Have you tried to buy anything at retail from a peg-type display in store lately?
Good luck.
Just from his experience as a consumer, out-of-stocks on these displays are simply at epidemic levels, says SCDigest editor Dan Gilmore.
"It is common for these displays to be almost empty," says Gilmore.
Case in point: the display below, at a Kroger store in the Dayton, OH area, in the personal care section that is meant to hold a variety of personal care items, such as tweezers, nail clipper and more.
By Gilmore's count, there were 79 empty pegs in the display, versus 44 that had at least one product, meaning 65% of the SKUs were out of stock. Many of the 44 in-stock items were down to just one unit.
A Familar Sight at Retail: A Near Empty Peg Display at Kroger
We're not picking on Kroger: the same scenario is commonplace at Walmart, Best Buy, and many others.
What is going on here? SCDigest isn't sure. Certainly, these peg items are often very slow moving SKUs, and that is clearly a factor. How often is there inventory in the back room for these SKUs that are out of stock on the store floor, but aren't getting replenished because it is low priority versus fast moving items?
Not clear.
But the problem appears to be getting worse, not better. And in the end, it will continue the move of slow movers being sold over the web, in "long tail" fashion. Maybe that is the retail plan in the end.
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