Overstock inventory can be a serious issue for both small and large businesses. Overstocking products that are not selling well is a burden for any retailer. The problem of slow-moving and excess inventory happens with most of the retailers. Some products sit on the shelf of warehouses for months at a time. Keeping the product that doesn’t sell on the shelf is only a waste of space that could be costing you big for your business.
Selling out excess inventory can be challenging. Retailer’s ultimate goal is to sell all the products they purchase even if it is at a discounted rate. But most businesses don’t want to sell their inventory at a loss, as there is always a possibility of some customers might be willing to pay full price for your old stock product. However, if your shelves are lined with the products that are not moving, it is time to sell them and free up some space.
In this article, we will cover six different ways of dealing with excess inventory so that you can still sell or reduce your losses thereby improving your business.
Sell Online
You can sell across multiple platforms i.e, to sell your products in your offline store and in your online store. The first and most obvious option for selling online is to set up your own website, listing all your products.
When you are selling online, create a colorful banner on your website that mentions the offer and the dates during which it is valid. Define the minimum purchase price for free shipping, which makes the customer buy more products so that they can save on shipping costs.
Promote more of your slow-moving products as the suggested products when your customer adds any product in the cart and willing to look for some more products of its kind.
Flash Sales
Attract your customers with offers such as End of Season Sale, Festive Sale or any other limited period offers. Offers in business have always been and will be a sales booster. This not only boosts the sales in the business but also gives an opportunity to customers to purchase more and more in a limited period of time to get some extra discounts on their purchase versus the purchase on a non-offer day.
You can use a clearance sale twice a year to flush out your dead stock that has not sold in the past 3-6 months. Remind your existing customers about such flash sales events by sending them a promotional email or SMS.
Membership Events
Create a special offer for your membership customers, the ones who buy the most product or send the most referrals to your business. Such offers can entertain your loyal customers. The offer can be a discount coupon with a short expiration date applicable to your slow-moving products. Give options to your customers to reuse the same coupons over the offer period thereby allowing them to purchase more and more which results in increasing your sales.
Promotions
Run promotions, give excess stock items as free gifts. You are taking a full loss of products used as gifts, with the hope that it will bring new customers to your store. Sell such products as a free gift for first-time customers or for customers who refer others to shop into your store.
Product Bundling
Selling products in bundles or kits is the best way to incline your customers towards buying your products. If you are stuck with slow-moving products then pair slower-moving products with one of the faster-selling products. When you pair your products at a discounted rate, it becomes easy for customers to make a decision. They will see that buying them with a single purchase is a great value.
Product bundling helps you sell more and helps your customers get more for a good price. A win-win for both customers and retailers.
Relocate your Inventory
Relocating your products can help customers pay more attention. Customers may not have been aware of your slow-moving items because they are not placed on the areas that do not grab attention. You can locate such products near the billing counter and on the front shelves, or in places where customers can see and pass through.
To manage the above-mentioned ways in a more controlled manner, Althea Suite is the best solution for a retailer to track their products that are fast-moving and slow-moving at a crucial time. With the help of Althea Suite, you can easily find out which products sell best and which ones do not across your stores so that you can keep your inventory under control.
