What is dead stock? (and what to do with it)
Dead stock is inventory that has stopped selling, and you can use clearance, bundling or gifting to turn a stuck colourway back into cash and shelf space.
What dead stock means
Dead stock is inventory that has sat unsold for a long time and is not likely to move at its current price or presentation. It might be the wrong size, a colour that fell out of fashion, an item that did not catch on, or something left over from a festival that has passed.
It is not a failure of character. Almost every seller ends up with some. The trouble is that it silently costs you money: it occupies space, ties up cash and can get dusty, faded or damaged.
Spot it early
Do not wait for a shelf full of boxes. Look at your stock every month and ask which items have not sold for a long while. How long is long depends on your product. A fresh food item goes stale in weeks, while a brass lamp can sit for months and still be fine. A regular count, like doing a weekly stock count in 30 minutes, makes slow movers visible.
I am not quoting sell-through rates or targets, because they vary a lot between products.
Imagine a stuck colourway
Say you stocked 40 tote bags in a mustard shade because it looked lovely in the sample, and 33 are still unsold while other colours have run out. Here are options, from gentle to firm.
Option 1: Show it differently
Maybe the problem is how it is shown. Reshoot with a styled outfit, add a close-up and write a clearer description. Sometimes a colour is simply hard to understand from a poor photo. See describing colour accurately online.
Option 2: Bundle it
Pair the slow item with a popular one. A mustard tote with a best-selling notebook, for example, as a set. People buy a set for the item they want and the extra feels like a bonus. Check the maths so you do not lose money, using bundle price vs separate price profit.
Option 3: Run a clearance
Lower the price to move it. Decide in advance how low you can go, and what you must recover. The figures are in slow stock clearance break-even. A clear, honest message works better than panic, such as "last few pieces, final price."
Option 4: Use it as a free gift
A small, low-cost slow item can be a thank-you with larger orders. It leaves your shelf and may please a customer, as discussed in free gift vs discount: which costs less.
Option 5: Give it away or donate
If nothing else works, gifting to friends, a local group or a charity frees space and does some good. Keep it to items that are safe and in decent condition.
Option 6: Rework it
Sometimes an item can become something else. Leftover fabric can become scrunchies. Surplus candles can be remelted into new ones. Only do this if the time you spend is worth it.
Avoid making more
The best cure is prevention. Order smaller quantities of a new variant, then reorder if it sells. How many variants is too many and how to plan festive stock without overbuying cover this.
Where to start
Walk through your stock this week. Write down every item that has not moved in a long time, and next to each, one action from the list above with a date. Doing even two of them will free cash and make room for what sells.