How to Decrease Your Repurchase Frequency
Updated 2024.09.04. This post contains affiliate links and Useful Roots will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.
When you repurchase consumable items like beauty products, coffee, and pantry food, it can increase the amount of bookkeeping you have to do, money you have to spend, and gas you or others use on trips to get the item in your hands.
Repurchasing items can not only cost you money, but it costs you administrative time in acquiring and inventorying these items.
One way to save money and time is to reduce your repurchase intervals of commonly used goods.
Below are 11 tips that have worked for me in reducing the purchase frequency of certain items:
1 - Economize one sector at a time
Choose one section of purchasing you want to focus on and begin there.
It could be one section of your accounting software you want to reduce, like Supplies or Books, or an area of your house, like your vanity or pantry.
2 - Stop buying products of that type all together
Consider perhaps the item is fluff.
You don’t really need, want it, or like it. It wasn’t recommended by your doctor and it’s not essential to the core tasks in your operation. If any of these are the case, cut the product from your repurchase list.
To know if you don’t need or like the item: it sits in your inventory for months or years, opened but largely untouched.
3 - Consolidate item uses
Take a look at the sector of products you’re streamlining.
Can any of these products be consolidated? Do any share a similar function? Can one item achieve two goals? Identify multiples and reduce the duplication.
4 - Cut open and scrape out every last bit of product in the tube
There can often be ¼ cup or more product still in the jar, which can stretch out your repurchase need from 1 day to 2 weeks, depending on the product packaging.
5 - Use it up; then act
Before you stock up, truly use up the item and then make your decision on how to replace it.
Get accustomed to avoiding auto-pilot; stop to evaluate your next purchase. You may decide that you can use something similar, have a duplicate, or don’t really need it.
6 - Don’t buy a back-up
Once you get accustomed to using a product for a while, you can get a sense of when it will run out. As long as it’s not a life sustaining item, wait for the product to enter its final days of use, then put it on your list and get a new one. This helps keep your storage needs minimal.
7 - Check your backstock
You might already have a full or sample size comparable item on hand.
That roll of aluminum foil hidden in a drawer. The extra party plates from the last gathering. The spare dental floss from an office visit freebie. Extra lotions from doing your pickup order at Target during their last promotion.
8 - Write the first day of use on the back of new products
When you open a condiment, face wash or home care product, write on the bottom or back of it when you first used it.
This can help time your purchase frequency appropriately; you will no longer accidentally buy a new lotion a month before you need it, and you’ll be able to plan for future purchases with greater accuracy as you now know your average usage rate.
9 - Purchase bigger products
If you really like an item, save on the unit price by buying the larger volume size next time. This can help you reduce your bookkeeping hours, since you're no longer buying and accounting for multiple smaller items when a larger item will do.
It also reduces the number of packing containers headed to the landfill.
10 - Cut fruit juice with water
If you’re a fan of fruit juice as a hydration method, stretch how much you use by cutting half a cup of juice with half cup of water. You’ll reduce your sugar intake, juice use, and still get the satisfaction of the taste, but with less product.
Along a similar vein, steep tea leaves more than once.
11 - Consider ongoing replacement costs for new items
When replacing an item, think about value sourcing; being cost-friendly on the front end and sustainable in the long run. Decrease the frequency of replacing maintenance parts.
Does it require batteries to run? Can you opt for something that recharges using electricity instead? Opt to replace items with those that have lower long term maintenance requirements - which is both cost conscious and environmentally friendly.
When it’s time to repurchase a consumable good, can you economically substitute it with an item that has a lower unit price? This could make the purchase more sustainable in the long run.
These tips can help you reduce the overall amount of time you spend acquiring inventory, plus save you money, as you are no longer holding excess stock.
A few benefits of reducing your repurchase frequency are:
Decreased environmental waste from a reduction of container usage
Decreased greenhouse gas emissions from a reduction of energy spent to acquire items
A decrease in money spent and an increase in personal savings
Increase in overall satisfaction with what you do have
A sense of accomplishment arising from becoming more efficient
Do you have tips for decreasing your repurchase frequency? Share them in the comments!
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This post also contains Dollar Tree affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
