Like dodgy socks and boiled cabbage, stock issues are an unwelcome festive tradition. Add the global supply chain crisis into the mix and retailers are potentially looking at a nightmare before Christmas this year, with the risk of losing new shoppers all too real. In fact, Adobe reported that online shoppers saw more than 2 billion out-of-stock messages in October 2021, an increase of 250% from the previous October.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We’re here to help you capture shoppers’ attention on your out of stock pages and draw them into the customer journey with some nifty tactics and tips.
Read on to discover 3 ways to optimize your out of stock pages.
1) Product recommendations
Product recommendations are a great way to get more of your inventory in front of your shoppers. There are many types of recommendations to choose from and experiment with. When it comes to out of stock pages, displaying similar products that are in stock can help shoppers find an alternative option they can purchase now.
Vapouriz experienced stock issues during the initial Covid-19 lockdowns due to an increased demand for vaping products. To avoid customer frustrations and potential lost revenue, the company implemented a popover with alternative products that triggers on out of stock pages.
Vapouriz has seen a 29% increase in AOV thanks to onsite personalization tactics such as this.
2) Exit intent popovers
When new visitors to your site (or customers dead set on a particular product) encounter an out of stock page, they are likely to bounce immediately to a competitor in search of their desired purchase.
Grab them before they go with an exit intent popover to capture their details. Try offering a discount or freebie when a user signs up for your newsletter, or spell out the benefits of signing up, such as being the first to hear about new products and sales.
Iconic Lights highlights the 10% discount up for grabs for newsletter subscribers, while Vision Direct entices new subscribers with the promise of being the first to hear about price drops and giveaways.
3) Back in stock triggered emails
We’re not just talking about a regular back in stock email request here. No, this is much more effective and here’s why. Sending triggered back in stock emails means you can target anyone in your database who has browsed an out of stock product rather than only those shoppers who have clicked the ’email me when back in stock’ button.
By triggering timely, clear and engaging back in stock emails you can delight customers and help connect them with their desired product faster.
Wex Photo Video includes a clear header along with a prominent image of the product the recipient previously browsed. The star ratings provide that added trust factor and the copy helps to boost urgency by reminding the shopper that the product might run out again soon.
Sometimes stock issues are unavoidable but through the use of certain eCommerce tactics you can avoid frustrating your customers and missing out on potential revenue.
Add product recommendations to your out of stock pages to give shoppers alternative options that they can purchase now. Use exit intent popovers to catch shoppers just before they leave your site and entice them to share their contact details. And finally, set up back in stock triggers to keep your customers in the loop when a product they browsed comes back in stock.
