Save Time & Boost Sales with Smart Plant Substitutes

Streamline customer service and increase your average order size—automatically.

June 19, 2025 by Timothy Howard

How many times a week do your sales or support staff spend time recommending alternative plants when items are out of stock? What if you could automate that entire process?

With our new Smart Plant Substitute functionality, available through Clarity’s Grower Website Solutions, you can.

How It Works

When a plant has no sellable SKUs available, the system will automatically display intelligent substitute options based on your real-time inventory and taxonomy:

Primary Substitute Logic:

Show in-stock plants with the same Genus and Species.

Example: If Abelia x grandiflora ‘Tres Amigos™’ is out of stock, all 'Abelia x grandiflora' plants with available inventory will display as acceptible substitutes.

Fallback Logic:

If no Genus + Species matches are available, show plants with the same Genus only.

Example: Show other Abelia varieties with available inventory.

Manual Overrides for Special Cases

You’re always in control. Using the Clarity Console™ Plant Editor, you can manually assign substitute plants to override the automatic logic.
For example: If you're out of Abelia x grandiflora ‘Tres Amigos™’ but have plenty of ‘Kaleidoscope’, you can designate ‘Kaleidoscope’ as its exclusive substitute.

✅ Now, ‘Kaleidoscope’ will be the only substitute shown for ‘Tres Amigos™’ on your website.

Seamless Integration with Your Availability List

Your online Availability View now includes a “SUBS AVAIL” button that leverages the same smart logic. Customers can easily see recommended alternatives—even when a plant is temporarily out of stock.

Elevate Customer Experience & Drive More Sales

With 24/7 website access to intelligent substitute suggestions:

Your customers stay informed, increasing satisfaction and reducing support calls.
Your team responds faster to inquiries, with data right at their fingertips.
Your average order size goes up, while time spent per customer goes down.

It’s a true win–win: better service, bigger orders, less effort.