It is always disappointing when you find what you want online, and the screen says, 鈥淥ut of Stock.鈥� You鈥檒l be seeing a lot of that as you shop for the holidays this year.
, which tracks e-commerce throughout the year, notes the prevalence of out-of-stock messages was up a whopping 250% in October, when compared to pre-pandemic January 2020, and up 325% from October of 2019.
鈥淚t has been unprecedented, relative to what we鈥檝e seen in previous years. What we typically see as conventional wisdom online is 鈥業 can find this cheaper online, and it鈥檚 available online,鈥� and that鈥檚 what鈥檚 been turned on its head,鈥� said , lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
By Adobe鈥檚 count, there were more than 2 billion out-of-stock messages displayed to online U.S. consumers in October.
The out-of-stock messages are the result of supply chain issues, as well as聽the exponential growth of everything consumers have been buying online since the pandemic began 20 months ago.
If you鈥檙e looking for money saving price comparisons between online retailers, or typical discounts as holiday season ramps up, you won鈥檛 find as many.
Supply chain shortages create shortages. Pandya said when shipping problems are added in, it becomes difficult for retailers to offer as many good deals.
Of the 18 categories Adobe tracks, consumers will find the highest out-of-stock levels with electronics, followed by jewelry, apparel, home and garden, and pet products.
Adobe鈥檚 Digital Economy Index is based on more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites and more than 100 million products.
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