As the UK enters its fifth week of the coronavirus lockdown, sustained consumer demand for everyday and store-cupboard essentials remains a challenge to the grocers and their suppliers.
Data from Edge by Ascential shows that the number of out-of-stock items across UK supermarkets crept up following the Easter bank holiday weekend as demand in many essential categories outstripped supply.
Product unavailability crept up last week across the major UK online retailers, with out-of-stock levels ending the week at 15.2% compared with 14.1% a week earlier. Average out-of-stock levels for the UK grocers before the coronavirus pandemic stood at around 1.3%.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s both saw their levels of product unavailability edge back up over the past week. Out-of-stock levels at Tesco reached 13.5% last week, the highest it has been for three weeks.
Meanwhile, there were only minor changes in product availability levels at Morrisons, Ocado and Waitrose.
The biggest availability challenges for the grocers remain in essential categories such as toilet tissue, facial tissues and tinned pasta.
The availability of household essentials such as bleach and kitchen towel improved compared with last week, but other categories including baked beans, frozen pastry and frozen fruit decreased in availability.
With no immediate signs of change in the lockdown situation, Edge’s data points to a difficult balancing act between keeping store availability levels high and catering to the huge spike in online demand.
Its advice to suppliers is to prioritise the manufacturing and supply of essential items in the short term and to work closely with retailers to identify and anticipate the peaks in demand.
As retailers scale back promotions to drive availability, brands should also consider new ways to harness shopper loyalty, for example through online and social campaigns.
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