Research & Trends: Retail's $100B Problem

By Greg Buzek, IHL Group

When consumers are routinely asked about things that bug them most about shopping, the number one item on the list is standing in line. The second highest item of frustration is caused by not being able to purchase a product the store is expected to have or has promoted in an advertisement. These were the findings from IHL's "What's The Deal With Out-of-Stocks" study and previous research.

For several years, IHL has been measuring the out-of-stock problem, an issue costing North American retailers over $100B a year. In many cases, because of inventory tightening, the problem has only gotten worse.