When it comes to retail, sell-through is the magic metric that shows just how fast your products are flying off the shelves. Simply put, it's the percentage of inventory sold over a specific period—whether it's a week, a month, or however you want to measure it. Think of sell-through as a reflection of your brand’s popularity and how well you're managing your inventory. If your sell-through rate is high, you're a rockstar; if it's low, it might be time to reevaluate things.
So, how do we calculate this gem of a metric?
Sell-through = Units Sold Units Received × 100
The Big Challenges in Boosting Sell-Through
Now that you know how to determine the sell-through number, here are some of the big challenges in making it grow.
- Juggling Inventory: Too Much, Too Little—Oh No!
One of the most difficult balancing acts for brands is managing inventory levels. Overstocks lead to markdowns, which eat into profit margins, while stockouts not only mean lost sales but also damage customer loyalty. In fact, 65% of customers will turn to competitors if the product they want isn’t available. The rise of omnichannel shopping has further complicated inventory management, as consumers now expect real-time product availability both online and in-store. Managing this across multiple channels has become a top priority for brands, with some relying heavily on predictive analytics and flexible fulfillment strategies to keep stock levels just right.
- Keeping Retail Partners Engaged (Without Jeopardizing Online Growth)
The rise of direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales has been a boon for many brands, but it creates a delicate balance with long-standing retail partnerships. Brands often struggle to drive their own online sales without cannibalizing the revenue streams of their brick-and-mortar partners. This delicate balancing act requires strategic coordination so that both DTC and traditional retail channels thrive. Successful brands are adopting unified commerce strategies that bring together both online and offline experiences, ensuring that both digital and physical retailers can prosper without feeling sidelined.
- Competing for Attention in a Crowded Market
As the retail market becomes increasingly saturated, standing out has become more challenging than ever. Consumers are bombarded with options—both online and in physical stores. To make matters more complex, many customers now engage in ROPO behavior (Research Online, Purchase Offline), meaning they expect a seamless transition between their online research and in-store purchases. Brands need to be highly agile, ensuring that their products are easily discoverable across all channels, and that they provide consistent and compelling experiences wherever customers are shopping.
- Data Blindness: Where’s the Insight?
Without actionable data, improving sell-through is an uphill battle. For brands, the lack of visibility into how their products are performing once they reach the retailer's shelves is a huge challenge. Without clear insights into sell-through rates at the retail level, it becomes nearly impossible to accurately forecast demand, manage inventory, or fine-tune marketing strategies. Brands that harness real-time analytics gain a massive advantage, as they can optimize their operations based on actual performance data, driving better decisions across the board.
How Quivers Saves the Day (And Boosts Your Sell-Through)
Now that we've explored some of the challenges, let’s see how Quivers tackles each one, making it easier for brands to improve their sell-through rates and solve these complex problems.
- Master Inventory Management with Ship-from-Store
Addressing the issue of overstocking and stockouts is easier with Quivers’ Ship-from-Store feature. By tapping into the existing inventory of your retail partners, Quivers enables brands to use local stock to fulfill online orders. This helps balance inventory levels while reducing the risks of stockouts. Brands like Rigid have reduced their shipping times by 29%, improving customer satisfaction and lowering shipping costs by relying on local fulfillment. Ship-from-Store ensures you always have the right amount of inventory available to meet consumer demand.
- Eliminate Channel Conflict with Order Sharing
Quivers helps solve the issue of balancing DTC growth with retail partner engagement through its Order Sharing feature. This functionality allows brands to route online orders to local retail partners for fulfillment, creating a symbiotic relationship between digital sales channels and physical stores. Brands like Banded have seen increased conversions while maintaining strong retail partnerships, as retailers benefit from the additional foot traffic driven by online orders. By creating a seamless bridge between online and in-store, Quivers helps brands avoid the typical friction of channel conflict
- Real-Time Data Insights to Drive Strategy
Quivers provides brands with access to real-time sell-through analytics, enabling them to make informed decisions. Instead of flying blind, brands can track how their products are performing at the retail level and adjust production, inventory, and marketing strategies accordingly. For example, Radar and Ronix used these insights to improve their demand forecasting, which led to a 17% increase in their average order value. Quivers’ data-driven approach ensures that brands have the tools they need to optimize their sell-through
- Empower Retail Employees to Be Brand Advocates
The people on the front lines of your brand—retail employees—play a crucial role in driving sell-through. Quivers’ Sell Gear Get Gear program incentivizes retail staff to become active advocates for your brand, rewarding them for hitting sales targets and promoting products with genuine enthusiasm. By aligning the interests of retail employees with the goals of the brand, Quivers helps boost both employee engagement and in-store sales, creating a win-win for everyone involved
Ready to Improve Your Sell-Through?
With Quivers, tackling the challenges of sell-through becomes easier. From optimizing inventory and enhancing retail partnerships to unlocking the power of real-time data, Quivers provides the tools brands need to thrive in an increasingly complex retail environment.
Ready to take control of your sell-through strategy? Quivers has the solutions to help you grow.