8 Breakthrough Ideas
for End-of-Year Inventory Clearance

One of the common challenges retailers face is overstocking. Excess inventory ties up funds, and you can’t recoup your investment until those products are sold. It also causes the opportunity cost of being unable to bring in new stocks alongside the cost of taking up shelf or warehouse space. It’s usually time to plan clearance if certain inventory does not clear itself within 90-120 days. In order to clear out these overstocks, it’s important to first identify the products for which sales have slowed down. Once you’ve figured it out, here’s what you can do to clear up as much of your store’s inventory as possible before the year ends.

source: creoate.com

1. Place overstock items to the right side

If your products aren’t selling well, it’s important to review the way you’re marketing or displaying them. One easy way to remarket your products is to move overstocked items to a more visible location. 90% of customers prefer to head to the right-hand side from entering the store because they are accustomed to using the right side of the road when driving. Therefore, you can take advantage of this tendency for positioning your merchandise. Place the items on the right side of the store entrance so that they’re visible to more people.

2. Weekly Featured Products

Consider moving overstocked items to a location closer to the door. Then, grab their attention with an attention-grabbing sign like “This Week’s Picks” or a colorful sign that stands out. This way, customers can see the product as soon as they enter the store, and it will look like new arrivals. Or you can display them along with trending items and best-selling products so that the items get good exposure.

3. Offer overstock items as freebies

You can give away overstock items as freebies to customers who spend more than a certain dollar amount, which increases customer loyalty and creates a positive reputation for your store. “If you spend $100 or more, you’ll get a free gift of XXX” is a great way to clear the inventory, encourage people to spend $100 or more, and thereby increase overall sales.

4.  Using bundles to clear out inventory

It’s a good idea to try bundling popular, fast-selling products with slower-selling products. Most customers spend a lot of time and money buying best-selling items. The idea is to bundle overstock items with high-demand items and sell them at a deal. Also, you can consider bundling high-margin items with low-margin items. If you bundle related products and make your customers happier, that will go even further.

Utilizing clearance sales is the most popular inventory clearance strategy for overstocked products. Clearance sales are usually characterized by deep discounts, which can start at 40% off and gradually increase to 60% to 80% off. Put up a big “Clearance Sale” sign and advertise on your social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok so you can push the overstocked items out quickly.

6. Make a good impression by donating your inventory to charity

Stores that donate items to the local community give the impression that they’re part of the community, which eventually gives customers a sense of trust. Remember that some charitable donations may be tax deductible. For example, you could donate wigs to a local cancer center, clothing to a homeless center, etc. Ask your customers if there are any organizations that need donations and compile a list so you can get the right products to where they are most needed.

7. Draw attention to your daily or weekly deals

In order to tackle overstocking, it’s important to act before items become overstocks and offer them at discounted prices before they start piling up in warehouses or on shelves, so that you can improve your cash flow. To do this, you’ll need a variety of sales strategies, such as selecting specific items or categories for additional discounts each week, so that customers can get an extra discount for a limited time. This way, customers don’t feel like they’re buying overstocked items, and they feel like they’re getting a special discount, which encourages them to buy more. You can also run limited-time, time-sensitive sales events, such as a 60 in 60 special sale that offers 60% off for 60 minutes on a specific day, to give your customers an enjoyable shopping experience and clear out your inventory in a short amount of time.

8.  Take advantage of Buy One Get One Free (BOGO)

The phrase “Buy One, Get One Free” (BOGO) is widely used in different industries. It’s a fun way for customers to feel like they’re getting something for free, and it’s a surefire way for stores to profitably get rid of excess inventory. BOGOs are a great sales promotion, especially at the end of the season to clear out seasonal items and are an effective sales strategy to encourage consumers to buy more while getting rid of excess inventory.