Uncover Golden Insights Through Excess Inventory

Liquidation isn’t a marketing channel. Or is it? At Martie, one of the fastest-growing online discount retailers, they’re turning excess inventory into an opportunity to find and attract new customers, and gather valuable data to create marketing gold.

Martie’s co-founder, Kari Morris, sat down with Kim McKee, Spoiler Alert’s Director of Buyer Engagement, to discuss how Martie turns excess into access, and is quickly becoming the place for brands to clear their overstock inventory. Watch the full recording, or read the recap below!

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Liquidation Works – Even Online

In 2020, Martie co-founders Louise Fritjofsson and Kari Morris were faced with a problem: a holiday food mix of inventory – in January. With nowhere to sell it, they realized there was a gap in the market between good food that can and should make its way to consumers, and consumers who are looking for discounted food. 

“Brands shouldn’t have to shove their excess inventory under a rug and make it disappear,” says Kari. They also believed it could be sold online, and in the past four years have proven that e-commerce can be a brand-safe channel for discounted products. 

“The products we buy, we sell,” says Kari. “We don’t resell.” They also offer a menu of brand protection tools, including price protection and customer verification. “We’ve been on the other side, and we know the concerns brands have. We’ve built the levers and made them easy to turn on and off, because we realized that not only does every brand have different goals, but that those goals can change quickly.”

Working under this brand-safe model, Martie has successfully brought together the best brands with smart shoppers, turning excess into everyday value.

The Martie Customer

Brag-worthy buys without the clearance vibes – that’s what Kari says Martie customers are looking for. 

“Martie customers are looking for products they don’t typically see in their local grocery stores, and for an opportunity to discover new brands,” says Kari.

According to their data, 60% Martie customers come to find new brands. From there, 83% report buying the same products at full price later. “Our customers may be timid to buy something at full price, but once they’ve tried it, they come back,” says Kari.
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Martie customers are value-proud, environmentally-conscious, and looking for products that make their lives easier – all while saving money. Their customers love a sense of discovery, and whether they’ve hunted for deals their whole lives or are just starting to experiment with discount retail, they love finding something new. 

And while finding new customers can be costly for brands, with Martie’s unique audience and comprehensive data, it’s possible to get in front of attentive shoppers quickly.

Turning Liquidation Data into Marketing Gold

“When it comes to liquidation, is your program built to just offload inventory for more cash, or is it also an opportunity to market to new customers?” asks Kari.

With Martie, it’s both. 

Using their proprietary agentic trade engine, MATE, Martie is able to buy smarter, fairer, and faster. With highly accurate and targeted sell-though data, they offer their brand partners the opportunity to meet any goal – whether it’s a flash sale to quickly offload products, or longer sit time to increase customer discovery. MATE also offers recommended buys based on customer behavior, ensuring that brands will find their ideal customers and that their products are a solid fit for the platform. 

Their data makes it easy for Martie to customize placements and marketing spend for each brand’s goals and ROI. They also turn shopping intelligence into insights brands can use, offering impressions, ratings, reviews, and shopper feedback at scale. Brands also have visibility into cart composition, category rankings and performance, and buyer demographics. 

With Martie, brands can do more than just recover costs on excess inventory. They can turn their liquidation programs into a data mine for marketing gold, attracting new, high-intent customers in the process. 

What’s Next for Martie

With 3,500 brand partners and growing, Martie knows their data is the best way to determine what’s next.

“We let our data lead, and tell us what customers want and what’s selling,” says Kari. Right now, that includes beauty, wellness, supplements, and nutrition. As an online store, they are also acutely aware of what’s easiest to ship, and make it a top priority to ensure every customer gets what they actually ordered, quickly. 

“Trust is everything, and so is speed,” says Kari. 

Working with Spoiler Alert has made that even easier.

“Spoiler Alert has helped us streamline our buying process and get in front of the right people at the right time. We move a lot faster together,” says Kari. “It’s been essential for us to grow.”

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If you’re interested in learning more about how you can work with Spoiler Alert and Martie to find new insights hiding in your liquidation program, or a current customer who would like an introduction to the Martie team, please connect with our team today!

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