How Shoppe Thirty One boutique found its footing

Shoppe Thirty One* is a women's clothing and accessories boutique built on passion, precision, and a clear sense of purpose. Co-founders Tai Vieira and Lola Moitoso launched the business after their shared brick-and-mortar boutique closed unexpectedly in late 2024, giving them less than a month to pivot. By December 23, they had launched their online store and were preparing for their first market season.

The business runs on a distinctive model: weekly product drops online, regular appearances at markets and pop-up events, and a growing presence on social commerce platforms. Inventory turns over fast and customers expect a seamless experience whether they're shopping at midnight or tapping to pay at a Saturday market. Keeping pace with that demand required more than ambition; it required the right infrastructure.

The problem they faced

Before partnering with Elavon, Shoppe Thirty One operated with a payment setup that couldn't keep up. At markets and pop-up events, which account for a significant portion of their business, the team had no portable terminal.

"Being able to have a mobile terminal we can bring with us is key,” says Vieira. “With our old system, we couldn’t do that. It was manual entry only – or cash. It was really difficult."

• The friction extended beyond logistics.
  Customers increasingly want to pay by tapping their phone or card, and a system that couldn't support that created a real risk of lost sales.

"People would want to tap to pay and the system either wasn't equipped to handle it, or they'd ask, 'Do you take this?' and it wasn't set up to accept all forms of payment," says Moitoso. System outages compounded the problem. "We'd have a line of customers and all of a sudden our system's shutting down," she says. "We're panicking because we want to take care of these customers."

"More steps for the customers usually means an end of sale," says Vieira.

• Beyond payments
  Payment acceptance and transaction processing were only the beginning. The team needed robust analytics to manage weekly drops, track real-time visitor behavior, and monitor performance against prior weeks. Without those insights, stocking and restocking decisions were guesswork.

The turning point

Shoppe Thirty One implemented Elavon Business Solutions, which provided a fully integrated platform combining payment processing, a portable terminal, inventory management, and real-time analytics.

• The portable terminal was a turning point.
  For the first time, Vieira and Moitoso could accept tap-to-pay, digital wallet transactions and card payments at any market or event, connecting to a hotspot within seconds.

"I've been in this industry for 11 years and never had a mobile terminal," Vieira says. "Being able to have that portable terminal come with us and just pop onto a hotspot, that was a major upgrade. The receipt printer, too: so much easier. Ten out of ten."

• Inventory management became significantly more efficient.
  The team updates their product list weekly for each market, adding new drop items and syncing them directly to the terminal and online store.

"Being able to quickly go in and switch out what products we're going to have that week and add it to the terminal, that's big-time," says Moitoso. "It's very helpful because we're constantly switching what we bring."

On the analytics side, the platform gave the duo real-time visibility into what customers were viewing, clicking, and buying during weekly drops.

"Real-time data is what we're really looking for on drop day," says Vieira. "The platform shows us how many live visitors we have and exactly where they go. If lots of people are clicking on the same item, we know we may need to restock. And the back-end analytics show our profit margins and how we're trending compared to our last drop."

Through setup and onboarding, the Elavon support team stayed closely involved. "Whenever we've had a problem, our support reps are on top of it, always," Vieira notes. "They’re right behind to take care of any technical issues. We're not waiting days or hours."

Getting results

Since switching to Elavon Business Solutions, Shoppe Thirty One hasn't experienced a single payment disruption at a market or event. The operational improvements have been consistent and tangible across every part of the business:

• Payment reliability
  The team has had no payment failures since implementation. Every tap, digital wallet transaction, and card payment goes through without issue.
• Mobile readiness
  A portable terminal now travels to every market and pop-up, eliminating the workarounds and lost sales that previously came with cash-only or manual-entry limitations.
• Real-time inventory and analytics
  Weekly drop performance is now tracked in real time. The team monitors live visitor counts, click behavior and profit margins, and adjusts restocking decisions accordingly.

"If we're up from the last drop, it'll show us that. And we know we're headed in the right direction," says Vieira.

• Operational freedom
  With a platform that handles the backend efficiently, Vieira and Moitoso spend less time managing systems and more time on the work they care about: sourcing product, photographing content and building customer relationships.

"Because Elavon is so efficient, we're able to spend more time on things like our product photo shoots," Vieira explains. "We get to spend more time on the fun aspect of finding the clothes and really diving in to get the best quality and price point."

• Confidence in growth
  The business recently earned acceptance to TikTok Shop, which integrates with their platform. As audience reach expands, Vieira and Moitoso say they have no fear about scaling. "We don't have any hesitation or stress about the growth for our business from today to years from now," says Vieira.

Their endorsement is heartfelt. "It is well rounded, trustworthy, and it has given us the confidence that we need in our business," Vieira says. "We can confidently say we recommend Elavon because firsthand we've seen how they've helped our business grow and helped us from start to finish."

The takeaway

The Shoppe Thirty One story is one of quick pivots, strong instincts and the infrastructure to back them up. When Vieira and Moitoso launched their online boutique in under a month, they needed systems that could keep pace with a business built on speed, flexibility and connection with customers. Elavon Business Solutions delivered exactly that.

Looking ahead, the integration of TikTok Shop and an expanding pop-up schedule signals a new phase of growth. With real-time analytics, unified inventory and portable payment capability already in place, Shoppe Thirty One is positioned to scale without the friction that once held them back.

For small retailers navigating the same terrain, Moitoso's advice is clear: "It's something I would 110% recommend. It's so simple. You add your inventory and it's ready to go."

If you're building a retail business across channels and need flexibility behind every payment, explore what Elavon Business Solutions can do for your operation.  See the retail plans.

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