On marketplaces, the decision—making period for category C products is accelerated by the fact that they are rarely sold and occupy a warehouse without a clear perspective. Previously, many people kept the illiquid on the shelf "for a long time": if the position was sold at 10 pieces per month, this was considered a tolerable scenario. The logic was simple: let it lie, but the price remains, and there is a chance to reach zero.
Now the situation is changing due to the fact that the distribution of sales for each article is playing an increasingly important role in the calculations. The poor dynamics of individual SKUs is beginning to affect logistics not point-by-point, but systematically. When a part of the product range has a slackening speed and share of sales, this worsens the parameters by which the site evaluates the effectiveness of the placement. As a result, the illiquid tail is able to pull down the conditions for those positions that feed the store every day.
For the seller, this means a simple conclusion: it has become more expensive to store category C goods "waiting for a miracle." The cost of an error is increasing, because it is expressed not only in frozen money, but also in losses at the level of the entire catalog: deterioration of logistics, loss of liquidity, decrease in turnover, increase in indirect costs.
The most practical moment for sudden action is the recession stage of the season, when demand is already turning down. The second benchmark is profitability, which is approaching 20% profitability: at this point, the safety margin for promotions and markdowns is almost exhausted. If you drag it out further, the seller comes to a situation where you have to simultaneously lower the price, pay for storage and receive worsened logistical conditions for strong goods.
The market is moving towards stricter tail management: markdowns, kits, limited-time sales, withdrawal to separate channels, re-placement and reassembly of cards to meet new demand. The main task is to reduce the time that a category C product remains in the zone of uncertainty. The sooner the seller cuts the tail, the calmer the main assortment works and the easier it is to maintain marginality where it is actually earned.
