target: July 2026
  • Custom Shopify theme, editorial and mobile-first
  • Rentman product sync with variant families
  • Webhook infrastructure for availability
  • "Request to book" flow with deposit collection
  • Direct purchase checkout for sale items
  • Date picker for rental period selection
  • Industry discount system (20%)
  • Delivery / pickup selection at checkout
  • Core pages: home, about, collections, FAQ, contact
Phase 2

Automation and growth

Ongoing engagement
  • Live availability calendar
  • Automated booking confirmation
  • Multi-day pricing engine
  • Auto rental-to-sale lifecycle for retired items
  • Trade and industry portal
  • Editorial and lookbook section
  • Advanced reporting and analytics
  • Deeper Rentman automation

LOOT

Prepared by Josh Lee and Matt Dronkers

josh@octavianinteractive.com / matt.dronkers@gmail.com