What To Do When Your Popular Products Are Out Of Stock

When customers enter your store looking for a particular product, and that product is sold out, what do you do? Your smartest move surely isn’t to tell your customers that the product is available elsewhere. Certainly, your best bet is to order the out of stock product and ensure your customer that it will arrive in-store very soon.

Contact your supplier.

Get in touch with your supplier to ensure that the sold out item or items can be shipped to your shop right away. But be sure to explain to your customers why your product is out of stock. That way, they can be assured your store isn’t one that is prone to disappointing customers by never having their products available.

“Some items may not be available year around,” notes Armando Roggio of Practical Ecommerce, “Other products, particularly, commodities, could be in limited supply. Add a clear notice to the product detail page describing why an item is out of stock.”

Inform customers of an expected availability date.

To reiterate, you don’t want your customers thinking that your sold out items won’t be back on the shelves in short order. Keeping your customers abreast of availability dates will greatly assist in keeping them loyal. Not doing so will likely push them to locate what they’re looking for with one of your competitors.

“If you have a good idea of when the item will be available, let shoppers know,” encourages Roggio, “Include an estimated availability date. If your ecommerce platform allows it, you might even accept a backorder. If your shopper is not in a hurry, he can order the product, knowing it will ship when it is back in stock.”

Never forget to apologize.

For some reason, some business owners act as if they are above saying “sorry”. It makes no sense to hold back apologies, no matter your industry. Excellent customer service counts for everything. And when you have out of stock products, you are presented with opportunities to showcase how great your customer service is. Don’t shy away from telling your disappointed customers that you’re sorry the products they wanted weren’t immediately available.

“Apologies don’t have to be long-winded or over the top,” assures Alex York on PowerReviews.com, “Instead, try to delight your customers as much as possible by showing you’re responsible for the out of stock item. And it’s always best practice to try to quickly explain to customers that it’s something you’re trying to fix.”

“In one instance from our research, a luggage retailer not only apologized, but offered up links to alternative products, asking if either product was satisfactory, in addition to offering up a refund,” York continues, “This is how you take a simple apology to the next level.”

Get your hands on quick funding to place your order right away.

Many retailers worry that they don’t have the funds necessary to quickly order their out of stock products. With Synergy Merchants’ unique merchant cash advance program, you won’t have to worry about that at all. We can get you the funding you need within 24 hours! To get the ball rolling or even just to learn more, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-877-718-2026 or email us at info@synergymerchants.com. You can also apply online for a free, no obligation quote!