Should I show in stock quantities on our site?

[movietub]

Currently rejigging the website for the new year... One of the features of our new host is that we can display live stock quantities on our product pages.

Now I'm aware that from the customers point of view eveyone likes to know if what they are paying for is actually in stock - however its the pro's or con's for my business that I'm concerned with.

We have a catalog of around 4000 products. We generally stock around 1500. These 1500 being the ones we sell most frequently. Therefore about 2/3 of the order we receive we dispatch immediately. The other 1/3 we can normally get in stock and dispatched within 2 days. The number of customers who have to wait and/or complain is very low so we do ok as is.

My problem is that we get things in so quickly that it may be a bad idea to highlight the fact that 1/3 of what people 'would' have bought is not actually on the shelves...

So the real question is does showing stock levels for what we do hold in stock likely raise conversion levels enough to more than offset the lost sales on zero stock items?

We also have the ability to program a widget that will give live updates as to when new stock is due in or how long it takes to order a particular out of stock item.

Anyone any similar experience?

[James Mikkelson]

Hi there,

Retail is not my business and so I cannot offer you adviced based on my retail expierence. That being said, I'm an active online shopper. So much so that I prefer it to going out to malls or the high street. So I can offer you my thoughts.

To be honest I never check websites to see if an item is instock or not. I assume if it is listed on the website that it is and then I click buy. If an item was out of stock and I noticed the website advising me it was out of stock I would not buy, I would shop around. However if the website did not tell me either way, I would buy without a second thought.

I do understand though that many more cautious shoppers may expect it to be in stock and look out for that.

Additionally if the item shows a high stock level the customer may think it is ok to delay their purchase and return later... and then forget/find it elsewhere/change their mind.

Just some thoughts.

Kind Regards,
James

[edmondscommerce]

i would advise instead of displaying stock levels - display a "despatched within x days" message

so in stock items would be "despatched within 24 hours" and out of stock items woudl be "despatched within 2 days"

anything that you know you are having issues with you can set to whatever lead time you want...

this way you can steer people towards buying the stuff you can supply

its really important with any kind of system like this that you stock info is accurate and updated regularly or ideally in real time.

[Burden]

I always assume if listed it is available and would never return if this is not the case and would tell people to avoid

Id say go down the DISPATCHED in x days

[Martin P]

I would go down the dispatched in X days route if any:)

[NetConneXions]

my brother has a shop in the same situation so he just puts in the delivery page that all items will be shipped within x days. People buying his kind of items dont mind those few extra days and if its urgent the buyer tends to put it in his order message anyway.

Not listing them, when you know you can get them in, would be a mistake.

[Steve2507]

We display one of 3 options -

In stock - These are products which are usually held in stock and we rarely run out completely.
Coming soon - These are products which are arriving shortly (usually within the next week or two.
Ordered on Request - These are products which we do not hold in stock but will order in specially for you when an order is placed.

[deniser]

I only show items that are actually in stock so if they can see it there then I have it and they will receive it the next day.

That includes items that are not actually physically present on my premises but present in a dropshipper's warehouse because I know I can get it to the customer immediately.

I don't think the customer needs to know exactly if you have it or can get it, all they want to know is that they will receive it within a certain time frame and if you can get it to them in that time frame then that's all that matters. The important thing is to have accurate and uptodate stock records for any stock which is not physically in your possession.

I would never list the quantity available of something as it can be interpreted in a number of ways and none of them positive.

[roythehandyman]

Im with Edmondscommerce. I would display estimated delivery times, no question about that. Lets face it, who stocks much these days anyway. The public are well aware of the fact that many shops take their cash go and buy the stock and then deliver it.

[domokun]

I think that you should not display the stock info, but instead use it so that if the item is out of stock, the visitor is notified before clicking on the buy now button; nothing more frustrating than that!

[movietub]

I think that you should not display the stock info, but instead use it so that if the item is out of stock, the visitor is notified before clicking on the buy now button; nothing more frustrating than that!

But that would only make things worse not better! The only benefit would be to the customer - and as a result they wouldn't even be my customer anymore :eek:

Think about it. I would get no extra sales as a result but I would lose most of the sales of O/S items. Even if I could get them in and out within 24 hrs!

Thanks for all the input so far. I think the general consensus is that we should supply lead times to delivery per item. This seems a much better solution than stock quantities - which as pointed out can be interpreted in a negative way.