There always comes a time where the supplier fails to supply your products that your shoppers like. Putting words like “out-of-stock” can cost you your profits. Simultaneously, you can’t make false claims to your customers and not deliver the product. If your supplier senses you’re desperate, he will undoubtedly increase the price for getting the product. But your ultimate goal remains to keep the customer unaware of the stock shortage and retain the customer.
So how do you do this?
- Accept you’re out of stock– If your user comes looking for a particular product, there is no harm in telling that the product they desire is out of stock. You can also add in a link “inform me when the stock is back” notification. These in-stock requests help the customers know that you can get the product for them. Store the user’s email id and let them know that you’re sorry for the inconvenience and assure them that the stock will be back soon.
- Limited stock– If you’re sure that the supplier is delaying the product’s delivery to you, make sure that your product page shows “Limited Stock” and increase the days of delivery for that product. This way, the user wouldn’t be aware of your actually being out of stock, and as they say, Ignorance is bliss. The customer can be warned about the late delivery, but getting the product delivered by that time is important to keep your reputation.
- Show something similar– If the customer is looking for a certain type of soap bar made out of orange extracts, which is not in stock, show the customer another soap bar with similar ingredients. This way, you can expand your customer’s views on other products and give them something similar without losing them.
Though we recommend these solutions for products that can be replenished but in case you are selling designer items, handmade products, or one-of-a-kind item, which you believe cannot be replenished, then you need to decide whether you still want to show the product listing on your e-commerce website or not.
So next time when you go out of stock on a particular item, don’t sweat cause you can still keep selling and retain your customers.