What is days on shelf?
Days on shelf is the number of days an item has been on the sales floor since it was first put out for sale. It is used to track how long inventory has been sitting, trigger markdowns in a discount schedule, and evaluate overall inventory health.
How days on shelf is used
Triggering discounts. Most stores apply markdowns based on how long an item has been on the floor. A discount schedule might drop an item’s price by 25% at 30 days and 50% at 60 days. Days on shelf is the counter that drives those markdowns.
Identifying dead inventory. Items with a high days-on-shelf count that have not sold at any discount level are a signal worth paying attention to — either the item was overpriced, poorly suited to the store’s customer base, or both.
Evaluating intake decisions. When reviewed in aggregate, days on shelf data can reveal patterns: certain categories or brands that consistently sit too long, or intake decisions that are not holding up on the floor.