How do you prepare stock and listings for Ugadi?

Ugadi marks a new year for many families, so shoppers often look at fresh starts and gifts around it. You do not need to guess what they will buy. What you can control is whether your store is accurate and ready when they arrive. Treat the weeks before as a spring clean for stock and listings.

Audit your stock first

Count every product you plan to promote. Do it physically, not from memory. Compare the count with what your store shows, and correct any difference. Our weekly stock count in 30 minutes gives a quick way, and how to count inventory in a small business goes deeper.

If you sell products in sizes or colours, count each variant separately. See how to track stock per variant in your catalogue.

Decide which items you may need more of, using your own recent sales as a guide, and place orders with a margin for supplier lead time. I will not estimate festive demand, because it depends on your own audience.

Go through your photos

Open each product page as a customer would. Ask whether the first photo is clear, bright and true to colour. Replace anything blurry or dark. Add one photo that shows scale, such as the item in a hand or beside a common object, since size confuses many buyers. For tips, read how to photograph products for Instagram and your store.

Fix descriptions

Read your descriptions with fresh eyes and check each of these.

• Is the size, weight or quantity stated clearly?
• Are materials and care instructions included?
• Does the text match the photos?
• Are there any old festival references that are now out of date?
• Is the price right and are any offers current?

If you plan a festive angle, add a short line about gifting or use, but keep it truthful. Do not claim anything about the product that you cannot back up.

Tidy the catalogue

Retire products you will not restock. Hide items that are out of stock rather than leaving customers to find out at checkout. Put your strongest products first. In Varchas Stores you can group items into a drop with its own name and status, which helps if you want a festive set to stand out. Read what a drop is for the idea.

Check the buying path

Place a test order yourself, or have a friend do it. Look at the shipping fee, free-shipping threshold, payment options and confirmation message. Fix anything awkward. Your shipping settings sit in the admin Settings, and changing the free shipping threshold in settings walks you through it.

Plan your delivery message

Write your last order date and share it widely, using how to announce festive shipping cut-off dates. Take the festival date from a calendar, as it changes each year.

Prepare the packing area

Stock up on cartons, tape and fillers. Make a labelled station so packing stays quick when orders arrive together. A batching routine will save you time.

Finish with a walk-through

A day before you announce, scroll your store on a phone and read it start to finish. Fix what bothers you, and you will have caught most of what a customer would notice.