'Out of stocks' top list of shoppers' hates.
Shoppers rank stock shortages as a bigger retail problem than poor customer service, according to new research undertaken by TNS of behalf of business software company Cognos.
Of 1,000 shoppers questioned 31 per cent said out-of-stock items were their biggest bugbear, with women (33 per cent) more likely than men (28 per cent) to simply go elsewhere for the product they want. Just over a quarter of the shoppers (28 per cent) felt that poor customer service was a more serious issue.
“21st-century consumers are more confident in making their own buying decisions and it’s now vital that retailers develop clear strategies to meet their changing expectations and demands,” says Cognos global retail industry director Patricia Vekick Waldron.
“ Consumers have so much choice available, if they cant find what the want in store they’ll shop elsewhere,” she adds.
More than a fifth of shoppers cite poor store or online layout as their most serious gripe. A quarter of men are likely to leave a store if they can’t find what they want.
