On the platform of Amazon, a global e-commerce giant, the importance of inventory management is self-evident. Out-of-stock not only affects sales, but also has a negative impact on the weight and ranking of the store. Therefore, for sellers who want to achieve long-term success on Amazon, it is crucial to effectively manage inventory and avoid out-of-stock crises. This article will explore the impact of Amazon inventory out-of-stock, coping strategies, and the impact of out-of-stock on sales to help sellers better cope with this challenge.
1. The impact of Amazon inventory out-of-stock
The Amazon platform has a strict evaluation mechanism for merchants’ delivery time. Once merchants fail to deliver on time, Amazon will take corresponding punitive measures, such as reducing product rankings and displays, which will have a serious impact on sellers’ sales results. Out-of-stock not only leads to order loss, but also affects buyers’ shopping experience, thereby damaging the seller’s reputation.
2. Coping strategies
In the face of inventory out-of-stock problems, sellers can adopt the following strategies to deal with it:
Increase product prices: Reduce the order volume by increasing product prices, thereby reducing the risk of out-of-stock. However, this practice may have a negative impact on conversion rates, thereby affecting the weight and ranking of the store.
Follow your own listing: During the period of out-of-stock, sellers can consider following their own listing and adopt the method of self-delivery to maintain the ranking of the product. Although this can slow down the decline in ranking, it may affect sales due to the timeliness of arrival.
FBA emergency replenishment: This is the most direct and effective way to solve the problem of out-of-stock. But it should be noted that this requires sellers to have sufficient supply in advance.
For the situation where the out-of-stock time is within two weeks, sellers can take the following measures:
Product price reduction: Increase sales through price reduction promotion, while increasing advertising budget and improving product exposure.
Set the listing to unavailable status: If the product is completely out of stock, the seller should set the listing to unavailable status to avoid the risks brought by FBM follow-selling. After replenishment, the product ranking may be restored or even improved.
3. The impact of out-of-stock on sales
Influence on intelligent system judgment: Maintaining low inventory for a long time may cause Amazon’s intelligent system to believe that the seller’s sales effect is not good, thereby reducing the product’s recommendation rate on the homepage and affecting sales.
Reduce consumers’ desire to buy: Insufficient inventory may make consumers feel that the seller lacks confidence in the product, thus affecting their purchasing decisions.
Weaken competitiveness: If competitors have sufficient inventory and can provide better logistics services, they will occupy a dominant position in the market, making it difficult for sellers to attract new users and retain old users.
In summary, inventory management is crucial for Amazon sellers. Sellers need to pay close attention to inventory and make stocking/backup plans in advance to deal with possible out-of-stock crises. At the same time, take reasonable response strategies and measures to ensure that good sales results can be maintained during out-of-stock periods. Only in this way can you stand out on Amazon, a highly competitive platform, and achieve long-term and stable sales growth.