Agility at scale: How Downpay deposits powered The Black Tux’s move to Shopify
Downpay deposits let The Black Tux replatform their apparel business to Shopify, with security deposits, event-based fulfillment scheduling, and the flexibility to quickly test new rental, sales and hybrid models.
We judged that not doing it was more of a risk than doing it. Downpay made it possible.
— David Thomas, CTO, The Black Tux
Partial payments that accelerate what's next
Looking for an e-commerce platform that could grow and change as quickly as their business, The Black Tux settled on switching to Shopify, with deposits provided by the Shopify-native partial payments app Downpay.
The app, founded by former Shopify employees, gave The Black Tux a way to protect high-value rentals, simplify payments, and move quickly on new ideas.
The result was a system that keeps tuxedos arriving on time for weddings while giving the business the agility to launch and test new models like rent-to-keep faster than ever.
Black Tux’s story
In 2011, Andrew Blackmon was preparing for his wedding and ran into a problem. Renting a tuxedo was inconvenient, the process outdated, and what he could find lacked the quality he wanted for his big day.
Knowing others faced the same issues, he teamed up with his friend Patrick Coyne, and by 2013 they launched The Black Tux. Their mission: to reinvent formalwear rentals with premium fabrics, a perfect fit, and an easy online experience.
They created an innovative online rental process that let customers choose styles, enter measurements, and have perfectly tailored suits or tuxedos delivered to their door.
The concept took off, especially for weddings, where their “groomsman effect” made it simple for couples to coordinate orders for the entire wedding party.
Over time, The Black Tux expanded beyond rentals into purchases and hybrid models like rent-to-keep.
The problem: Flexibility without complexity
Ten years in, their original custom platform could not keep up with the flexibility and speed they needed to launch new ideas and payment strategies.
The team at Black Tux wanted to:
- Offer security deposits on high-value garments
- Launch try-before-you-buy and rent-to-keep models
- Personalize offers for different customer cohorts
- Schedule fulfillment based on event dates like weddings
They decided to replatform to Shopify for its scalability and strong app ecosystem.
The challenge was that Shopify does not offer deposits or partial payments out of the box. The solutions they reviewed either broke the checkout flow, created legal issues like subscription cancellation requirements, or required expensive custom builds.
The solution: Downpay’s Shopify-native deposits and fulfillment scheduling
When one of their engineers found Downpay, it solved multiple challenges at once:
- Shopify-native deposits using a deferred purchase model
- Card-on-file security to protect against non-returns
- API access for automation at scale, which is critical for large wedding parties
- Event-based fulfillment scheduling so garments arrive days before the event
- A fully branded checkout experience without redirects
For Black Tux's rentals, the security deposit is added on checkout, with Downpay processing both the rental fees up front and charging the security deposit later if needed.
Holding a deposit and scheduling fulfillment in one solution... Downpay delivered that and made a big difference.
— David Thomas, CTO, The Black Tux
Why Downpay was the right fit
Downpay was built by former Shopify employees who know the platform inside and out, including its limitations. This allowed The Black Tux to:
- Launch deposits on a low-risk “home trial” program first
- Test new offers without affecting existing customers
- Implement rent-to-keep with tailored, product-specific pricing
- Keep payment flows compliant, transparent, and easy for customers
The results: Faster iteration and measurable lift
Replatforming to Shopify with Downpay happened alongside a complete rebrand. The Black Tux team knew they faced a short-term drop in conversion by making both changes at once, but their approach paid off.
An independent analysis confirmed what the team was already seeing: a clear performance boost post-launch. The new setup made it possible to experiment with offers and checkout flows that would have been impossible before.
The flexibility and the speed of making adjustments has been game-changing. We can try offers we never would have considered before, and we've achieved a lift already.
— David Thomas, CTO, The Black Tux
Why this matters for other Shopify merchants
If you sell rentals, made-to-order products, or high-value items, offering deposits instead of full upfront payment can:
- •Reduce friction at checkout
- •Increase trust for long-lead or high-ticket items
- •Protect your business with secure card-on-file
- •Give you the flexibility to test offers without a custom build
The takeaway
For founders Andrew Blackmon and Patrick Coyne, replatforming to Shopify with Downpay transformed a complex rental business into a scalable and agile operation that runs deposits, security holds, and event-based fulfillment in one seamless system.
Read more case studies and learn how Downpay can enable more sales for Shopify merchants.