As an eCommerce seller, there's nothing more frustrating than having unsold inventory sitting in your warehouse, taking up valuable space and tying up your cash flow. But don't despair, there are ways to breathe new life into your dead stock and turn it into a profitable asset for your business.
In this blog post, we'll explore five strategies you can use to revive your eCommerce dead stock and start generating revenue again.
Before we dive into the strategies for reviving eCommerce dead stock, let's define what it is. Dead stock refers to inventory that has been sitting in a warehouse or on a shelf for an extended period without being sold.
eCommerce sellers often struggle with dead stock due to the sheer volume of products they have to manage and the high level of competition on eCommerce marketplaces.
Dead stock can accumulate on the digital shelf for several reasons:
Poor Product Feed Management: To sell, eCommerce products heavily rely on consistent product feed management. That means that all SKUs listed on each marketplace you sell on must have key data fields filled out on product listings, including the product category, color, size, etc. When these data fields are filled correctly, search engines can’t find them and neither can customers.
Poor Inventory Management: Poor inventory management is one of the most common reasons eCommerce companies accumulate dead stock. This occurs when companies have too much inventory on hand and fail to keep track of their inventory levels effectively. As a result, they end up with excess inventory that remains unsold for an extended period.
Inaccurate Sales Forecasting: Companies often use historical sales data to predict future sales, but this method is not always accurate. Changes in market trends or unexpected events can cause sales to fluctuate, resulting in excess inventory.
Changes in Consumer Demand: eCommerce companies must keep up with consumer trends to remain relevant and profitable. If a product loses its popularity, it can quickly become dead stock. Additionally, seasonal products that do not sell out during their respective season can become dead stock.
Slow Shipping and Delivery Times: Customers expect fast and reliable shipping, and if eCommerce companies fail to deliver on this expectation, it can result in lost sales and excess inventory.
Pricing and Promotion Strategies: Overpricing a product or not offering discounts when necessary can result in slower sales and excess inventory. Additionally, failing to promote a product effectively can lead to a lack of interest from customers, resulting in dead stock.
1. Enrich Product Listings
If your product listings are not up-to-date or are missing data fields, you could be leaving tons of revenue on the table by preventing them from appearing in marketplace search engine results. Unfortunately, enriching these data fields at scale is difficult and time-consuming when doing so manually.
The good news: Invisible enriches product listings at the SKU level and at scale to restore crucial search engine visibility.
Here’s a success story: A major eCommerce player gave us 50,000 dormant SKUs and 16 days to enrich and optimize for a massive online marketplace’s search engine. A team of Invisible operators was deployed to enrich product listings, ultimately resulting in:
- A 49% increase in conversion
- $900k in new revenue
- 10x ROI
Learn more about how we manage eCommerce inventory like this and introduce competitive pricing intelligence at the same time.
2. Offer Discounts and Bundles
One of the most effective ways to move dead stock is to offer discounts or create bundles driven by competitive pricing intelligence. Customers love a good deal, and if they perceive that they're getting a bargain, they're more likely to make a purchase. You could offer a flat discount on your dead stock, such as 30% off, or you could create a bundle that includes your dead stock and a popular product.
3. Run Promotions
Running promotions is another effective way to revive dead stock. You could create a buy-one-get-one-free offer, a limited-time sale, or a loyalty program that rewards customers who purchase your dead stock.
4. Target a New Audience
If your current audience isn't interested in your dead stock, it's time to target a new audience. A couple of ideas: create a targeted email campaign that focuses on the benefits of your dead stock, or you could use paid advertising to reach a new audience.
5. Optimize Your Product Pages
Optimizing your product pages is key to selling your dead stock. Make sure your product descriptions are clear and concise, and include high-quality images that showcase your product's features.
Interested in learning more about our eCommerce services? Get in touch.
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As an eCommerce seller, there's nothing more frustrating than having unsold inventory sitting in your warehouse, taking up valuable space and tying up your cash flow. But don't despair, there are ways to breathe new life into your dead stock and turn it into a profitable asset for your business.
In this blog post, we'll explore five strategies you can use to revive your eCommerce dead stock and start generating revenue again.
Before we dive into the strategies for reviving eCommerce dead stock, let's define what it is. Dead stock refers to inventory that has been sitting in a warehouse or on a shelf for an extended period without being sold.
eCommerce sellers often struggle with dead stock due to the sheer volume of products they have to manage and the high level of competition on eCommerce marketplaces.
Dead stock can accumulate on the digital shelf for several reasons:
Poor Product Feed Management: To sell, eCommerce products heavily rely on consistent product feed management. That means that all SKUs listed on each marketplace you sell on must have key data fields filled out on product listings, including the product category, color, size, etc. When these data fields are filled correctly, search engines can’t find them and neither can customers.
Poor Inventory Management: Poor inventory management is one of the most common reasons eCommerce companies accumulate dead stock. This occurs when companies have too much inventory on hand and fail to keep track of their inventory levels effectively. As a result, they end up with excess inventory that remains unsold for an extended period.
Inaccurate Sales Forecasting: Companies often use historical sales data to predict future sales, but this method is not always accurate. Changes in market trends or unexpected events can cause sales to fluctuate, resulting in excess inventory.
Changes in Consumer Demand: eCommerce companies must keep up with consumer trends to remain relevant and profitable. If a product loses its popularity, it can quickly become dead stock. Additionally, seasonal products that do not sell out during their respective season can become dead stock.
Slow Shipping and Delivery Times: Customers expect fast and reliable shipping, and if eCommerce companies fail to deliver on this expectation, it can result in lost sales and excess inventory.
Pricing and Promotion Strategies: Overpricing a product or not offering discounts when necessary can result in slower sales and excess inventory. Additionally, failing to promote a product effectively can lead to a lack of interest from customers, resulting in dead stock.
1. Enrich Product Listings
If your product listings are not up-to-date or are missing data fields, you could be leaving tons of revenue on the table by preventing them from appearing in marketplace search engine results. Unfortunately, enriching these data fields at scale is difficult and time-consuming when doing so manually.
The good news: Invisible enriches product listings at the SKU level and at scale to restore crucial search engine visibility.
Here’s a success story: A major eCommerce player gave us 50,000 dormant SKUs and 16 days to enrich and optimize for a massive online marketplace’s search engine. A team of Invisible operators was deployed to enrich product listings, ultimately resulting in:
- A 49% increase in conversion
- $900k in new revenue
- 10x ROI
Learn more about how we manage eCommerce inventory like this and introduce competitive pricing intelligence at the same time.
2. Offer Discounts and Bundles
One of the most effective ways to move dead stock is to offer discounts or create bundles driven by competitive pricing intelligence. Customers love a good deal, and if they perceive that they're getting a bargain, they're more likely to make a purchase. You could offer a flat discount on your dead stock, such as 30% off, or you could create a bundle that includes your dead stock and a popular product.
3. Run Promotions
Running promotions is another effective way to revive dead stock. You could create a buy-one-get-one-free offer, a limited-time sale, or a loyalty program that rewards customers who purchase your dead stock.
4. Target a New Audience
If your current audience isn't interested in your dead stock, it's time to target a new audience. A couple of ideas: create a targeted email campaign that focuses on the benefits of your dead stock, or you could use paid advertising to reach a new audience.
5. Optimize Your Product Pages
Optimizing your product pages is key to selling your dead stock. Make sure your product descriptions are clear and concise, and include high-quality images that showcase your product's features.
Interested in learning more about our eCommerce services? Get in touch.