Item out of stock? Many shoppers won't buy a substitute

Item out of stock? Many shoppers won't buy a substitute
Tags: Consumer Behavior, Psychology, Retail - Convenience Stores
April 2, 2009

CSP: Call beverage consumers fickle, if you must, but their likelihood to leave a store without making a purchase if their preferred drink is hard to find or out of stock may just reflect a growing trend toward planning for shopping trips. "Twenty-three percent of beverage consumers won't substitute [another product] if they can't find the SKU they want," said Bruce Miner, director of category management for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, during CSP's Cold Vault Summit in Las Vegas. "That number scares me."

And it's part of a growing trend as more and more consumers plan for shopping trips before leaving the house for the store or choosing not to buy at all.

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