18/06/2026
I thought customers would love this product.
I run a small mini supermarket.
Last year, a supplier introduced me to a new body cream. The packaging looked great, the price was fair, and I genuinely liked the product.
So I bought stock and placed it where customers could easily see it.
Then I waited.
Days turned into weeks.
Weeks turned into months.
Today, more than a year later, some of those body creams are still sitting on the shelf, only a few months away from expiry.
The mistake?
I stocked the product because I liked it, not because customers had shown demand for it.
That experience taught me a lesson I will never forget:
In retail, your opinion matters less than your customers' buying habits.
Before bringing in a new product, first look at what customers are already buying, asking for, and trusting.
Have you ever made a business decision that looked right at the time but turned out to be a mistake?
