In Ooooby, adjusting your product offerings according to seasonality, stock availability, or changes in your product range is straightforward. Making a product inactive is an essential feature that allows you to manage your inventory efficiently without deleting historical data. Here’s a guide on how to manage inactive products, including why and how to inactivate them, and the implications of doing so.
What is an Inactive Product?
An inactive product is one that is no longer available for future orders. It remains in the system but is moved to the inactive category of products, making it invisible to customers browsing your hub.
Why Make a Product Inactive?
Seasonality: For products that are out of season and temporarily unavailable.
Stock Availability: When a product is no longer in stock or if you choose to discontinue it.
Historical Data Preservation: Inactivating rather than deleting keeps the product in historical orders for accurate records.
How to Make a Product Inactive
Navigate to Product Overview: Access this from the Admin Dashboard by going to Products > ⭐ Product Overview.
Select and Edit Product: Choose the product you wish to make inactive and click on ‘Edit’.
Change Active Status: Untick the ‘Active’ box at the top of the page. A confirmation alert may appear, especially if making the product inactive affects any subscriptions or pending orders.
Confirm Action: Confirm your decision in the alert popup. If customers are affected, you’ll be advised to inform them prior to making the change.
Handling Affected Customers
Notification: If deactivating a product impacts any active subscriptions or pending orders, it’s best practice to notify affected customers beforehand. You can identify these customers using the Advanced Person Search feature and communicate any changes or offer alternatives via email.
Replacing an Inactive Product
Offering Alternatives: If a product being made inactive is part of a subscription or a pending order, you have the option to offer a replacement. This helps maintain customer satisfaction and continuity in subscriptions.
Communication is Key: Inform customers about the replacement to ensure transparency and avoid any confusion.
Reactivating a Product
Simple Process: To reactivate a product, reverse the inactivation steps by ticking the ‘Active’ box in the product edit page.
Subscription Reintegration: Note that reactivated products will not automatically be added back to any subscriptions they were previously part of.
Conclusion
Managing product availability through activating and deactivating products allows for flexibility in your inventory management while preserving important historical order data. Always communicate changes to your customers, especially when their subscriptions are impacted, to maintain trust and satisfaction. This approach ensures your product listings remain accurate and reflective of what’s currently available for order.