Five Tactics Groceries Use to Dump Old Stock

Five Tactics Groceries Use to Dump Old Stock
Five Tactics Groceries Use to Dump Old Stock. Image source: Pixabay

A well-stocked grocery can easily be a one-stop-shop for all your needs. You can stock up on pantry essentials, buy your favorite cosmetics, get supplies for your garden, and even find a new microwave. Many groceries maintain a diverse inventory so they can cater to the different needs of their customers. Shoppers also appreciate the convenience of getting all their purchases done in a single location. However, managing an inventory as large and diverse as this will likely pose a number of challenges, including what to do when certain items remain on the shelves for a long time.

If you’re a grocery store manager, you’ve likely had to deal with figuring out ways to move or even dispose of old stocks. Here are some common strategies that grocery stores use to dump old stock.

Run a Sales Promotion

A grocery or supermarket’s most common tactic is to create promotions centered around old stock. You might have a clearance sale that offers marked down prices on the items. This can attract customers who may find the original price tag too steep for their budget. Although the store may only derive a small profit or just break even on markdown sales, this is preferable to declaring a loss.

Another promotional activity to consider is to sell the items in bundles. This is a good tactic for when you have a lot of inventory that you need to move quickly, such as food items. You can bundle several of the same stock keeping unit (SKU) or find a common theme for different items. For example, you can create bundles that suggest a pasta dinner or make a “Mom’s Favorites” basket arrangement for Mother’s Day. Assembling bundles makes the items look more attractive, especially if you market the bundle as a solution for a particular need.

Revisit Your Marketing

Slow-moving inventory doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re bad products. In many cases, they simply need better marketing. Before you start lowering prices, revisit the marketing plan for the item. Is it perhaps in the wrong category? Are the items placed in the wrong area? Maybe customers are turned off by the display or don’t have enough information on how to use the item.

Identifying the real reason behind low sales is difficult to determine, but by tweaking the different aspects of marketing, you might find a solution that works to move inventory. For example, you might place instant ramen noodles in an aisle for Asian foods rather than displaying it next to Italian pasta. If the labels are in a foreign language, make sure the product display includes the name of the product and how to cook it in a language that locals can understand.

Increase Exposure

In some cases, you might need more than just a single display for old stock items. Humans are highly reliant on visuals, so having multiple displays throughout the store not only increases exposure but also encourages customers to make a purchase.

Observe the flow of foot traffic to identify the most frequented areas in your store. You can set up additional product displays in those areas, next to the counter, and towards the back of the store so that the stock can get more exposure and improve chances of making a sale.

Offer as Freebies

Customers love receiving a little extra on their purchases. It makes them feel like they’ve gotten better value for their money and that their customer loyalty is being recognized. If you want to build up rapport with your customers, you can give away old stocks as freebies or as an incentive for participating in a store activity.
For example, you can offer a slow-moving item as a free gift to customers who sign up for your store newsletter or who reach a certain purchase amount. Not only does this help you unload old inventory; you can also use it to incentivize certain customer behaviors and get them to engage with your brand more. This kind of tactic is best to use with low-cost items, with the product cost listed as part of the store’s marketing expenses.

Upcycle Food Items

Sometimes groceries end up with food stocks that are difficult to sell because of imperfect appearances or damage to the packaging. If the items are still within their sell-by date, they can be marketed differently. Here are some examples:

  • Replace cracked eggs in cartons with undamaged ones in the same batch. In this way, the package remains complete and sellable, with the same quality expected from the added eggs. This also reduces waste as only the cracked eggs will need to be thrown out.
  • Boxed items with individually packaged contents can be sold without the damaged box for a reduced price. Alternatively, items like cereal and oatmeal can be placed into dispense bins that allow customers to purchase items by weight. This also gives them the option to buy smaller amounts that better suit their needs instead of skipping the purchase altogether.
  • Some grocery stores have a special section for imperfect or “ugly” produce, which are sold for a reduced price.
  • If your store has a bakery or a juicery service, you can actually get better profit margins for upcycled food. Turn imperfect and overripe fruits into juices and smoothies and ripped flour bags into bread.

There are many different tactics you can use to move old stocks or prevent them from becoming a total loss for your store. You may even adopt some of these strategies as part of your regular efforts to increase sales and minimize food waste. Don’t hang on to old stocks for too long, though. Make sure that your inventory-keeping remains cost-efficient by prioritizing storage space and capital for more sellable stocks.