Knowing what to do with surplus inventory is a problem most business owners and eCommerce managers face at some point. All those products piled up in your storage space cost you time and money that could be better spent focusing on the next season’s top-selling products. All retailers and eCommerce brands need to sell excess inventory, and knowing how to eliminate old products is essential to any operation.
With some smart choices, the stress of excess inventory will soon be a thing of the past. This article will give you 5 super-effective ways to sell excess inventory for eCommerce stores.
What is Excess Inventory (Overstock)?
Excess Inventory is the total amount of unsold products your store has but cannot sell in a limited time frame. All stores hold products in their inventory with plans to sell them, but not all eCommerce stores have excess inventory. When you overstock a product, you have made an error in calculating how many orders you can make within a period. Unlike regular inventory, which is accounted for within your sales plans, excess inventory can cause problems with perishability, outdated products, and limited warranty.
How to know if you have excess inventory? Look at your regular sales cycle and determine if your current inventory can be successfully sold according to your sales trends. A product has signs of having excess inventory when its Expected Sell Volume falls under its Expected Restock and Total Reserved Amount.
How to sell excess inventory?
The best way to handle excess inventory is to sell a large amount of product within a limited time. Holding on to overstock can create future problems like your items going bad, limited storage space for other profitable items, and losing out on potential sales. So, here are 5 methods to fast-selling your excess inventory.
#1. Create bundled deals
Ever come across an enticing bundle deal when shopping online? Did it catch your attention? Sure, it did. Bundled deals are a great way to shift products that are accumulating dust. It’s a win-win – your customers grab a bargain, and you shift those hard-to-budge items. But how can you create the best bundle deal out there?
The best bundle deals leave everyone feeling satisfied. Instead of lumping your customers with a bundle of deadstock, combine your older products with enticing new ones to attract new customers. Try to bundle multiple products of the same (or similar) type. For example, a bundle of bath products or a gaming bundle combining one new release with a collection of older games.
This method helps you engage more customers and liquidate your assets. Especially around the holidays, shoppers look out for these bundle-style offerings as they make excellent gifts. Here are some promotional ideas to get your new product bundle flying off the shelves at full velocity.
- Combine older and newer products
- Combine famous and less popular products
- Curate bespoke product collections
- Offer a free product with your bundle
- Run a prize promotion or giveaway
#2. Refresh your marketing and display strategy
Another great way to get that stock moving online is with a marketing refresh. Whether outsourcing to a third-party marketer or having your marketing team in-house, it’s essential to communicate your amazing offers with some savvy marketing strategies. That could mean anything from a killer email marketing campaign to strategic product placement on your eCommerce website. Just make sure you’re placing those offers where your customers will find them (and buy them).
Think outside the box and offer your customers something your competitors do not. How about curbside pick-up operations, for example, or free delivery?
Make sure you don’t only focus on your eCommerce store. Get the message on your website, social media channels, newsletters, and emails. Post about it, tweet about it, Instagram it, and don’t forget to include some enticing images for more conversions.
#3. Highlight them on your website
Where to sell excess inventory? Your website, of course. Highlight the products you need to offload on your website. The key is to drive attention to these items in whatever way possible. It could be by placing a promotion on your homepage, highlighting items as ‘last chance to buy, or ensuring they appear near the top of search results.
You could even offer free shipping on these particular products. A combination of visual appeal and enticing promotion is the best way to draw attention to your excess inventory online. Remember, your customers don’t know that these products are your nemesis.
Good website design can shift products. A rebranding campaign for old, excess products can improve customers’ perceptions. Aim for attractive color schemes, high-quality images, and creative, informative content that sells itself. Adding new keywords and descriptions alone can work wonders.
Refer: Bigcommerce cross-sell
#4. Make use of your social media and digital marketing campaign
Don’t forget about content marketing and social media. The right blog post, tweet, Instagram picture, LinkedIn post, or email could be enough to pick up those sales.
Of course, you shouldn’t dismiss the power of a good old-fashioned email marketing campaign. With enticing SEO-optimized content, the perfect offer, and a killer CTA, your customers will buy up all your excess inventory in no time.
One company that has got this right already is Solo Stove. This outdoor lifestyle retailer has experienced severe business growth in recent years, with a 50% increased conversion rate yearly. And a big part of their success comes from targeted emailing.
#5. Implement a discount strategy
Eventually, you’ll need to start discounting to sell excess inventory and free up shelf space. Why not hold a limited-time flash sale if you want to move your stock quickly? There’s nothing like the fear of missing out to drive people to action and get people spending.
Of course, there’s no need to slash your prices simultaneously. Instead, you could practice incremental discounting starting with a slight reduction of five or ten percent and gradually increasing the reduction as time goes on to 20%, 30%, etc. Once you find your reduction sweet spot, you can add more stock at that price.
Sell Excess Inventory With OrderBooster
Don’t let surplus inventory bog you down any longer. With OrderBooster – Product Recommendation for BigCommerce, you can sell your excess inventory and reduce the surplus in no time! With prior planning, and the right tools in tow, you’ll have your business under control from front to backend and make that hard-to-move inventory a thing of the past.
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