Sell In & Sell Out: two extremely important concepts in the retail industry.

Increasing Sell Out within the point of sale is a crucial objective for all business and this is directly related to Sell In. But, like any objective, it also presents a series of challenges that must be faced.


Currently, there are many challenges that we face in the retail industry and one of them is to increase our sales and maintain high rates over time. For this, it is essential to have well-designed and carefully executed strategies within the POS. Better understanding the flow through which different products must go through when being introduced to the market is important for the companies that manufacture and market them. Sell In and Sell Out are key Trade Marketing concepts that will help us understand the phenomenon of product flow in the market and comprise a set of actions and strategies aimed at transforming the point of sale to make it more attractive to consumers and thus improve your shopping experience while increasing sales.

It is important to remember that actions change depending on the type of business. In the case of B2C companies (Business to Consumer), the purpose is to increase sales, but in this case the strategies focus on the consumer. On the other hand, when we refer to B2B companies (Business to Business), the purpose remains the same but the techniques used are aimed at distributors and sellers.

What exactly is Sell In and Sell Out?

Sell In is a manufacturer's marketing strategy to distribute and display its products, with the aim of being purchased by end consumers (either at intermediary or retail outlets). It is a direct sale aimed at your target audience and for this reason all the strategies established to achieve the sale must be related to the price and the advantages of the product or its usefulness for the final customer.

On the other hand, in the Sell Out a new member is added; a second buyer. The marketing strategy is aimed at a specific customer or business partner. Here the manufacturer must take into account not only the needs of the final consumer but also those of the customer who purchases his product in this marketing phase.

In other words, while Sell In refers to the direct sale made to the final consumer, Sell Out refers to the sale that a product makes to another person, who, in turn, will offer it to a consumer so the first will have to think about the needs of the second and third. To better understand these models, let's think from the point of view of e-commerce. A virtual store purchases various products from one or more producers or larger stores for the purpose of selling them to a final consumer; here we are talking about Sell Out. On the other hand, when a producer has his own development where he offers his products without an intermediary involved, but rather sells them directly to the final consumer; we are talking about Sell In.

Photo by Christiann Koepke / Unsplash

Tips to achieve good Sell In and Sell Out rates

To increase the sales volume companies must take into account the following:

  • Persuade the retailer. The wholesaler must have very well designed strategies to get retailers to buy and display their products at the point of sale. Providing accurate profit margin information and the strategies you can use to make products sell fast gives the retailer a commitment to the brand.
  • Include all the necessary information in the product. Labels, product presentation, user manuals, and more so that the end customer gets to know the product fully and there is no possibility of running into a reputational risk due to false expectations that were not clarified at the beginning.
  • Direct sales strategies for the final customer. A unique shopping experience must be provided at all times, allowing them to remember the brand and encourage purchase. To achieve this, various persuasive techniques are generally used such as: discounts, coupons, rebates, giveaways, contests, demonstrations, distribution of free samples and information in the store, etc.
  • Control everything that happens with the product within the POS. This allows a better analysis of the market situation and Sell Out. Through the use of QuartzSales; promoters, merchandisers and supervisors can obtain important information such as prices, share of shelf and manage other specific tasks, in order to evaluate the product flow and determine if it is necessary to develop strategies for sales training to retailers or take other measures to boost sales.
  • For the Trade Marketing department, everything revolves around Sell Out. The ultimate goal of this area is to maximize the Sell Out indicator at the point of sale. On the other hand, the sales department focuses on the quantity of products that the company ships. But if we get the sales department, with the efforts of Trade Marketing, to work together in the client's POS, we will ensure an increase in sales for both parties (Sell In and Sell Out).
  • Market share (KPI's). Good management, collection and processing of information, positions the manufacturing company as competitive against others. To obtain this data, it is important to implement technology that speeds up the process of research and information processing, this is another of the characteristics of QuartzSales; through our platform you can obtain information from different sources; at the same time we integrate with different CRM and ERP from where you can manage all the information obtained. Implementing technology to your company can be a key benefit in terms of time and money.

Understanding the operation of the entire sales process (the supply chain) is key to being able to design strategies that guarantee the commercial success of your business. And don't forget that through QuartzSales you can manage everything in an easy and intuitive way. Find out more about our platform by visiting www.quartzsales.com and schedule a demo meeting, it will change the way you understand trade marketing execution.


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