A retailer has a corner sofa that has been on the floor for eight months, a bed nobody bought in oak, and three lamps from a discontinued range. They are sold when somebody happens to ask.
Meanwhile people are searching for exactly these things every week and finding nothing, because the words ex display appear nowhere on the site.
Step 1: publish a clearance page
With photographs, the original price, the clearance price, the condition and whether it is available now. It is the most visited page on many retail sites once it exists.
Step 2: describe condition honestly
Marks, where they are, whether anything is missing and what has been repaired. Honest condition notes sell items and prevent the return that costs more than the discount.
Step 3: say it is available immediately
This is the main attraction after price. Somebody moving house next week cannot wait twelve weeks for a made to order piece and will buy today from whoever says so.
Step 4: photograph it properly
Including the marks. Buyers trust a listing that shows the flaw and distrust one that shows only the good angle, and the flaw is usually far less significant than they imagine.
Step 5: publish the dimensions
Every time, with the boxed size where relevant. Clearance buyers move quickly and need to know it fits, which is the whole subject of will it fit questions that stall furniture sales.
Step 6: state the terms plainly
Sold as seen, what warranty applies, whether returns are accepted and who arranges collection or delivery. Different terms are fine when they are published.
Step 7: explain delivery for clearance items
Whether it can be delivered, when, what it costs and whether collection is cheaper. Some buyers will collect the same afternoon.
Step 8: put a reserve option on it
A short hold with a deposit. It converts somebody who needs to measure at home, and without it they leave and buy elsewhere.
Step 9: update it religiously
A clearance page listing sold items is worse than no page. Weekly updating is the minimum and daily is better.
Step 10: use it to bring people in
Clearance buyers visit the showroom, and a substantial number buy something at full price while they are there. That is the real return on the page.
Step 11: say what is coming
Range changes, seasonal turnover and when new clearance appears. Buyers will come back and check.
Step 12: qualify by budget without pushing
Somebody asking about clearance is telling you something useful, and the right response is to show them the options rather than to redirect them, which is the approach in qualifying by budget without being pushy.
Step 13: connect it to the full range
Some clearance buyers want the same piece in a different fabric and can be shown the made to order route, as in fabric and finish choice questions in showrooms.
Step 14: capture enquiries outside opening hours
Clearance hunting happens at night and the item they want may go tomorrow, the same availability problem as customs and paperwork questions freight forwarders hear in a different trade.
Getting started
Publish a maintained clearance page with honest condition, dimensions and terms, then take reservations at any hour. SpideyChat for retailers answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.