Unhappy customers, frustrated retailers, and dissatisfied suppliers are just some of the repercussions of out-of-stock products. In fact, it's the first pillar of our philosophy: "Unbiased visibility". However, if the product isn't there, it can't be seen and ultimately cannot be purchased by shoppers.
The FMCG industry spends a significant amount of resources on ensuring products are stocked on the shelves of the right stores. Brands invest money in data, and account, category, and brand managers invest time in building and delivering a selling story. Customers invest in R&D to develop the products, and their field teams execute the changes on the shelf.
But despite all these efforts, measuring on-shelf availability is not always given the same discipline and rigour.
According to Nielsen IQ, the grocery sector accounted for 45.5% of the out-of-stock value of consumer goods in retail in 2020. Moreover, in European markets, 4% of FMCG products were out of stock in 2022 for at least four days. This is a significant challenge for the industry, and it has only become worse in recent years.
Complex problems come with simple solutions
Fortunately, technology advancements have made measuring on-shelf availability easier every day. With the help of SmartSpotter, customers can track the success of agreements with retailers using crowdsourcing. SmartSpotter connects with thousands of everyday consumers, who can act as the eyes and hands in the stores, providing insights into product availability and campaign performance in real-time.
There is more...
In addition, combining this technology with SmartSpotter Image Recognition allows us to paint a complete picture of the market just by taking a photo. This cutting-edge technology enables us to avoid making the same out-of-stock mistakes down the track and prevent the occurrence of empty shelves.
At SmartSpotter, we believe that embracing this technology is essential to stay competitive in the market. By doing so, companies can obtain real-time insights that can help them make smarter decisions and react faster to problems that arise. We invite you to participate in a demo of our technology to understand better how it can benefit your business.
Measuring on-shelf availability using crowdsourcing is critical in today's FMCG industry. By partnering with SmartSpotter, brands and suppliers can obtain unbiased visibility and real-time insights and, ultimately, optimize their in-store execution to meet customer demands/expectations.
