“Out of stock” means “out of luck” for online stores
“Out of stock” can mean “out of luck” for online retailers that don’t have in inventory what online shoppers are looking for, according to a new study by The E-Tailing Group and trading partner software vendor BetweenMarkets. 68% of those surveyed said they’d shop elsewhere after having three out-of-stock experiences with an online store, and 57% of that number go to competitors’ web sites or stores to find what they want.
Of the more than 950 online shoppers surveyed, who each spend more than $500 online annually, 51% found products out of stock 25% of the time or more. Some 48% have received an out-of-stock notification after placing their order, and 62% found that clicking on a promotional e-mail offering a product led to out-of-stock products, on a frequency ranging from “once in a while” to “always.”
Consumers have come to expect real-time online visibility into inventory, according to the “Online Inventory Impact Survey.” An E-Tailing Group mystery shopping survey in late 2006 found this feature on 83% of the product pages and 75% of the shopping carts benchmarked.
“We’re seeing more vendors and merchants leveraging collaborative, on-demand supply chains tools to find and fix inventory errors before they impact the shopping cart,” says Erik Huddleston, founder and chief technology officer of BetweenMarkets. “Some of our clients have reported up to 75% reductions in partner data errors within the first few weeks of implementation, helping inventory flow and revenue recognition.”
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