You must have seen that some products on eCommerce platforms indicate that the products are out of stock or unavailable when you try to complete the final checkout process. Now think from your business perspective about how this situation will impact your customers and your business parallelly. A customer can move to your competitor if they find that the product they want is out of stock. They can simply buy it from some other brand and may not turn back to you in the future. Out-of-stock products can drastically affect the overall growth of your online brand. It can affect your market credibility and your revenue rate as well.
Indeed there are consequences of out-of-stock, but it is the harsh reality of eCommerce business. At some point of time, you may have to go through this situation due to various reasons. But it can’t be the end of your business; you can still make your business profitable by intelligently handling the Oos situation. The first rule of tackling this situation is to get along with stock availability analysis software. Stock availability is part of our SCRAP model; you can read about it in detail by clicking on this link. Let’s see how you can handle the Out-of-the-stock situation more effectively by implementing the following ways.
Handle The Out of Stock Product in the Following Steps
Let Your Customer Know About Oos Products
As an online brand, your customer may experience the Oos (out-of-stock) situation in scenarios; first, the product is not available in your stock, and secondly, you have discontinued the specific product. However, in both scenarios, you should inform the customer by simply labeling such products as out of stock on your product page. If there are chances of the product returning in stock soon, you should allow the customers to add such a product to their wishlist, and once they get back in your stock, you need to inform them that the product is back in your stock.
You can simply send a notification on the customer’s mobile by informing them that the product they wanted is now available. Such practice provides an assurance to the customer that it is worth waiting a little longer to buy their favorite product. It can help you keep your customers engaged with your brand and let you escape the consequences of the Oos situation.
Provide Alternative Recommendations
Suppose customers are looking for any specific product from your brand that is not available in your stock. You can handle this situation smartly by recommending some alternative products. If you have multiple numbers of existing customers, you must have an idea of their shopping behavior or what kind of product they usually buy from you. Based on that, you can recommend an alternate product to them. To implement this step, you can add a recommendation product page that automatically pops up whenever a similar product gets out of stock. It can help you avoid missing out on a sale and simultaneously keep your customers interested in your brand. This compelling step can help you prominently in handling the horrific out-of-the-stock situation.
Clearly Showcase the Availability Status
One of the most extinguishing ways to avoid out-of-stock product situations is to always provide clarity on the unavailability of products. As soon as you get to know that any specific product is not available in your stock, you can mark the product as unavailable on your product page. It can help you never disappoint your customers and assure them that it may become available in a few days. This tactic can also limit your customers from moving to your competitors. If you’re selling such products in multiple sizes and colors, you should also mention the availability per their size and color. This way, you can prominently handle the out-of-the-stock situation without hurting your conversion rate and losing your loyal customers.
Implement a Pre-Order Formula
In the process of handling out-of-stock product situations, it can be an excellent way if you implement a pre-order formula. You can offer your customer to pre-order those products that are not currently available in your stock, but they can get back in stock soon. Such a tactic can behold your customers and their trust in your brand. This specific strategy can also secure your sale even if the product is not yet available in your stock. Apart from a pre-order strategy, you can even offer them a longer shipping time to handle the Oos situation effectively.
If your customers already know you and always get back to you for any specific product, they may wait a bit or pre-order in case of product unavailability. But this tactic may not work on a potential customer. To successfully implement this practice, you may be required to provide all the essential information to your customers, such as when they may get the product, how long they have to wait, and if they need to make the payment on a prior basis not. Make sure to fulfill the order on the promised date if you offer your customers the pre-order feature.
Always Ensure Your Stock Availability
Limiting your products’ unavailability is best to avoid the out-of-stock situation or handle the Oos situation. To avoid this situation, you always need to watchdog your stocks and know what is in your stock and what’s not. However, it is not an easy task, and one can not do it in an accurate manner manually. You may require an automatic stock availability analysis software such as etraKY BS.
It notifies you whenever a product gets out of stock to get back in stock. Once you know that a product is no longer available in your stock, you can simply refill your stock and escape the situation of Oos. In such a way, you may never face the situation of product shortage. Sometimes because of, various on-ground problems related to manufacturing the products can arise in the Oos situation, and you can handle implementing the above steps.
Conclusion
In such a way, you can efficiently handle out-of-stock product situations. Its’ 2022, and there are various ways to tackle the Oos situation without affecting your conversion rate and the trust of your customers. Gone are the days you had to only rely on manufacturers to provide you with the stock on time. Nowadays, you can still establish a satisfying relationship with your customers even if you are experiencing a stock-out situation. In this way, you can secure your every sale and ultimately generate decent revenue. To drive more and more sales that too in the Oos situation points as mentioned above can help you tremendously.
Informing your customers about the unavailability of a specific product or restricting the visibility of stock-out products can work in your favor. These strategies can effectively help you drive customer engagement and sales while being in the Oos situation. To resolve this problem permanently, you should subscribe to stock availability analysis software. Such software can save you from getting into the stock out of the situation and always watchdog your stocks.
