Markdown optimization · capability

Clear the overhang, keep the margin.

Markdowns timed and sized to plan — clear ageing stock without giving away margin you didn't need to.

Get a demo See the platform

Planning·Markdown · SS26Last sync · just now

Clear terminal stock at the shallowest depth

Depth sized per SKU from measured elasticity, floored at margin, proven against a held-out control.

Markdown · SS26 · wk 14 of 26

78%+6 pts vs FW25

$16.0MMD $

17%MD % sales

8.4%Overhang

96%Cleared

Measured, floored, proven

+$640k

vs flat −30%

−35%

deepest step

96%

cleared by EOL

+19%

avg lift vs control

Overhang · action this week

42 SKUs ›

Bramble Pleated · high · −35%wk22clear

Yarrow Wide-Leg · low · holddefendhold

Margin saved

+$640k

vs a flat −30% category markdown

The numbers behind it

Why markdown discipline is the fastest margin lever.

14 pts

Full-price sell-through gap between retail leaders and the industry — driven by how markdowns are timed.

Source: Directional industry benchmark

~53%

Share of unplanned markdown cost attributed to upstream buying and forecasting decisions.

Source: Coresight industry research

22%

Fewer stockouts for brands planning on Tightly.

Source: Tightly platform data

The problem today

What breaks before markdown optimization runs to plan.

Planning·Markdown · Exposure

ExposureLadderGuardrails

Representative mid-market retailer

Overhang uncleared

8.4%

past exit date

First MD week

wk 9

reactive, calendar

Full-price sell-thru

72%

leaves 28% to clear

Below margin floor

11 SKUs

cut past the floor

MD overspend

$2.4M

depth not needed

Depth taken vs depth needed

one flat depth for all

Most exposed

overhang

Bramble Pleated · Cream

cover 22wk past EOL

$190k

Fern Midi · Black

floor breached −8pts

$84k

Ivy Rib · Ecru

marked −30% · needed −8%

$61k

Sorrel Tee · Sage

Still Learning

$47k

Overhang carried at unit cost

$3.1M

terminal stock still on the books past its exit date

Diagnosis — flat category markdowns over-discount heroes and under-clear bleeders, none measured against controlSource: Directional industry benchmark

How Tightly does it

Three steps from bleeders to a markdown measured against control.

Tightly · Markdown live· three stages from data to decisionLive

01Flag

Overhang, flagged against the exit date

Tightly projects weeks of cover to the exit date for every ageing and end-of-life SKU. The moment cover tips past that date, the SKU turns amber — flagged as overhang while there is still time to clear it shallow.

cover vs exit date

02Size

Depth sized per SKU, floored at margin

Each SKU's depth is sized from its own measured elasticity — the shallowest step that still clears by the exit date, never one ladder across the catalogue — and hard-floored so no cut breaches the margin floor.

depth · margin floor

03Prove

Lift proven against a held-out control

A slice of stock is held back as a control. Tightly reads treated sell-through against the control, so the lift you see is the lift the markdown actually caused — not a number assumed.

lift vs control · live

See it run

Markdown that protects the season.

Markdowns timed and sized to plan — clear ageing stock without giving away margin you didn't need to.

Planning·Markdown · Ladder · SS26

ExposureLadderGuardrails

Live · SS26 · wk 14 of 26

Overhang

8.4%

$3.1M at unit cost

Markdown $

$16.0M

17% of sales

Margin saved

+$640k

vs flat −30%

Avg lift vs control

+19%

held-out, audited

SKUs at floor

6

held · approval routed

Markdown ladder · by SKU

Stage 3 proposals

SKUTierCover past EOLLadderFloorFcst FP%Lift vs ctrl

Bramble Pleated · CreamHigh · HIGH+22 wk−15 → −25 → −35%41%61%+31%

Wren Knit · NavyModerate · MED+9 wk−10 → −20%48%74%+12%

Fern Midi · BlackModerate · MED+6 wk−20%45%69%+9%

Yarrow Wide-Leg · BlackLow · HIGH+1 wkhold55%88%—

Sorrel Tee · SageLearning · LOW+4 wk−15%50%63%learning

Proven before it applies — every proposal shows depth, margin impact, measured liftFloor breaches route to approval, logged+$640k margin saved

Get a demo See the platform

Your agents

Meet your Markdown agent

Flags lines pacing behind plan and proposes the markdown that clears them while protecting your margin floor.

Meet the agents

Tightly agent

just now · within your limits

Live

Re-forecast ready — 3 categories have drifted from plan this week. Want me to stage the moves for your review?

Drifted vs plan · this weekΔ wmape

Tailored Trousers+9%8%

Woolly Layers−12%11%

Activewear+5%9%

Rebalance 240u DC → SFRe-baseline OTB Q3Hold buy on OCN-072

Stage movesReview firstLogged · audit ready

Customer outcome

“Tightly has genuinely revolutionised how we plan a drop. We used to live in spreadsheets and we now live in the planner; the team would not let us roll it back.”

Streetwear

Head of Planning

A mid-market label

−11 pts

Reduction in markdown depth

What this replaces

The markdowns you take today, and the ones Tightly delivers.

Markdown calendar · ERP price file

MARKDOWN BY CLASS · CALENDARfires by date

ClassDepthWhenWide-Leg Pants−25%wk 9Knitwear−25%wk 9Dresses−25%wk 9

same depth across the categorytiming by traditionclear by date, not covermargin floor a guidelineno control — lift assumed

One depth per class on a calendar date, keyed into the ERP price file. Nothing measures cover to the exit date or how each SKU responds — so heroes get over-discounted and bleeders never clear.

Tightly · Markdown · live

DEPTH · PER SKU · SIZED TO CLEARproven vs control

SKUDepthCoverLiftBramble−35%+22w+31%Wren−20%+9w+12%Yarrowhold+1w—

depth per SKU × channelmeasured elasticitytimed to exit-date covermargin floor a hard guardrailheld-out control proves lift

Depth is sized per SKU from measured elasticity to the shallowest step that still clears by the exit date — floored at margin as a hard guardrail, and every point of lift proven against a held-out control.

Pairs with

Markdown is one part of the connected plan.

Dynamic pricing

Pricing

Defend full-price first; markdown is the last lever. Shared elasticity model.

Predicted FP88% sell-thru

See the capability

In-season management

Capital quadrant bleeders feed straight to markdown proposals.

Re-forecastlive · daily

See the capability

Demand forecasting

Forecast quality per category tells you which lines are at markdown risk.

Forecast accuracy87.1% WMAPE

See the capability

FAQ

Questions buyers ask, answered straight.

Something not covered here? Talk to the team.

Does it handle multi-step markdown ladders?

Yes. Ladders can be 1-step (single depth) or multi-step (e.g. −15% → −25% → −35%). Trigger conditions are configurable per category.

What about cannibalization between SKUs in markdown?

Modeled. A markdown on one SKU can shift demand from a similar SKU at full price; the recommendation accounts for the cross-elasticity.

How does it decide which SKUs go deeper?

Capital quadrant (sell-through × cover × margin) + EOL distance + elasticity. Bleeders go deep; slow movers get a softer push; hero SKUs hold.

Can we lock specific SKUs out of markdown?

Yes. SKUs or categories can be policy-locked (e.g. continuity styles, ICON product). The recommendation won't propose markdown on locked lines.

Clear the overhang. Without giving away the margin you didn't need to.

There's nothing to rip out. Tightly runs on your existing ERP, EDI, e-commerce and POS. Give us 30 minutes and we'll show it on your own categories.

Get a demo Talk to sales

Full-price sell-throughLive

94%