When (and How) to Discontinue a Slow Product & Clear Stock Without Hurting Your Profits or Brand

Not every product is going to be a hit, or stay one forever, and that’s okay. In every small business, there comes a time when you need to decide whether to keep, improve, or discontinue a product.

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, an item simply doesn’t take off, or it runs its course and sales start to slow. Before you know it, you’re left with piles of unsold stock tying up your cash and cluttering your space.

It can feel disheartening, but this is a normal part of product-based business life. The key is to understand why it happened, learn from it, and turn that stock back into cash, without slashing your prices or damaging your brand in the process.

Before you decide to discontinue a product, take a step back and dig into why it isn’t selling. Often, the issue isn’t the product itself but how it’s being marketed, priced, or positioned.

And if you do decide it’s time to move on, there are plenty of clever, strategic ways to clear old inventory and make space for what’s next, while protecting both your profits and your brand reputation.

Understand What's Not Selling and Why

It’s a good idea to review your range at least twice a year (or quarterly if you can) and identify the bottom 20% of products generating the lowest revenue or that has the highest value of stock. If you use Shopify, your Sales by Product or Inventory Value reports are a great place to start.

Once you’ve spotted your underperformers, dig deeper to uncover why they’re not selling:

• Visibility: Is the product easy to find on your website, through Google, or in-store? Have you talked about it enough on social media and in your emails?
• Range fit: Is it competing with similar items or getting lost in a crowded range?
• Pricing: Does the price still reflect its value and quality, or has the market moved on?
• Product page: Are your images, descriptions, and details strong enough to convert browsers into buyers?
  

By reviewing these areas first, you’ll make more confident decisions, improve future sales, and avoid discontinuing products that might still have potential.

You can also read my other blog, Why Your Product Didn’t Sell (and What to Do Before Discounting It), for a more in-depth guide at how to understand why a product might not be performing as you hoped.

Try Creative Offers Before Deep Discounts

If you’ve reviewed everything and your product still isn’t selling, it’s probably time to discontinue it and turn that stock back into cash. But that doesn’t mean you have to slash prices across the board.

You can still discount stock without hurting your profits or your brand, it’s all about being clever and intentional with your offers.

Bundle Slower Sellers with Bestsellers

Pair underperforming products with your top sellers so customers perceive added value rather than a discount.

Think 3 for 2, buy one, get one half price, or mix-and-match sets.

For example, if you sell beauty products, you could offer “Buy a face wash and get a moisturiser half price.” Your customers will see a great deal, while you quietly clear through that slower-moving moisturiser.

Create Gift Sets or Curated Bundles

Another great tactic is bundling products together to create a gift box or curated set. This allows you to sell through stock without calling it a sale, helping to protect your brand perception.

You can even use tiered discounts (e.g. 10% off when customers add two items, 20% off when they add three) to encourage bigger baskets.

💡 If you’re on Shopify, check out The 9 Best Bundle Apps for Shopify Stores
 to help you find the right app for creating and managing your product bundles.

Use Seasonal Events Strategically

You can also use seasonal moments, like Black Friday, Bank Holidays, or Easter, to clear through old stock in a way that feels natural. Curate a special collection and offer a small 10–20% “event offer” instead of positioning it as a clearance sale.

The key is to be strategic, not reactive. Random, ongoing discounting trains your customers to wait for sales, but planned, themed promotions help you clear stock creatively while protecting your brand reputation.

Run End-of-Season or ‘Last Chance’ Sales

If you’ve still got leftover stock, consider running a final clearance at the end of the season.

This is something every brand does, and customers have come to expect it, so it won’t damage your brand perception when done well. It’s also a great way to clear any last fragments or slow-moving pieces before you move into a new season.

Create a ‘Last Chance’ Collection

Grouping discontinued or end-of-line products into a dedicated “Last Chance” collection makes them more visible and creates a sense of urgency for customers. This approach works especially well if you sell clothing, homeware, or accessories and have limited sizes or remaining styles.

You can even add a small additional discount (around 10%) to help clear the final bits faster, without resorting to heavy markdowns.

A well-presented “Last Chance” edit feels intentional, not like a panic sale, and helps you free up space, cash, and focus for your next collection.

Don’t Reorder (Even if It Starts Selling Again)

It might sound obvious, but the simplest way to clear stock is to stop buying more of it. If you’re not in a rush to turn that stock back into cash, let it sell through naturally at full price, just don’t reorder once it’s gone.

If a product is still ticking along with steady sales but you’ve chosen to discontinue it because it overlaps with something else, that’s fine. Let it sell out gradually rather than rushing to clear it.

You might also notice a short-term sales boost from your new marketing efforts or offers, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s suddenly your next bestseller. Resist the temptation to reorder; you’ll only end up tying up more cash in stock that will eventually slow down again.

And while it’s tempting to launch new products the moment you’ve freed up some cash (hello, shiny new product syndrome), hold off until you’ve cleared through the majority of your discontinued lines, or at least have a clear plan for them.

Otherwise, you risk layering on more and more stock, confusing customers with too much choice, and making it harder to sell both your old and new products. Give your range room to breathe,  that space helps everything sell through more smoothly and keeps your cash flow healthy.

💡 Bonus Tip: If you’re discontinuing a product in Shopify, don’t delete it, you’ll lose valuable data. Instead, archive it. Avoid leaving it in draft too, as that can inflate your stock figures. You can always unarchive the product later if you decide to bring it back.

⚠️ Don’t Forget to Check In With Your Range and Product Launch Strategy

Once you’ve cleared through your stock and successfully discontinued underperforming products, take time to reflect before rushing to replace them. Ask yourself, do you really need to?

Adding new products too quickly can land you right back in the same cycle of overbuying and discounting, tying up cash and overwhelming your customers with too much choice.

Before introducing something new, consider:

• Do you have the time and money to properly invest in developing and marketing a new product?
• Does your range actually need it, or could you focus on improving visibility and sales of what’s already performing well?
• Is your launch strategy realistic, or are you bringing in too much newness too often?

Sometimes, the best move isn’t to add more, it’s to simplify. A focused, profitable range gives your business space to breathe and perform at its best.

👉 Read next: How to Work Out How Many Products You Actually Need

Turning Lessons Into Profit and Making Space for What’s Next

Discontinuing a product isn’t a failure,  it’s a normal part of running a smart, profitable business. Every brand, big or small, has products that don’t quite work out. What matters is how you respond.

By understanding why a product isn’t selling, being strategic about how you clear it, and learning from the data, you’ll protect your profits and make stronger decisions in the future.

Think of it as fine-tuning your range, not starting over. Each time you review, refine, and streamline, your product selection becomes sharper, your cash flow healthier, and your business more resilient.

You’re not just clearing stock, you’re making space for what’s next.