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3 tips for managing omnichannel grocery inventory
The recent growth of omnichannel shopping has pushed retailers to rethink how best to manage operations. Now that many consumers prefer to buy their groceries and other everyday items online, systems and processes must be updated to account for the e-commerce side of the business. One of the key changes retailers need to consider is how to take an omnichannel approach to catalog and inventory management.
In this article, we’ll address why omnichannel catalog and inventory management is important and how to do it effectively. Read on to learn more about:
Key considerations for managing online grocery inventory
Catalog and inventory management isn't a new priority for stores, but doing it effectively is more complicated when handling orders through multiple channels. Creating a system that works as well for your online customers as for those who shop in-store requires addressing a few essential areas:
Product selection. Offering the broadest possible selection of inventory in your online catalog shows customers that they don’t have to sacrifice choice when they order delivery. Plus, on third-party marketplaces like Uber Eats, a large selection can promote discovery by giving your store more opportunities to appear in item searches.
Fulfillment. Delivering incomplete orders due to out-of-stock items will cause your fulfillment rates to take a hit. This can translate directly to a loss of revenue and trust with your customers—discouraging them from placing future orders. To prevent this, update your catalog regularly for online shopping to accurately reflect which items are out of stock, and have enough SKUs to offer customers suitable substitutions when their first choices aren’t available.
Inventory visibility and forecasting. Keeping the right quantity of each product in stock at all times can become more complicated when customers are ordering across channels. To ensure your inventory visibility is accurate, it's important to regularly update your catalog’s item availability.
The benefits of effective omnichannel inventory and catalog management
Updating your catalog and inventory management processes to better accommodate e-commerce can produce notable benefits across your business. In particular, it can help:
Protect your bottom line
When you have a large selection of items available online, you can increase order volume and fulfill larger orders.
Improve customer satisfaction
When a customer can get everything they want each time they place an order with you, it creates a better experience for them. Satisfied customers are more likely to stick with you for all their future grocery needs.
Streamline shopping operations
When shoppers have access to accurate inventory information and can easily search for items that a customer ordered online, they’ll pick orders more efficiently and make fewer errors.
3 strategies for improving online inventory management
To update your inventory management approach so that it incorporates both the e-commerce and brick-and-mortar sides of the business, consider a few main strategies:
Incentivize fresh items
Many grocery products have a short shelf life. You want fresh items to contribute to purchases, not waste. To keep your fresh inventory moving, make sure your e-commerce software lets online customers buy items priced by weight (like fresh fruit and deli items). Then layer on promotions to drive trial and purchase.
Monitor product category behavior
When evaluating inventory data, try to identify categories of products that are in high demand. For many common items, customers may not have a strong preference for a specific brand. If your online inventory offers a range of suitable replacements for popular items, you can maximize customer satisfaction and improve fulfillment rates.
Use replacement technology
Identifying replacements for out-of-stock items shouldn’t be a guessing game. When picking orders, shoppers need access to technology that recommends items from a deep catalog or allows them to easily search using a range of methods such as SKU or barcode search.
How Uber Eats can help
By partnering with Uber Eats, you gain access to a set of tools that can help improve the omnichannel experience. The Uber Eats marketplace adds an online channel where your customers can place orders with you. This channel introduces relevant features they appreciate, such as:
Item database. Easily enrich your catalog with preloaded items from our database to improve the shopping experience for consumers. Items in the database contain full item details and images.
Item replacements. When an item is out of stock, Uber Eats offers customers smart replacement recommendations to find the best match to complete their order. By effectively managing your catalog and inventory, you can help make substitutes easy to find and also notify consumers when items are out of stock.
Weight-based pricing. Online customers don’t want to feel like they’re getting a limited selection or less flexibility when compared with the in-store shopping experience. With features from Uber Eats, customers can select products from your deli, produce, and dry foods sections that are sold by unit or weight. This helps create a better overall experience because it ensures more accurate pricing and flexible shopping.
Working with Uber Eats can help you reach more online shoppers and equip you with tools to meet their needs. Get additional information about growing your grocery business with Uber Eats.
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