Whether you’re a multichannel, e-commerce or bricks-and-mortar merchant, 2023 has so far been anything but plain sailing.
The cost-of-living crisis, sky-high inflation rates, supply chain pressures, war in Ukraine and ongoing digital transformation have all caused chaos in the retail sector, with online sales slowing to pre-pandemic levels according to experts.
Understandably, many brands are looking for ways to boost sales – and that’s where we can share some good news.
Inventory Planner helps businesses large and small maximize profit, adapt to market changes and save time with smart forecasting and reliable buying recommendations.
Here are three ways you can use it to increase your sales right now…
1. Focus on high-margin bestsellers
Do you know which of your products make you the most money? Are you clear on which SKUs are – or could be – your bestsellers?
Inventory Planner gives you granular-level insights across your entire inventory – even down to variant level. It notifies you if a product is selling like hot cakes (so you can order more) and it flags up slow moving inventory so you can liquidate it to free up cash to reinvest in more popular stock.
Inventory Planner’s advanced reporting gives you a simple way to zero in on exactly what customers want right now. Perhaps you already know that a product is popular, but maybe you don’t know that it only performs well in three of the six available colors, or perhaps two sizes are much more sought after than the rest. Inventory Planner shows you this data so you can get ruthless about what’s not working and focus your time and money on what is.
These advanced insights are proven to boost sales – especially in the current market, as $100M cosmetics brand Snow has discovered.
Trevor Martin, Snow’s Vice President Operations, says: “Inventory Planner is critical for helping us maximize sales. A few times it’s flagged up that I need to order more stock and, frankly speaking, I’ve doubted it. I’ve been like ‘what are you talking about Inventory Planner, I’ve got 60,000 units in stock!’.
“And then I do my analysis and sure enough, the software has spotted a trend and altered forecasting to account for it. That’s game-changing functionality.”
2. Make decisions based on always up-to-date data
The ever-evolving whims of modern shoppers, along with influencer culture and unpredictable supply mean it’s easy to get caught out by trends that emerge (sometimes literally) overnight, and miss the opportunity to cash in. That is, unless you have Inventory Planner.
Unlike other inventory planning tools, Inventory Planner takes into account seasonal spikes, location and channel-specific trends and even how new subscribers or influencer marketing might impact on your sales. Then it provides detailed reports and buying recommendations so you can make sure you never miss a sales opportunity by being understocked again!
Access to always up-to-date data has had a huge impact on sales for sports brand Cycology. Its founder and CEO Micael Tomchin says: “Inventory Planner shows us patterns and trends across our regions and warehouses.
“It gives me the clarity I need to confidently make truly informed inventory decisions. It helps me see which products might be slow moving so I can adjust my sales strategy accordingly.
“Our Inventory Planner subscription is one of the best investments we’ve made and it gives us a huge productivity boost.”
3. Get expert recommendations
Using spreadsheets or other manual methods to forecast sales and work out what to buy is renowned for being tedious and fraught with costly errors – yep, even if you know your way around Excel like the back of your hand. All too often it results in excess stock or stockouts – both of which are cashflow killers that can put your business at risk.
Inventory Planner is different. It accurately forecasts demand, based on your sales data along with supplier lead time and your stock cover days, then it analyzes the data and translates it into easy-to-understand buying recommendations for every variant, across every location and every sales channel.
Having forecasting data you can count on is key for boosting sales and customers have achieved tangible, impressive results – including online furniture brand FurnitureBox.
The brand’s Head of E-Commerce, James Ewens, says: “Our sales revenue has jumped by around 20% as a direct result of using Inventory Planner, which is a huge sum of money!
“It analyzes your data and gives you sales forecasting and buying recommendations that you can actually trust. It’s incredible.”
Book your free demo to find out more about how Inventory Planner can boost your sales.