In retailing, the holidays usually produce the majority of store sales and profits for the year. After the holiday sales increase is finished, you should end up with less inventory remaining in your store. However, if things did not go as well as you expected you may still have plenty of dollar store merchandise on your hands.
If that is the case you will want to sell off the excess inventory as soon as you possibly can make it happen. That is one reason you should make January your inventory closeout month. Your goal is to encourage shoppers to buy these items when they normally would not.
You should seek to reduce as much inventory as is reasonably possible. Do not reduce the level of your core consumable products though. People will need these items no matter what time of year it is. If they come in at any time and see you do not have these important dollar store merchandise items on-hand, it will not be good for your overall sales.
When running your closeout specials, it is best for you to move the items away from their normal spots on the shelves. You should make use of your end cap displays and also easily seen closeout displays. They will draw much more attention and help you get sell-off the items at a much faster rate.
You should also look to setup displays in other areas of your store in order to draw attention. One of the best locations is in the front of your store, close to the cash registers. Your customers would spot these displays immediately upon walking in and will likely think about buying right then if the price is right.
Make sure you look for other strategic places around the store. Just make sure the displays are noticeable and not tucked away in the corner somewhere. You might even think about taking closeout items outside and holding a sidewalk sale.
As far as closeout locations in your store are concerned, you should try to adorn them with eye-catching signs. They should be flashy enough to draw people to the area to see if they are interested in your closeout items.
Customers may not want to buy certain items at their original price. Therefore, entice them to take the excess inventory off of your hands by lowering the price. If the items were sitting on the shelves not selling anyway, they were not making you any money at all. So be willing to take a little less and have the items sold.
If you have excess dollar store merchandise inventory left over after the holiday season has passed, then make January your closeout month. Lower the prices on these items, and set-up attention-grabbing locations to help sell the merchandise out of your store.
