EOFY For Ecommerce: Tactics To Clear Stock And Win Repeat Customers

EOFY is usually a very intense time of year for ecommerce businesses in Australia. You have old stock to move, cash flow targets to hit and accountants asking about inventory on hand. At the same time, customers expect big deals and clear reasons to buy now, not later.

The temptation is to throw everything on sale and hope for the best. That can help short term, but deep blanket discounts can hurt margins and train shoppers to wait for sales.

There is a smarter way to handle EOFY. You can clear slow moving products, protect your core ranges, and turn once-off bargain hunters into loyal customers.

Let us walk through practical digital marketing tactics that fit the way Australians shop online and help you finish the financial year in a stronger position.

1. Get clear on what really needs to go

Before you run a single promotion, take a careful look at your stock.

Useful questions for an EOFY stock review:

• Which SKUs have not moved in the last 90 days
• Which seasonal items will be hard to sell at full price next quarter
• Where you have broken size or colour runs that put people off
• Which lines suppliers are discontinuing

Pull this from your ecommerce platform and inventory system. Most Australian retailers have a pattern where around 20% of products make up most of the revenue. The long tail fills space and ties up cash.

Create three simple groups:

1. Must clear: Old or seasonal stock that will be dead weight after EOFY.
2. Good to clear: Products that sell slowly or in awkward combinations.
3. Do not discount deeply: Current heroes and new arrivals.

This list becomes the backbone of your EOFY plan. It tells you what needs strong offers, what can feature in bundles and what should stay close to full price.

2. Build offers that move stock without killing margin

Deep site wide discounts feel easy to promote but can be expensive. Instead, match different offer types to your three stock groups.

Some ideas:

• “Extra 30% off clearance” for the must clear group
• Bundle deals that mix slow movers with popular products
• Threshold offers such as “Spend $120, get $20 off” to lift order value
• Tiered discounts that reward bigger baskets, for example 15% off $100, 25% off $200
• Use the best Shopify apps to increase average order value

Shoppers respond well to clear value and simple rules. Avoid complex mechanics that make people guess what they will pay at checkout.

A few practical tips:

• Protect your core products from heavy discounting. Use small incentives or loyalty points there.
• Use percentage discounts for mid-priced items and dollar amounts for low value items where percentages look small.
• For very old stock, consider aggressive discounts if storage or write off costs are high.

Run the numbers on each type of offer. Check:

• Average order value you expect
• Gross margin after discounts
• Likely impact on shipping and handling costs

If the maths only works at huge volume that you have never seen before, adjust the offer. Profit matters more than a pretty headline.

3. Make it easy to shop your EOFY sale

Once your offers are ready, you need to make them easy to find and understand.

On your website:

• Run pre-sale web maintenance to improve security and reduce errors
• Add a clear EOFY hub page that groups sale items and key offers
• Use filters for size, colour, price and category so people can narrow quickly
• Highlight remaining stock levels only when they are genuinely low to create real urgency
• Make sure your search function works well for sale terms like “EOFY” and “clearance”

Many shoppers browse on mobile, especially during commutes and evenings. Test your sale pages on a phone first. 

Check:

• Page load speed
• Button size and spacing
• How many scrolls it takes to see prices and calls to action

If your site is slow or confusing, your paid traffic and email campaigns will underperform, no matter how strong the offers. Also review your shipping and returns policy. Clear, fair terms reduce hesitation. If you offer free shipping over a certain amount, align it with the thresholds in your offers to push higher basket values.

4. Use email and SMS to talk to the right customers

Email marketing and SMS remain two of the most effective channels for ecommerce in Australia. They reach people who already know you and have a higher chance of buying again.

Instead of one mass EOFY email, plan a short or personalised sequences for different groups/segments:

• High value repeat customers
• One time buyers from the last 6 to 12 months
• Lapsed customers who have not bought for a year or more
• Browsers and cart abandoners who never checked out

Tailor the message:

• Reward top customers with early access or slightly better offers
• Show one time buyers products related to their last purchase using cross-selling and upselling tactics
• For lapsed customers, address common worries such as quality, shipping or returns
• For cart abandoners, remind them of what they viewed and make the path back simple

Keep your emails clear. Use strong subject lines that mention EOFY, savings or last chance in plain language. Highlight a small number of key offers, not every discounted product.

SMS should be used more sparingly. Reserve it for:

• Early access alerts to your best customers
• Genuine last day or last hour reminders
• Order and delivery updates, which people value

Always respect opt in rules and time of day. No one enjoys a late night sales text.

5. Tighten your ad spend and retarget smartly

Meta, Google ads and other paid platforms can send valuable traffic during EOFY, but costs can rise as more businesses compete for attention.

To stretch your spend:

• Pause or reduce broad awareness campaigns that lack a clear conversion goal – you want conversions, not traffic
• Focus on high intent search terms and dynamic remarketing
• Use retargeting for people who visited key product categories or started checkout
• Test simple, clear creative that features your strongest offers and free shipping thresholds
• Set daily budgets based on realistic return
• Watch performance closely, especially in the first few days
• Pause weak ad sets and shift budget to those that deliver sales at an acceptable cost

Australian data from multiple sources shows that remarketing or retargeting often brings stronger return than cold audiences during busy retail periods. Don’t ignore new customers but make sure you reach warm visitors who almost bought before. If you run shopping ads, keep your product feed up to date. Old prices, out of stock items and missing images waste clicks.

6. Turn EOFY buyers into repeat customers

Clearing stock is helpful, but long term profit comes from customers who come back after the sale.

Think about the post purchase experience:

• Order confirmation page and email
• Shipping notifications and tracking updates
• Packaging and unboxing
• Follow up messages after delivery

Small touches can increase the chance of a second order:

• Include a simple thank you card with a QR code that leads to a tailored offer for their next purchase
• Send a follow up email that shows how to get the most from what they bought
• Invite reviews with a small incentive such as loyalty points rather than another heavy discount

Data from various ecommerce studies, including Australian reports, often highlights that the cost to acquire a new customer can be several times higher than the cost to keep an existing one. Even modest increases in repeat purchase rate can noticeably lift profit.

Plan a separate post EOFY campaign that targets people who bought during the sale:

• Segment by product category
• Create useful content or product suggestions that fit their interests
• Offer a timed, gentle incentive that rewards a second purchase without copying the EOFY level discount

Your goal is to move them from bargain hunters to engaged customers who see real value in your brand.

7. Use EOFY as a learning exercise, not just a sale

EOFY campaigns produce a lot of useful information. Treat the period as a live test bed.

Track and review:

• Which offers moved the most stock at acceptable margin
• Which customer segments responded best
• Which channels produced the cheapest and most valuable orders
• How your warehouse and support teams coped with order volume

Look at the questions customers asked. Were they confused about sizing, materials, delivery times or returns? These patterns highlight where your product pages or FAQs need work.

Also check operational bottlenecks:

• Did any carriers struggle with demand
• Did your team need to work late for manual tasks that could be automated
• Did your systems hold up to traffic and order spikes

Capture these lessons while they are fresh. Use them to:

• Refine your next big sale period such as Black Friday, Christmas or back to school
• Inform your buying decisions so you stock more of what sells and less of what lingers
• Improve your site and support content so future customers need less help

Taking a measured view after EOFY turns one busy month into a base for better performance across the entire year.

8. Watch your cash flow and customer service closely

Strong EOFY sales can hide cash flow and service problems that show up later.

From a financial angle:

• Keep a close eye on refund and return rates for sale items
• Check that your discounts still allow you to pay suppliers and staff on time
• Be cautious about using short term promotions to cover deeper structural issues

From a customer point of view:

• Make sure response times from support stay reasonable, even when order volume spikes
• Train staff on your EOFY offers so they can answer questions confidently
• Monitor reviews and social comments and address patterns, not just individual complaints

Australian shoppers have many options. A bad experience during a busy sale period can send them straight to a competitor. A controlled EOFY, with clear offers and reliable service, supports your brand more than a frantic push that breaks your systems.

EOFY does not have to be a panic driven race to the bottom on price. With a structured approach to stock, offers, channels and follow up, Australian ecommerce businesses can clear shelves, protect margins and grow their base of loyal customers.

Make EOFY Easier and More Rewarding For Your Ecommerce Store

If you want EOFY to clear stock and grow loyal customers, you don’t have to juggle it alone. Digital Freak works with Australian ecommerce brands in all sectors on strategy, SEO, Google and social ads, email, automation, CRO and reporting. You can fully outsource your marketing to us or plug us in alongside your in house team. Want a tailored EOFY action plan? Book a free strategy call today.

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Written by

Karyn Szulc – CEO, Founder

When clients work with me, they get exactly what they want - no-nonsense, authentic digital marketing that works! With my industry experience, eye for detail, and a team that goes the extra mile, every client gets the personalised, expert treatment they deserve. Let’s get you online – and growing!