Exploring Shopper Reactions to Grocery Stockouts

ABSTRACT

Retailers continue to struggle to improve product on-shelf availability (OSA). Stockouts generate significant profitability and reputation effects. This research utilizes an online survey of 1,399 U.S. adults self-reporting their reaction to a stockout of a grocery item they regularly buy. Findings indicate that perceptions of private label purchase riskiness were related to switching stores in response to stockouts. When confronted with a stockout, shoppers who patronized multiple stores each week and those manifesting short-term orientations were more likely to switch stores than buy a substitute. The switch-stores reaction was linked to three demographic attributes: race, households with children, and gender. Nonwhites were more likely to switch stores than purchase a substitute and women and households with children were less likely to switch stores than purchase a substitute. This research concludes with a discussion of options that food retailers could deploy tactics to help reduce the harmful effects of stockouts.

KEYWORDS:

• Switch stores
• substitute products
• delay purchase
• buy online
• demographics
• private label products

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Human subjects statement

A Human Subjects Review Board examined the survey used in this research and concluded it was exempt from review because it was anonymous.

Additional information

Funding

The authors have no funding to report.