Inventory turnover shows how many times you sell and replace your average stock over a year. Higher turns free cash and cut spoilage; too high can mean stockouts.
It depends heavily on category. Fresh grocery might turn 20+ times a year; general merchandise 4–8; big-ticket or specialty goods 2–4. The point isn't to maximize turns blindly — it's to turn fast enough to keep cash moving and product fresh, without turning so fast you run out and lose sales.
Low turns are the fingerprint of dead inventory: cash trapped in product that isn't moving. Track weeks-of-supply per SKU, base reorders on real velocity, and clear aged stock with a markdown ladder to lift turns where it matters.
AssortIQ computes this for every product and store automatically — and tells you what to do about it. Free for 7 days.