Out of Stock
The last few weeks has been crazy for us here at RHBY. Lots of new little goodies coming into stock, which as I've always said, creates a lot of action. Posting the little stuff that launches them into lots of different departments gets my shoppers to peak around a bit more. And then I start moving some of the obscure stuff that never moves.
Yesterday we had an 87 dollar order of bizarre things, and then a few hours later a smaller order of the same things. All located on a page that some new product was on.
I like to experiment that way, and as I've said before, I love to move stuff around that isn't moving where it is. It keeps the site looking fresh, and since a lot of my traffic is returning customers, this is crucial for us.
Because of my new little goodies, I've been putting tons of stuff out of stock. It's sort of driving me nuts, and it's tedious. But taking things out of stock instead of replenishing, is a good idea. And I usually don't just take it away. I like to mark it 'temporarily out of stock' if it's a hot item.
Here's why, and this may be obvious to some: If you mark it temporarily out of stock, immediately they NEED to have it. I am the same way, which is why I am so confident about this. I enjoy shopping at the Gap online. If I go, and can't get the color I want I will actually shop for something else in that color that I CAN get, or I'll go to the Gap at the mall, and pick it up there.
I have a nice returning customers rate. They watch the site and when new things come into stock, they snatch them up. But they also like like the "back in stock items". I throw them into the what's new section, and suddenly, I have a new product to highlight.
It's a little game that seems to work. And I love these little games, because it keeps things interesting. On a different note, Lee Ann and I have decided that we need to start spending more time working together again. It's really easy to get into an unproductive zone when you work independently from home. She's at her office, and I'm at mine (and since I get lonely.. mine is most often at Panera, or Caribou Coffee.)
When we work together, even if it's just a few hours twice a week, we get great ideas. Whether we are together or not, we still talk 10 times a day on the phone. Sometimes we talk on the phone so much, that we'll both be on together (bluetooths on) and go 10 minutes NOT TALKING because we are both typing something. Then we'll realize that we need to hang up. : )
Lee Ann and I are really close, like sisters, and so being together is just more fun, and we compliment each other very well. (We are polar opposites. She's very Type A, I'm NOT.)Â So we are setting out to get back together and working for 4 hours a week to get some new ideas going. I'm excited about it. Especially since eating breakfast together usually figures into our little workdays, and she makes a great omelet!
Ok folks, that's all for now. I'm curious if anyone out there has some blogging requests. I am open to some topics. I typically just sort of put out there what's going on. But new ideas are always welcome...
