3 Inventory Best Practices Fueling Farm Success
A well-thought-out inventory is a critical component to running a successful Farm business. As 3 in 5 Americans regularly purchase groceries online, buyers expect an easy online shopping experience. This means that your Farm products must be readily accessible, in a well-organized layout, making it simple for customers to browse your store, find what they need, and add-to-cart on any device.
However, to increase your Farm conversion rates, it’s essential to know the best practices to move your product inventory, drive sales, and save time. Your Farm’s inventory is the gateway for most customers to purchase products and interact with your Farm. That’s why a simple, streamlined inventory will be the key to securing first-time purchases and generating recurring orders from loyal customers.
Here are three (3) inventory best practices to drive sales and save time:
Keep a Limited Number of Inventory Items in your Store
When there are too many products for customers to browse, it can be overwhelming, resulting in buyers’ paralysis (aka, they cannot make a purchase decision). Think about a grocery store – when faced with too many options (even if you want to try a new brand), you often find yourself returning to the products you’re familiar with to make a quicker decision.
The most successful Farmers limit the number of items in their inventory to help customers make quicker purchase decisions. That’s why it’s essential to bundle product offerings and keep your inventory count limited.
Bundle Boxes allow Farmers to move more products with each sale – including items that may be considered “less popular.” Bundles also provide buyers with multiple products throughout the week/month. As 90% of your buyers will opt-in to a Farmer’s Choice Bundle Box Subscription, bundles are a great tactic to increase sales, streamline inventory, and move more products overall.
Many of the most successful Farms only offer high-in-demand products in their Bundle Boxes (e.g., Rib Eye Steaks, Bacon, Huckleberries, Morel Mushrooms). Why? Because it increases their average order value, they move more items and introduce buyers to other valuable products. After all, customers usually want more than just one item, and Farmers can give them everything they need with a Bundle Box! Farmers offer Bundle Boxes in both one-time purchase and Subscription formats, catering to a variety of buyer needs.
Read: Farmers Cannot Do It All. Here are the Keys to Saving Time
Listen: Impacting Packaging and Choice Subscriptions with Little River Farms
Prioritize Items with Pinning
Inventory prioritization is an effective tool to drive purchases of certain products. In fact, Farmers on Barn2Door use the pinning feature to prioritize products featured at the top of their Store. Studies show that products on the first page get at least 80% of all the clicks, while the first 3 listings account for at least 60% of those clicks. That’s why you should thoughtfully choose your first 3-5 listings in your Farm Store to drive revenue and move the items you want to sell the most.
To maximize the Barn2Door pinning feature, increase Subscription sign-ups, and/or increase your average order value, pin Bundle Boxes and Subscription listings to the top of the page to drive conversions. Customers want convenience. It’s convenient for them to purchase Bundles and Subscriptions without having to scroll through multiple pages to find them (and chances are, they won’t look beyond the first page if they’re in a hurry!). In fact, 75% of customers don’t look beyond the first page when shopping online.
Depending on the season or harvest schedule, pin the items you want to showcase to the top of your inventory to drive purchases. You can even pin “best sellers” to prompt customers to purchase before they sell out.
Create Clear & Simple Product Descriptions
All products should have a detailed description. Without it, customers may not know what they’re getting. All listings must include additional product details, including fulfillment instructions for everyone to read, whether they are a new or existing customer.
Of course, some product descriptions might be obvious and self-explanatory. However, rather than restating the product, describe the flavors, how much the customer will get, what recipe to use the product in, or how many people it serves (this is very important for Bundles and Subscriptions!). Further details should be added to this section of your product listing(s). For example, you can include how you grow/raise your products. If you have certifications or specific practices you want to outline, you can add another tab to showcase those.
While customers love Bundle Boxes, sharing what customers receive in the box is essential. Describe what they’ll get and what the box is suitable for (cookouts, breakfast, everyday meals, etc.). Like single purchase items, you can include certifications or specific practices. But most importantly, make sure to detail the sizes relating to how many people it feeds. For example, a Small Produce Bundle Box may serve 1-2 people weekly, while a Large Produce Bundle Box is suitable for families of 4-5 people.
For each product, customers should be able to read and understand the fulfillment options. For example, on Barn2Door, fulfillments appear with a box for Pickup, a truck for Delivery, and a mailbox for Shipping. Buyers want to see fulfillment options that fit their needs and want to see them quickly. Outlining the fulfillment options on the product page lets customers save time by choosing the right option.
The best inventory setup makes it easy for customers to purchase the products they want. By pinning objects, keeping inventory simple, and writing clear product descriptions, customers can quickly make their purchases which will drive conversions and Farm sales.
Barn2Door provides an all-in-one solution for Farmers to grow and manage their business. If you’re curious to learn why successful Farmers run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.