The Problem with Gut-Feel Discounting
Most retailers who manually manage markdowns use one of two approaches: a blanket rule ("everything near expiry gets 25% off") or gut feel ("this one looks like it needs 30%"). Both approaches leave money on the table.
A blanket rule under-discounts fast-moving products (which might sell at 10% off) and over-discounts slow-movers (which might still need 50% to clear). Gut feel is unpredictable, inconsistent across staff, and impossible to optimise over time.
How the Smart Markdown Engine Works
ExpiryOS's Smart Markdown Engine takes a data-driven approach to markdown recommendations. For each batch approaching its expiry alert window, it considers:
1. Days Remaining to Expiry
A product with 7 days left needs a different strategy than one with 2 days left. The engine applies a decay curve: smaller discounts early in the window, escalating to more aggressive discounts as expiry approaches, to avoid leaving unsold product at close.
2. Category and Product Configuration
You configure alert thresholds and markdown starting points per product or category. The engine respects these settings and uses them as guardrails — it will never recommend below your minimum margin floor.
3. Historical Sell-Through Data
Over time, as you log markdown sales through ExpiryOS, the system builds a picture of which products sell quickly at which discount levels. This data informs future recommendations: if your deli sandwiches consistently sell through at 20% off with 2 days remaining, the engine will favour 20% over a more aggressive discount that would unnecessarily erode your margin.
What "Smart" Actually Means for Your Bottom Line
The goal of smart discounting is not to minimise the discount — it's to maximise total recovered revenue. A product sold at 25% off recovers 75 cents on the dollar. A product thrown away recovers 0 cents. The Smart Markdown Engine is always optimising toward the former.
ExpiryOS customers using the Smart Markdown Engine report recovering an average of 68–78 cents per dollar of at-risk inventory, compared to an industry average of approximately 30 cents (including waste) for stores without automated markdown management.
"Before ExpiryOS, I was either too slow to discount and throwing things away, or too aggressive and training customers to wait for the deal. Now the system just tells me what to put on the sticker. Done."
— Deli owner, ExpiryOS customer
Configuring the Engine for Your Store
Setup takes about 10 minutes. In the ExpiryOS dashboard, navigate to each product or category and set:
- Your alert threshold (e.g., 5 days before expiry)
- Your starting markdown percentage
- Your minimum acceptable sale price (floor)
The engine handles the rest — including escalating the markdown recommendation as the expiry date approaches. Try it free for 7 days, no credit card needed.