In the business field, one strategy that stands out as a win-win is promoting clearance items. It not only helps you move inventory off the shelves but also attracts customers looking for a deal. So, what is a clearance sale? And how do you apply them effectively? Let’s find out together. Let’s dive in.
What is a Clearance Sale?
“Clearance Items” are products that a business has had in stock for a long time but that often do not sell as well as expected. These items may be outdated, out of season, or simply out of tune with current trends. Therefore, in order to free up storage space for new goods and avoid the risk of financial loss, businesses often decide to sell these products at a significant discount.
To notify customers, businesses will carry out advertising and promotion campaigns for these inventory products. The goal is to create interest among customers and drive them to purchase these products before they are discarded or potentially sold at higher prices.
Benefits of Promoting Clearance Items
Inventory promotion brings many important benefits to businesses. Let’s find out the positives of promoting these products:
- Avoid Financial Losses: By reducing prices and promoting inventory, businesses can avoid financial losses from holding unsold products over time. This helps them get some of their investment back and minimizes the risk of losses.
- Maximize Storage Space: Excess inventory takes up valuable storage space that could be used for new and more relevant products. Inventory promotions help free up storage space, allowing businesses to bring in fresh stock that aligns with current trends and customer preferences.
- Attract Price-Conscious Shoppers: Many consumers are always looking for deals and discounts. By promoting inventory, you attract price-conscious consumers, who can shop more when they see significant savings.
- Create Customer Engagement: Promotions and discounts create excitement in customers. This can lead to an increase in the number of customers going to an online or physical store, which in turn exposes them to other products at their original price.
- Increase Cash Flow: The sale of excess inventory generates revenue to invest in profitable activities. Improved cash flow helps maintain and grow the business.
- Improve Brand Image: Promotion of products at discounted prices improves brand image by demonstrating flexibility and adaptability to changing market conditions. Customers appreciate brands that provide value, even for products that don’t sell as expected.
- Clear Seasonal or Outdated Items: Clearance promotions are especially useful for getting rid of seasonal or outdated items. This helps to make sure that your inventory remains relevant and up-to-date.
- Build Customer Loyalty: Offering discounted prices on clearance items can show respect to customers and willingness to offer them savings options. This can create long-term loyalty and engagement.
- Reduce Holding Costs: Storing excess inventory comes with associated costs such as warehousing, insurance, and depreciation. By promoting clearance items, you can minimize these holding costs.
9 Tips for a Successful Clearance Sale
A “Clearance Sale” can be a powerful way to clear excess inventory, engage customers, and increase sales. Here are some valuable tips to make your Clearance Promotion a remarkable success:
1. Time it right
Strategically time your promotion. Plan seasonal promotions reasonably for the end of the season, when the product is most attractive to customers. If your products are not seasonal, consider running a promotion every year or every six months. Avoid accumulating too much unsold inventory.
2. Select the Right Products
Identify the least profitable and slowest-moving products using your inventory management system. Make sure that these products remain valuable and attractive to customers. These are the ones that should be included in the clearance sale.
3. Create your clearance display
Place your clearance items strategically. Don’t hide them at the back of the store. Position them near the entrance to attract shoppers. Be mindful of the space you allocate for clearance to maintain a professional appearance.
4. Price it right
Instead of vague percentage-off signs, use specific prices to attract bargain hunters. It takes no math to understand that “$10 each” is a good deal. Consider categorizing products by price — a $10 display, a $20 display, a $5 and under display, and so on. Display products in sections based on price ranges, making it easier for customers to find appealing deals.
5. Kick it off with a bang
Have you ever attended a “clearance” sale that offers 15% off? That’s hardly sufficient to allure dedicated bargain hunters. Start the sale with a substantial 50% off — or perhaps consider going even further, depending on the specific industry you’re in, the level of competition, and the range of discounts you’ve provided throughout the year.
6. Multichannel Marketing
Promote your clearance sale both online and offline. Utilize email, online ads, social media, website banners, and even direct mail. Inform customers about the clearance when they enter your store, and consider offering them bags or baskets for a smoother shopping experience.
7. Progressive Discounts
If products don’t move well at the initial discount, gradually increase the discount as the clearance sale progresses. For instance, go from 50 percent off to 60 percent off on the following days to motivate quicker purchases.
8. Clear Product Labels
Ensure all items on clearance have clear and visible product labels. Customers should be able to quickly identify the discounted price and any special offers. The clarity in labelling helps attract attention and speed up purchase decisions.
9. Eye-catching Product Badges
Use eye-catching product badges that highlight the discounted price or the percentage off. These badges can be placed on product images both online and in-store, making it easy for customers to spot the deals.
How To Run Clearance Promotion in Your Shopify Store
As mentioned above, adding eye-catching product badges, and product labels to the store will help drive sales and enhance the overall shopping experience. If you own an online store on Shopify and want to enhance your store with an attractive clearance badge, the ShineTrust app is the ideal solution.
Key features include setting up various promotions, and creating eye-catching product labels and badges without requiring coding skills. The app’s ability to improve trust through trust badges and its customizable design options contribute to increasing conversion rates.
Here, we show you how to run a clearance program in your online store. There are two methods you can use to apply your clearance sales.
1. Use the product badge
Ultizing product badges is a great way to After installing the Product Labels – ShineTrust app, access the Application Dashboard.
In the application, you will see 3 options to create badges: Text Badge, Image Badge, and Upload Badge.
Choose how you want to set up your clearance badges; you can opt for the badges to highlight your clearance products, such as “Hot Deal”, “Best Offer”, or “Sale 50%,” and then follow the simple instructions.
2. Use the quantity discount feature
In ShineTrust, you can use Quantity Discount feature to encourage customers to make a purchase.
First, in the ShineTrust dashboard, find “Quantity Discounts“, then select Add Quantity Discount.
Next, choose the products or collections to which you want to apply the quantity discount. Set the threshold quantities for the discount tiers (e.g., 30% off for 5 items, 50% off for 10 items). Define the discount amount or percentage for each tier.
By adding ShineTrust’s product clearance to your Shopify store, you’re not only enhancing the visual appeal of your products but also instilling confidence in your customers. This ultimately drives higher sales figures and creates a more engaging shopping environment. It is very simple and easy to use, so why not give it a try?
Conclusion
In short, creating a clearance promotion requires careful planning and creativity. By using attractive pricing, smart product labelling, and effective advertising, you can generate a compelling opportunity to clear inventory, engage customers, and optimize sales. Make sure you take advantage of every opportunity from this campaign to boost sales and build good customer relationships.
