Survey: Out-of-stocks often lead consumers to switch brands
Stockouts are becoming a common problem that poses a major risk to brand loyalty.
More than four-in-five (82%) consumers would try a competitor if their go-to is frequently out of stock, according to a new survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers from cloud platform provider DOSS. Nearly two-thirds (62%) have already switched brands because of a stockout, while a quarter (25%) of consumers say stockouts damage their trust in a brand.
On average, shoppers hit stockouts three times a year when shopping online, according to DOSS’ research. When a stockout happens, 45% buy from a different retailer and 32% switch to a competing brand temporarily.
[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: The most challenging inventory issues are…]
Overall, food & grocery (53%) is the most common product category where shoppers hit stockouts. Beauty & personal care (22%) is next, followed by clothing, shoes & jewelry (14%) and electronics (13%).
In addition to its survey, DOSS analyzed 8,679 Reddit posts from 18 major brands and product subreddits. Fashion and apparel generated the highest stockout complaint rate of any category, with nearly one-in-13 posts (7.9%) mentioned stockout-related language. Beauty and personal care (7.5%) and electronics (7.4%) followed closely behind, making the top three categories surprisingly tight.
At the individual retailer level, DOSS found that Sephora ranked first with 12.8% of posts on its subreddit containing stockout language. Alo Yoga (12.0%) and Lululemon (11.6%) followed, putting fashion and beauty brands at the top of the individual rankings. Trader Joe's tied Lululemon at 11.6%, and Ulta rounded out the top five at 10.5%.
Best Buy came in at 8.6%, making it the highest-ranked electronics retailer. Target and Costco tied at 6.6%, the highest rates among general and grocery retailers, respectively. Only 4% of posts on Amazon's subreddit mentioned stockout language, and Walmart ranked last among all 18 retailers with a 2.0% stockout complaint rate.
“Stockout complaints aren't just a customer service problem – they're a signal about where inventory planning is falling short in high-expectation categories,” said DOSS. “For operations leaders at growing consumer product companies, tighter inventory visibility in fashion, beauty, and specialty grocery is where gaps show up fastest and where customers are most likely to talk about it publicly.”
The full report can be found here.
