Mastering the art of inventory management at a retail store is akin to navigating a ship through ever-changing seas. It's not enough to simply have products to sell; you need to stock the right products, at the right time, to meet your customers' needs. Striking this delicate balance is crucial for maintaining a healthy cash flow and ensuring that your store remains a go-to destination for your clientele.
Yet, even the most experienced captains encounter rough waters, and in the retail world, slow-moving inventory is one of the most persistent challenges business owners can expect to face. These are the items that linger on shelves, occupying valuable space that could otherwise showcase more lucrative products. The consequences? Tied-up capital that you could invest elsewhere and a store layout that doesn't change as often as it should, which could potentially dull the shopping experience.
We at Maya Business are here to provide you with some creative ideas for getting rid of those pesky slow-moving items. The goals are clear: to refresh your inventory, rejuvenate your store's appeal, and, most importantly, revitalize sales. Let’s get started.
Hold Flash Sales In-Store
Imagine placing your slow-moving items at the center of an event that customers anticipate with excitement. Flash sales are your secret weapon, capable of creating a buzz and drawing in crowds who’ll definitely be eager for a bargain. These limited-time offers encourage shoppers to act quickly and also feel urgent and exclusive—the perfect atmosphere for moving items that have overstayed their welcome.
Of course, you’ll need an efficient point-of-sale solution to help you move transactions along in such a busy environment. If you operate a store in the Philippines, your best bet is Maya Business’s Maya Terminal, a credit card machine turned all-around in-store payment solution. In addition to functioning as a traditional debit and credit card terminal, Maya Terminal also accepts e-wallet and QR Ph payments. All your customers need to do is simply take their purchase to the card swipe machine and choose their preferred method, and they’ll find their transaction securely processed in a manner of seconds.
If your business is exploring more mobile selling opportunities such as pop-up stores, Maya Terminal Lite is a digital payments and card terminal with similar state-of-the-art capabilities to the original—but with a much more mobile form factor. This particular solution is designed to be lightweight and portable, so your staff can meet your customers where they are and process transactions on the spot. This makes it all the easier to get rid of items you have a hard time moving otherwise.
Offer Discounts and Bundles
Discounts have a magnetic pull on shoppers, as most find the allure of potential savings hard to resist. When applied thoughtfully, they do more than just clear out old inventory—they can enhance the perceived value of your products. You may also want to consider bundling slow-moving items with best-sellers at a combined discount. This helps move stock and also introduces customers to products they might not have considered otherwise.
Leverage Loyalty Programs
It’s possible to transform those items gathering dust on your shelves into a powerful tool for nurturing customer loyalty. Many customers love scoring a good deal through a loyalty program, so it only makes sense to try leveraging one of your own to move items that are slow to sell. By offering exclusive deals or double points on select items, you encourage your regulars to take notice and perhaps even purchase something new.
Build Attractive In-Store Displays
It’s impossible to overstate the power of first impressions in the retail sector. That product languishing in the corner? It’s entirely possible that it hasn’t been selling simply because your customers haven’t been seeing it, and it could well become your next bestseller with the right spotlight. Creating compelling in-store displays is an art that draws customers in and invites them to explore items outside their usual selection of favorites. Use lighting, signage, and strategic placement to tell a story around your slow-moving products and boost their appeal to customers.
Use Social Media and Email Marketing
Now that the digital age is in full swing, your online presence can become yet another potent tool for transforming your neglected stock into sought-after treasures. Try crafting engaging social media posts and emails to create buzz around products that have been overlooked. Highlight the features, offer styling tips, or share customer testimonials to show the value of these items. Exclusive online promotions can also drive traffic to your store or website and turn followers into regular customers. You could even explore opportunities to sell your wares directly through your social media pages, with a payment tool like Maya Payment Links allowing you to send a unique link to your customers who want to swiftly claim or purchase items immediately after you advertise them.
Elevate Operations at Your Store with Solutions from Maya Business
Sign up for Maya Business for instant access to a comprehensive suite of payment, disbursement, and business banking solutions that can take operations at your retail store to the next level.
With a Maya Business account, you can open a Maya Business Deposit account and use it as your settlement account. Its industry-leading 2.5% per annum interest rate will let you earn PHP 25,000 in interest per year on a PHP 1 million deposit. Maya Business also lets you send money to your partners and suppliers for free via InstaPay and PESONet, which will add up to substantial savings in the long run.
Your Maya Business account also qualifies you for a no-collateral Maya Flexi Loan offer of up to PHP 2 million in just 3 months, so you get a flexible and significant funding source you can use to improve your store even more. Just use Maya Business as your primary processor for all wallet and card payments. The more you use our solutions, the better the loan offer will be.
Sign up for Maya Business today and we’ll gladly help you put your retail store on the path to long-term, sustainable success.
