Source: Park City Group

SALT LAKE CITY–In a speech at the Retailer-Owned Food Distributors Association/National Grocers Association Fall Conference, ReposiTrak Partner Joe Meherg told attendees that retailers must move to eliminate out-of-stocks to avoid customer defection to online competitors.

“Online grocery shopping is growing rapidly with year-over-year increases,” Meherg told the audience gathered at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. “Out-of-stocks will only further drive shoppers away from brick-and-mortar stores.”

As food retailers have added products to meet a wider range of consumer tastes, item proliferation has only increased the age-old problem of out-of-stocks at a time when brick-and-mortar grocers can’t afford to have empty shelves due to the challenge from online competitors, Meherg told the assembly. In the new battle for retail, unless food retailers have products available, they will lose both sales and shopper loyalty.