Endless Aisle in Retail: Expand Assortment Without More Inventory

In today’s retail landscape, store space is limited, but customer expectations are limitless. Shoppers want variety, convenience, and the ability to get the exact product they want, whether it’s physically on the shelf or not. That’s where the endless aisle comes in.

By bridging the gap between in-store and online products, the endless aisle lets retailers offer products from their suppliers, even if they’re not physically stocked in the store. 

“Upon visiting a store and finding a product they want is out of stock, 17% of U.S. online adults say they would use their mobile devices to make an immediate purchase at a competitor’s website; 37% say they will buy that item from an online retailer when they get home, and 35% say they will just go to a different store to buy it.” - Forrester Research

As retailers, losing your customer base can be mitigated by offering a unified shopping experience online and in-store. An omnichannel approach to retail has quickly become integral to remaining in today’s competitive climate, especially as larger retailers have openly embraced omnichannel experiences.

To keep up with the experiences these larger stores have started to present to their customers, an endless aisle model for your customers can help them find what they need through your e-commerce pages or brick-and-mortar locations.

What is an Endless Aisle? 

Endless aisles are built to let you display more in stock, extending the range of products your organization can offer to its customers. It hinges on understanding your inventory and displaying items that can be shipped to your customers via special orders or direct delivery from your suppliers. Essentially, you are offering products that you might not have in inventory, but that you can facilitate getting to your customers.

Large retailers have taken notice of the vast potential of endless aisles present, using them to expand offerings beyond what they could normally carry in stores. Walmart Canada, for example, added 175 new third-party grocery sellers through their Walmart Canada grocery options back in 2021. This has allowed them to offer more niche options to their customers — and they’ve achieved major growth since implementation; grocery orders from their marketplace grew 6x from 2020, with increased average order sizes.

Embracing an endless aisle model lets you offer more without bloating your inventory stocks while capturing customers looking for something just right for them. This is normally done through in-store kiosks, or more commonly, a web store.

Supplier Insight: Retailers can list your entire product catalog without taking on inventory risk. This means more SKUs in front of customers and more opportunities for sell-through.

In-Store Kiosks

A kiosk is used to display your organization’s entire catalog, which includes everything from products that might be in inventory but not on shelves, to products offered by your suppliers that you can put on special order. It relies on customer independence and self-discovery — much like a customer would have if they searched for their products online.

An example of how kiosks work for customers can be seen in the video from Walmart below.

The effectiveness of in-store kiosks comes from customers ordering items that Walmart might not necessarily have on hand. Due to their logistics ability, they’re able to get any specialty product their wide range of suppliers might have within 48 hours for pickup. This combination mixes their online shopping experience with their in-store experience to create a unified whole for their customers. 

Online endless aisles with dropshipping

Dropshipping is the most well-known approach to an endless aisle model and the easiest to set up. It allows you to present all of your products online, including products you can put up for special order — all on your retail web store. Not only are you offering your products for sale, but you can also offer everything your suppliers and distributors have available, magnifying the chances your customers find what they’re looking for from you. 

With an online endless aisle model, your customers have everything they need at their fingertips. They can choose whether to pick up directly from your store or have purchases shipped directly to their door from your suppliers (under your branding).

The Benefits of Endless Aisle in Retail

There are three key benefits that you’ll find as a retailer after the adoption of an endless aisle to your sales strategy. 

1. Higher sales volumes: By offering more products, you increase the likelihood of customers buying directly from you instead of tabbing off your page or walking to another store. Having a broader range of items to choose from gives your customers less of an excuse to walk out — and offering sizes, colors, and variations can ensure that niche customers are always happy with your selection
2. Customer retention: Provide a better shopping experience and retain more customers. If you have what your customers want, they’re more likely to remain loyal to your brand. With 50% of shoppers willing to go to your competitor if they can’t find the product, endless aisles can keep them coming back. 
3. Data collection: With an endless aisle attached to your eCommerce website (or via in-store kiosks), you can see what your customers are demanding that you might not necessarily keep in-store. If you’re a sporting goods retailer and notice that a lot of people have been ordering a specific type or size of jacket that you don’t have in stock, there’s a good chance you’ll want to bring it into your store. 

Customer preferences have changed — and your organization needs to keep up with them. Consumers today expect a wide range of products and brands to choose from — and the ability to find niche products at the tip of their fingers. An endless aisle model allows retailers to meet these expectations. Letting customers find exactly what they need from you is a fantastic way to solidify your presence in the marketplace. 

Technology Needed to Power the Endless Aisle

Implementing an endless aisle program requires strong system integration:

• Point of Sale (POS) that connects to your full inventory database.

• Order Management System (OMS) to route orders to the right fulfillment center.

• Product Information Management (PIM) to maintain accurate, enriched product data.

• ERP Integration to ensure real-time inventory and pricing updates.

Getting Started with Endless Aisle

Keeping your inventory, active sales, supplier inventories, and in-store systems doesn’t have to be a lot of work. Integrations and order automation can save the day and make setting up your endless aisle easy. 

By integrating your POS system with your vendors, you can place orders directly using one system, eliminating the need to swivel between multiple portals to order.

FAQs

Q: What is an endless aisle in retail?
A: It’s a strategy that lets customers order products not physically in the store for delivery or pickup later.

Q: How does the endless aisle work in omnichannel retail?
A: It connects in-store and online systems so retailers can offer their full catalog, regardless of store inventory.

Q: What technology supports the endless aisle?
A: POS, OMS, ERP, and PIM integrations with real-time data syncing.