Expiry markdowns: sell short-dated stock instead of writing it off
Expired stock is pure loss. A simple markdown plan, applied at the till automatically, turns short-dated stock back into cash.
In this article
For groceries, pharmacies and FMCG shops, stock that expires on the shelf is a straight write-off. Most of it was perfectly sellable a few weeks earlier, at a small discount.
Step 1: know what is expiring
You can’t mark down what you can’t see. Record batch / lot numbers and expiry dates when goods arrive, and sell the earliest-expiring stock first (FEFO: first expired, first out).
Step 2: set a markdown plan
Decide in advance how the discount grows as expiry approaches. For example:
| Days to expiry | Discount |
|---|---|
| 30–15 days | 10% |
| 14–7 days | 25% |
| Under 7 days | 40–50% |
Your margins and product types will decide the right steps; the point is to decide once, not every morning.
Step 3: apply it at the till automatically
Manual stickers get missed and cashiers forget. When the markdown is applied automatically at the till, every short-dated item sells at the right price.
Step 4: learn from it
Review expiry and dead-stock reports monthly. If the same products keep getting marked down, order less of them, or less often.
In ZaleBee, lot numbers and expiry dates are tracked from purchase to sale, expiry alerts warn you early, and expiry markdowns discount short-dated stock at the till automatically.
ZaleBee Team
Product & customer success
We build ZaleBee and help shops, distributors and restaurants across India and the GCC set it up. These guides come from what we see every day.