Dead stock is inventory that has stopped selling. It ties up cash, takes up shelf space, and hides in a catalog because nothing about it looks urgent. This guide covers how to find it with reports you already have, how to clear it, and how to avoid buying more of it.
Decide what counts as dead
There is no universal cutoff. Pick a window that fits how fast your products normally turn, and apply it the same way across the catalog. A fast-moving consumable and a piece of furniture should not share the same threshold.
- Dead: In stock, with no sales across your chosen window
- Slow: Still selling, but with far more stock than the sales pace justifies
- Exclude: New products that have not had a fair chance to sell yet
Find it in your reports
Shopify's inventory reports give you three angles on the same problem. In your admin, go to Analytics, then Reports, and filter the category to Inventory.
| Report | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Inventory remaining per product | Variants showing N/A, which means no sales in the last 28 days |
| Products by sell-through rate | Variants with a low share of inventory sold in the period |
| ABC product analysis | C-grade variants, which contribute the least revenue |
A variant that shows up in all three with stock on hand is a strong candidate.
Work out what it is costing you
Before you choose how to clear a product, put a number on it. Multiply the units on hand by your cost per item. That is cash you have already spent and cannot use for products that sell.
- Units on hand × cost per item: Cash tied up
- Shopify's Month-end inventory value report: Totals the value of on-hand inventory using each variant's cost per item
- Rank by value: Clear the largest amounts first, not the largest unit counts
Ways to clear it
Start with the options that keep the most margin, and move down the list if the stock doesn't move.
- Fix the listing: Check the title, photos and price before you assume there is no demand
- Bundle it: Pair a slow product with one that sells well
- Mark it down: A clear, time-limited discount
- Use it as a gift: Add it to orders over a spend threshold
- Sell it in bulk: Offer the lot to a wholesale or liquidation buyer
- Donate or write it off: Ask your accountant how to handle this in your books
Stop it building up again
Most dead stock starts as an order that was too big. Smaller, more frequent purchase orders cost a little more per unit and carry far less risk.
- ✅ Order to a forecast, not to a supplier's price break
- ✅ Review slow movers on a fixed schedule, such as monthly
- ❌ Reordering a product at the same quantity as last time without checking its recent sales
Doing this at scale
StockSense forecasts demand for each SKU from your order history, using velocity, trend and seasonality, and recommends a reorder point, quantity and date. Ordering to that forecast keeps purchase quantities in line with what each product is selling. See StockSense.