How To Perform Inventory Management In a Retail Apparel Store

Inventory management is the process of organizing, counting, and displaying product in a retail store. Far too many store owners either overlook or underestimate this critical step, resulting in a loss of sales and performance. While all retail stores can benefit from routine inventory management, it's especially important for apparel stores. If you're the owner of a retail apparel store, keep reading to learn the step-by-step process to performing inventory management.

Choose The Right Fixtures

The first step in performing inventory management in a retail apparel store is to choose the right fixtures. Using the wrong fixtures will make this process ten times more difficult by creating a mess of cluttered product that only becomes worse throughout the day. So, how do you know which fixtures to use in a retail store? It really depends on the type of apparel sold in your store. General apparel stores that sell full outfits and accessories would likely benefit the most from a collection of mannequins along with some gridwall or slatwall, while a shirt-only retail store may benefit the most from basic gondolas.

Keeping Track of Inventory

Of course, another important step in inventory management for retail apparel stores is keeping track of inventory. Most stores have a computer system in place designed for this purpose, but unfortunately computers won't automatically account for shrink products. This is why retail apparel stores should go back and manually count their product on a regular basis, as this will provide a more accurate reading of their current inventory. And when your store gets low on a particular product, you can go ahead and order more.

Refold Apparel

One tall-tale sign of a successful retail apparel store is unfolded clothing that's strewn all of the place. In a perfect world, shoppers would come in and 'neatly' browse through your store's inventory while leaving it nice and folded. Nine out of ten times, however, shoppers will unfold product, creating a display of cluttered mess. While this is a sign that your store is receiving a sizable amount of shoppers, it can also send the wrong message to your customers.

Part of inventory management in retail apparel stores includes refolding product. Allowing your store's product to remain strewn across the shelves in a cluttered fashion may send some potential customers out the door. If you haven't done so already, train your employees on the proper way to fold each garment in your store. In addition, make sure they perform regular refolding routines to keep your store in top shape.