Retail in 2025 will be a land of obstacles and opportunities. The digitization of the shopping experience during COVID-19 has placed eCommerce firmly at center stage, while customer demand for personalization has made omnichannel engagement more important than ever. Deloitte’s 2025 US Retail Industry Outlook reveals that these digital-first, omnichannel shoppers spend 1.5 times more per month than single-channel shoppers, but many retailers have struggled to translate that extra spending into profits.
Poor retail management is a central reason many retailers fail to capitalize on these opportunities. They open the eCommerce floodgates without optimizing the flow of products into and out of their warehouses, resulting in a costlier-than-expected shift toward omnichannel fulfillment.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Simple, space-saving retail storage solutions can transform inventory management, improve efficiency, and enhance customer satisfaction. You just have to know the best practices and storage options for your inventory needs.
The Importance of Efficient Inventory Management in Retail
Consumer expectations have changed radically in recent years. For many retailers, the impetus comes down to one simple word: convenience.
Customers want faster deliveries and more ways to shop and buy across digital channels. Buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) options took off during the pandemic and are clearly here to stay.
These evolving consumer expectations mean retailers must be more nimble than ever — whether it’s adjusting to seasonal demand shifts or offering more personalized delivery options. Yet, the typical realities of retail fulfillment often stand in the way: disorganized backrooms, limited space, and poor shelf layouts. These shortcomings ultimately limit retailers’ ability to adapt, constraining profitability and hurting customer satisfaction.
Strategies for Optimizing Retail Inventory Management
In some cases, high-tech solutions can help you overcome these obstacles. More often, though, the changes required to keep up in today’s retail environment are more foundational. Before you turn to the latest (expensive) inventory management software, start with a few fundamental adjustments to your retail inventory management practices.
1. Adopt lean storage principles
Implementing a lean mindset in your retail backroom or shipping warehouse is the single most important step you can take to make your operation more effective. Lean practices focus on streamlining processes to reduce waste and improve efficiency throughout the fulfillment center. This starts with cutting excess inventory, sharpening demand forecasts, and prioritizing inventory placement based on value and turnover rate.
2. Implement FIFO (First-In, First-Out) systems
FIFO — a system for easily rotating inventory so the oldest products are picked first — is central to lean storage. When order pickers don’t have to sort through inventory to find the oldest items, you’ll keep your stock fresh and reduce waste from products becoming obsolete or spoiled.
3. Maximize Your Use of Space
Many warehouses and retail backrooms suffer from overextended footprints, and the solutions are often simpler than they realize. Basic changes like re-slotting inventory to prioritize high-throughput items can help you make better use of your available shelf space. Sometimes, it’s as simple as looking up — higher shelf space can be an invaluable spot for storing excess inventory or low-volume items rather than spreading these across the warehouse.
Learn to optimize warehouse space for increased speed and accuracy. Download the Guide to Understanding Throughput for Fulfillment!
Space-Saving Storage Solutions
With the right foundations in place, you can turn toward practical solutions that enhance your use of space and improve the flow of inventory into and out of your warehouse or retail backroom.
The transformation starts with implementing dynamic storage. Modular shelving, carton flow systems, and high-density storage options each offer specific benefits, and the ideal mix depends on the nature of your retail operation. Adding the right set of dynamic storage solutions can radically reduce your inventory footprint, enhance SKU accessibility, and streamline order fulfillment.
Even better? Dynamic storage is flexible storage, allowing you to adjust your product layout based on seasonal fluctuations and peak demand periods.
Everything we’ve mentioned so far has been relatively low-tech, but that doesn’t mean technology has no place in optimizing retail inventory management. Modern warehouse management systems or pick-to-light systems, for example, readily complement physical storage systems like carton flow shelving. Both approaches increase inventory visibility, and combining them makes it that much easier to see your stock levels and needs in real-time.
UNEX Solutions for Retail Inventory Management
What do effective retail storage solutions for omnichannel fulfillment look like in practice? UNEX offers several products designed to make retail fulfillment more efficient:
- SpeedCell High-Density Storage: These compact, moveable columns are designed to maximize product accessibility within a small footprint. By compressing 200 feet of rack shelving into 40 feet of useable, highly organized space, SpeedCell increases SKU density by up to 60%. High-density storage reduces worker travel time and enhances overall picking efficiency.
- SpanTrack Carton Flow Systems: SpanTrack Lane and SpanTrack Wheel Bed shelves simplify FIFO inventory management by angling products toward the pick face. Stockers restock from the back, and newer products automatically slide forward as older products are picked. From the front, each SKU is more visible and readily accessible for pickers.
- Roller Rack: Retail backrooms, customer pickup areas, and micro-fulfillment centers require even greater flexibility in their gravity flow setup. Roller Rack is built to maximize SKU density and reduce picker travel time by up to 80%. Racks are preconfigured and easy to assemble and can be configured as straightforward gravity flow or presentation racks for quick order assembly.
- SpeedCartt Mobile Picking Carts: Mobile carts add another layer of flexibility to your retail fulfillment operation. With mobile racks of SpeedCell columns, you can use SpeedCartt for everything from restocking shelves to staging an area for in-store pickup.
These retail storage solutions aren’t mutually exclusive. The most efficient retail spaces combine several UNEX options to streamline order fulfillment and enhance inventory management. For instance, you might set up SpanTrack carton flow in your primary picking area, while using SpeedCell to swap out some of your small, fast-moving SKUs throughout the year.
Preparing for the Future of Retail Operations
Consumer expectations aren’t going back to the old days, and eCommerce and omnichannel fulfillment are here to stay. In the years ahead, retail operations must continue to adapt to create even more efficient inventory management systems. According to Deloitte’s report, 64% of retail executives expect to see micro-fulfillment centers proliferate over the next five years, offering more quick-fulfillment options for customers.
At the same time, leading retailers will increasingly look to new technologies, such as AI-driven smart inventory management systems, to take efficiency even further. Combining these solutions with tried-and-true retail storage solutions will help retail operators of all sizes stay competitive in a future of fast-paced, personalized fulfillment.
By implementing space-saving solutions and leaning on proven best practices for inventory management, you can set the stage for fully optimized product flow. Don’t wait to get started — contact UNEX today to explore retail storage solutions for your operation.
