Got ageing inventory? Need to move seasonal products? Want to promote higher margin items? Pro tip: your loyalty program can double as a powerful inventory management tool.

The Challenge: Managing Excess Inventory

Our customer is a well-known footwear and apparel brand, selling its products online and in large department stores like Macy’s and Dillards. Like most apparel brands, they had to address the ongoing challenge of predicting demand and managing the flow of inventory, especially during seasonal shifts and holiday periods. Without a brick and mortar presence, the brand relied on eCommerce to manage and move items in excess.

The Solution: Loyalty Program + Prioritized SKUs

The Clutch Platform tapped into the retailer’s eCommerce provider as well as well as their inventory database, enabling us to design a program that focused on specific products. 

By incentivizing the promotion of specific SKUs through a higher rewards earning ratio, our customer was able to leverage their program to motivate the purchase of particular items.

Our customer’s Shoe Spotlight promotion incentivized the purchase of a specific shoe style every week or a month, rewarding shoppers with 75 extra points and 10% off for loyalty program members. 

The Results

From the start, the results were impressive – but most importantly – they have been remarkably consistent. This is because the brand was able to swap in (and out) various product SKUs to promote to loyalty members at a particular time, ensuring that their offer didn’t grow stale with customers. One week the Spotlight was on velvet platform sandals, and the next week a classic black ankle boot. In all cases, the strategy rewarded customers while moving specific inventory off the shelves.