What to do when expiry dates threaten profits?
If you sell perishables, you know that shelf life doesn’t wait. Once a product edges toward its expiry date, it stops being just inventory. It starts becoming a liability.
Unmanaged, those near expiry items quietly chip away at your margins. Wait too long, and they turn into pure loss. That’s why forward-thinking retailers are trading in last-minute discounts for smarter, proactive markdown strategies: driven by automation and real demand data.
At Pricen, we believe markdowns shouldn’t be desperate moves. They should be data-driven campaigns that are planned, predictive, and profitable.
Why most markdown strategies fall short
The typical markdown process in retail is broken. The problem isn’t just the discount. It’s the timing, the execution, and whether there’s any data behind the decision at all.
Here’s what goes wrong:
They start too late: By the time markdowns are applied, the product’s shelf appeal is gone and discounts have to be steep just to move the stock.
They’re too manual: Employees are manually checking dates, updating price tags, or applying discounts across systems. It’s inefficient, error-prone, and expensive. (Read: How electronic shelf labels streamline operations)
They ignore the true cost: Most markdowns don’t factor in the operational cost of changing prices – especially in physical retail environments where changing tags or signage isn’t free.
They miss the bigger picture: Price drops affect category performance, influence shopper behavior, and shift margin contribution. Yet too often, those decisions are made in silos.
A smarter approach: plan markdowns like product launches
High-performing retailers don’t treat markdowns like emergencies. They treat them like strategy. Just like a product launch, markdowns should be planned, timed, and executed with purpose.
With Pricen you can automate markdown planning, using logic that factors in expiry timelines, demand forecasts, operational costs, and profitability. Here’s how that looks in action:
Step 1: Trigger markdowns before they become urgent
Instead of scrambling once stock has been sitting too long, set up expiry-based triggers. For instance: if a batch has fewer than 30 days to go, it automatically enters a markdown flow. You can set thresholds – say at 30, 15, or 7 days – each linked to a different pricing rule or workflow.
No manual checks. No forgotten batches. Just timely, automated action that keeps your inventory moving.
Step 2: Forecast-driven pricing, not guesswork
Most retailers ‘guess’ how much to discount. Pricen models it, with proof.
Our system uses your historical sales data, product velocity, and inventory position to simulate the impact of each discount level. Want to know how -20% vs. -40% will affect sell-through or margin retention? You’ll see that in real time before you commit.
This means you can choose the discount that sells fast and protects profit, rather than defaulting to deeper markdowns out of fear.
Step 3: Simplify execution with fixed discount tiers
For brick & mortar retail, price changes come with a cost – printing labels, updating signage, even training staff. Do it too often, and those costs pile up fast.
That’s why for stores still using paper tags or manual workflows, we recommend predefined markdown tiers. It’s a simpler, more efficient way to manage price changes as products near expiry – without burdening your ops team.
For example:
Apply a 30% discount for early-stage clearance
Increase to 50% as urgency rises
Push to 70% just before expiration
Bonus: Once a batch is sold out, pricing on remaining inventory automatically reverts to regular levels. You don’t discount unnecessarily – only when needed, and only for the right items.
The easiest markdown workflows can be created with Pricen. Curious? Let our experts show you how.
What makes markdown automation for perishables unique?
Perishable pricing isn’t just another case of discounting. It has three unique complexities:
- Time sensitivity
Your products lose value every single day. A 10-day delay in markdown decisions could mean a 90% drop in likelihood of selling through. - Batch-based risk
Often, it’s not just the product, but a specific batch, that’s at risk. Managing that with spreadsheets or static rules leads to missed opportunities and manual mistakes. - Waste minimization pressure
With rising ESG and waste reduction expectations, sell-out is more than just a margin issue. It’s a brand issue. You want to avoid throwing away stock, not just for your bottom line, but for your image.
So, what does the ideal workflow look like?
Here’s how your pricing system could work with Pricen:
Action | Outcome |
Batch reaches 30 days to expiry | Auto-tagged for markdown -> Enters workflow |
Pricen forecasts best price to sell within 30 days | Shows price options with volume/margin impact |
Operational limits defined (e.g., only 3 markdown steps allowed) | Fixed markdown levels applied based on cost logic |
Product added to active markdown campaign | Campaign starts automatically or with one-click approval |
Sell-through tracked in real-time | System adapts if uplift is slower or faster than expected |
Once batch is sold out | Product reverts to full price or exits campaign |
Our team is happy to show you how easy it is to build powerful, automated markdown workflows with Pricen.
Results you can expect
Higher sell-through before expiry
You’ll move more product before it becomes unsellable. You’re cutting waste, improving freshness on shelves, and freeing up space for faster-moving items.
Stronger gross margin return on inventory (GMROI)
Markdowns are applied only when needed, and only at levels that protect contribution margin. No over-discounting, no margin erosion.
Significantly less manual work
Your pricing team no longer has to dig through expiry reports or manually set up discount campaigns. Pricen handles it automatically, and at scale.
Smarter performance with every cycle
Each markdown campaign feeds back into the system. Over time, Pricen’s AI learns, forecasts more accurately, and fine-tunes strategies to improve results across the board.
Ready to sell smarter?
Perishable markdowns don’t have to be reactive or margin-killing. With Pricen, you automate the when, optimize the how much, and remove complexity from the entire process.
Don’t wait until it’s too late. Start selling smart – before your products expire.
