Inventory glossary
What is Merchandise planning?
Merchandise planning is the process of deciding what products to buy, how much of each, and when, to match expected customer demand.
For a small Shopify store, merchandise planning means looking ahead at your calendar, your cash, and your best sellers before you place orders. It covers which products to keep, which to drop, and how much budget to put behind each one for the coming weeks or season.
Use it to set direction before you get into specific reorder numbers. A simple version is a spreadsheet by product line showing last year's sales, this year's target, and the budget you can spend on stock. Review it monthly or before each season so your buying decisions are planned, not reactive.
Example
A candle store plans autumn merchandise in July. Last autumn they sold 800 candles across 10 scents. This year they plan for 1,000 units, with 400 going to their top 3 scents, 400 split across 5 mid scents, and 200 for 2 new scents they want to test. They set a total buy budget of 4,000 dollars based on an average cost of 4 dollars per candle.
Common mistakes
- Planning only from gut feeling instead of last year's actual sales by SKU.
- Treating every product the same instead of giving more budget to proven sellers.
- Setting the plan once and never adjusting it as actual sales come in.
Merchandise planning and SteadyShelf
SteadyShelf does not build seasonal merchandise plans, but its per-SKU sales forecasts give you the sales history and trend data you need to plan budgets and quantities before you order.
SteadyShelf is launching on the Shopify App Store. Join early access to get the install link first.
Related terms
Assortment planning · Demand forecasting · SKU rationalization · Open to buy · Seasonality
FAQ
How is merchandise planning different from demand forecasting?
Demand forecasting predicts how much of a product you will sell. Merchandise planning uses that forecast, along with budget and assortment decisions, to decide what to buy, how much, and when across your whole product range.
Do small stores really need formal merchandise planning?
Yes, even a basic version helps. A simple spreadsheet listing products, past sales, and planned budget for the next season stops you from overbuying slow sellers and underbuying your best ones.
Let SteadyShelf do this math for every SKU
Order-by dates per supplier, seasonal forecasts and draft POs for your Shopify store. $29/month after a 30-day free trial.
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