How to Sell Slow-Moving Inventory?

Every retailer has a problem with overstocking and the emergence of slow-moving products. Even if you carefully plan and forecast sales, be prepared that something may go wrong. In this situation, you need to look for ways to solve problems.

Sometimes a product is not sold because it is in a place that is invisible to the client.  And there would be no problems with the purchase if they were in a visible place. The product must be visible, and accessible, with a specified price and information about it (signage or advertising display). To draw attention to the product, change its location. In order to properly place all merchandise in the store and achieve profitable merchandising, start working with planograms and automate the process. Handle slow-moving items by setting up effective merchandising that will sell your merchandise. Customers often show interest in an item after seeing it in a new light or a new place.

Why Does Slow-Moving Inventory Arise in Stores?

The main causes for the overstock of slow-moving items are:

• Improper location. It's very simple. Customers don't buy an item when they can't see it. Emphasize the product using merchandising, marketing, and the special needs of your customers.
• Lack of demand. Obviously, absolutely all products in a store can't be in high demand and quickly sold out at the same time. There are categories of goods that are not popular among customers, and they will remain non-selling in the store. But there are goods that are interesting to a narrow circle of customers. Such items will be sold constantly, but slowly.
• Price (high-low). Customers have doubts when a product is unreasonably expensive or too cheap. Unclear prices discourage customers. Especially when the same product is offered cheaper in a competitor's store. Therefore, you should responsibly approach the issue of pricing.

What to Do to Sell Non-Selling Products?

Discounts and Sales

Remember that sales should coincide with what your customers need. Therefore, discounts should be on items that encourage the right people to buy your product. Retailers often find themselves with excess inventory at the end of the season. So, before you focus on new seasonal items, conduct a seasonal clearance sale of non-selling items and minimize the amount of slow-moving inventory.

Offer discounts. However, be careful with them. Limit them in time. If you keep running sales, customers will stop buying goods without discounts and will wait for the next price cut. Launch sales of slow-moving products with time limits. Run slow-moving items with time limits. This has a psychological effect on customers. Understanding that the sale will end soon makes customers buy faster. It's important to create anticipation, so advertise promotions in and out of the store. Send out email newsletters and promote sales on social media. Arrange sales that target specific categories of customers. This way, your merchandise is more likely to convert into money.

Effective Merchandising

Slow goods can be sold by changing their location on the shelves. Place the product on the shelves at eye level and then the chances that customers will notice it will increase significantly.  Plan your slow-moving items using a planogram. Plan for effective merchandising of your store, taking into account non-selling items. Customize your layouts on the planogram so that your unsold items end up next to top-selling items in prominent positions on the shelves and in high-traffic areas of the store. Place merchandise next to the store entrance, in the checkout area, and at the end-aisle display.

You can also think about cross-merchandising. Place non-selling items next to the bestsellers. This is a common practice that brings results. You can bundle such items into sets. Shoppers interested in buying a popular item are more likely to appreciate a set with one more item as a bargain. If a product is selling slowly, this can help speed up sales. And if that merchandising tactic doesn't work, you might have to consider lowering prices.

Bundle several units of the same product together and sell such a set at a reduced price. This is an opportunity to quickly get rid of non-selling merchandise.

Pay attention to your store's sales analytics and customer traffic to determine which areas of the sales floor customers are visiting most. Use this information when deciding where to place your non-selling products.

Promotions and Advertising

Offer slow-moving items as a gift with the purchase of another item during in-store promotions. Tell people about promotions on social media and the Internet, and that you offer promotional items and bundles of items at low prices. This can help you find new customers.

Analyze Store Performance

Find out which products are selling well and which ones are worth paying attention to. Predict demand for the product and order new batches based on demand and pre-sales analysis. You can use Datawiz BES data analytics platform. With analytical reports for each indicator, get information on the sales dynamics, as well as manage inventory. Identify your store's non-selling items in time and plan strategies for operating and selling such items.

Donate Merchandise to Charity

Non-seIling items are extra costs not only because of the funds invested in them, but because they occupy a certain place in the store and in the warehouse. If you have slow-moving items that you can't sell, donate them to charity. There are many organizations that may need your non-selling products.

Retailers say if you can't sell an item in 90 to 120 days, the best solution is to get rid of that item and make room.

Supplier Communication

Check with suppliers to see if a return or exchange is being considered. This option is possible when the product that you first took from the supplier did not fit your market. Or another situation is where the supplier appreciates you as a client and does not want to break off and make advances. In any case, communication between the retailer and the supplier is important.

Sell Slow-Moving Products to a Special Company

There are firms that buy up excess inventory at a huge discount and then resell it. The retailer won't make a profit here, but it will free up the store and warehouse of excess inventory and avoid wasting money on the storage of slow-moving goods.

Final Words

Try these strategies for dealing with non-marketable items. Experiment, and combine strategies to improve your sales. Look for ways to sell slow-moving items and monitor your inventory turnover rate, which is the number of times your inventory has been sold and replaced in a given period of time.