The main goal of a customer who visits the nearest neighborhood store is to find a product of the variety and brand they want immediately. A 100% stocked store is crucial to meet this expectation. If the product is not available, it triggers a set of harmful situations, not only for the consumer but also for those whose function is to meet their requirements.
Not having a 100% stocked store is a problem for mass consumer companies, neighborhood stores, and customers alike. But how does the lack of a product impact the buying and selling chain? Furthermore, how does artificial intelligence contribute to improving the supply of stores? Learn more about growth strategies here.
100% Stocked Store: Fewer Sales, More Dissatisfied Customers
When a consumer cannot find the desired product in a store, it negatively impacts all stakeholders involved in the buying and selling process. Additionally, for the company and the neighborhood store, the economic impact is detrimental: it translates into a direct reduction in sales, damage to brand perception, loss of customer trust, and their shift to a competitor’s brand. Moreover, for the shopkeeper, stock-out results in less satisfied customers and a consequent loss of loyalty. Finally, when the customer does not find the specific item, several options arise: they can choose another brand, go to another establishment, or give up the purchase. Regardless of their decision, none of these scenarios is favorable for the shopkeeper or the mass consumer company.
For these reasons, preventing stock-outs and achieving a 100% stocked store should be a priority for companies. Explore our platform for effective solutions.
How to Avoid Stock-Outs? Artificial Intelligence to the Rescue
There are two primary reasons why an item may disappear from a point of sale:
- Inaccurate data leading to a lack of customer demand forecasting due to insufficient information about what is happening in the stores.
- Inventory discrepancies leading to the supply of incorrect quantities.
Fortunately, these situations can be avoided through the digital transformation of the traditional channel. This transformation helps ensure product availability and prevent stock-outs through artificial intelligence. Using an intelligent system, such as a mobile app or management software, mass consumer companies can obtain immediate sales data from each store. They also know which products are indispensable, their rotation, and purchase frequencies. Discover more about boosting sales with AI here.
In this way, thanks to precision and prediction, artificial intelligence learns from user behavior. It allows sellers to have a clear knowledge of the quantities and types of products they need to offer to each customer, thereby preventing stock-outs. Moreover, the concrete result is the reduction of out-of-stock of the basic basket, ensuring that stores always have the indispensable products available.
For the shopkeeper, digitization allows them to detect the lack of stock and place online orders easily and effectively through a B2B e-commerce platform. This is achieved with detailed knowledge of the user profile and delivery times. Consequently, the result is a personalization of each store with great efficiency in restocking products and ensuring supply. The ultimate goal is for the customer to have the desired item available on time. According to Mastercard, digital tools can help small businesses stay competitive.
A Win-Win Relationship in a 100% Stocked Store
Ensuring the availability of the sought-after product is an elementary function of neighborhood stores. This is even more crucial in Latin American countries, where the traditional channel is highly valued because it impacts the microeconomics of each country.
Achieving individual attention to each customer according to their needs and providing them with a satisfactory experience is beneficial for both the neighborhood store and the mass consumer companies. Investment in artificial intelligence ensures greater growth and optimization in achieving goals: reducing stock-outs, decreasing lost sales, securing sales, and, no less important, maintaining customer loyalty to the brand and the shopkeeper. According to Euromonitor, transformative megatrends are shaping the retail landscape in Latin America.