A new report from DHL Supply Chain and the Retail Economics group reveals that product availability has become one of the most powerful drivers of customer loyalty in UK retail.
The report, The Availability Effect, finds convenience and reliability now outweigh price for a growing share of shoppers - one in three - demonstrating a shift in how loyalty is retained in modern retail.
Convenience stores account for around a fifth of grocery sales but represent almost half of all displaced spend due to stock-outs. Availability in these formats typically sits in the low-to-mid 80% range, compared to over 90% in supermarkets and hypermarkets. 63% of shoppers believe availability is worse in convenience stores.
Bringing together in-store audits, a survey of 2,000 UK households and economic modelling, the study has quantified the scale, cost and behavioural impact of availability.
The findings show that one in five UK grocery trips involves at least one missing item - equivalent to around 930m shopping visits a year.
Across the sector, that equates to roughly £2.1bn in displaced sales. In line with this, 44% of consumers say they’ve switched to or added another supermarket in the past year due to availability issues, with this figure rising to almost two-thirds with those aged under 45.
Nearly six in ten (59%) say availability is a key reason they shop across multiple stores.
Nick Archer, MD, convenience and consumer at DHL Supply Chain, said: “The research shows even small stock gaps can have a significant impact on how shoppers feel about a retailer.
“Despite the pressure on shoppers’ wallets, loyalty is being driven by more than price. In a market where customers can switch stores with ease, availability is much more than an operational metric. Being competitive in today’s market requires precision. Retailers and their partners need to be able to predict disruption, integrate data and execute efficiently”.
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