Why grocery stores intentionally run out of inventory during sales

It's a dreaded scenario that happens too often to many couponers: you spot a stockpile sale featuring one of your favorite products in your store ad or recap.  You excitedly get your coupons and shopping list together to head out to the store -- but when you arrive, all you see is empty shelves.


It isn't just shelf-clearing extreme couponers preventing you from getting your deal; in many cases, the store itself has deliberately under-stocked their shelves for a big sale.  Here's why some grocery stores intentionally run out of inventory during sales, and what you can do to work around it.

There are two main reasons why stores under-stock hot-selling items.  The first reason is pretty basic: creating an appearance of scarcity increases demand for a product.  


If you see a hot deal advertised at Target, for example, and you've been trained through previous shopping trips that Target often sells out of hot deals, you're much more likely to drop everything and rush to the store.  So Target gets an extra shopping trip out of you, and therefore extra chances to sell you impulse items while you're in the store.


The second reason stores under-stock inventory is all about their profit and loss sheet.  When stores put items on sale, they are usually able to purchase that item at an extra discount from the manufacturer.  That savings is then supposed to be passed on to the customer.  Coupon Wizards has an excellent post that breaks down the grocery store inventory math for you in more detail.


However, if a store orders a large quantity of a sale item at a cheaper price, but holds most of it in the back until the sale ends, they can sell that stock at a higher profit in the following weeks, without raising their shelf prices.  And they pocket the difference, not the customer.  

This is a perfectly legitimate way of doing business, but it can be really irritating for customers who've spent their time and gas on a wasted shopping trip.  Walmart, in particular, is notorious for this behavior -- which may be why you can't always find freebies on the shelves there!


So how can customers break the empty-shelf cycle?  The best defense is a good offense -- which means pre-ordering items in bulk as soon as you learn of a sale.  CVS, HEB, and Walmart will all place special orders for customers; just ask for your manager on duty and explain what item you're interested in purchasing.  This is how so many Shop Less, Spend More readers were able to get in on the great 99-cent deal on laundry detergent at CVS recently.


And if you run across a store that consistently never has stock on hand of the deals you want, it never hurts to follow up with the chain's Customer Service department via email or a quick phone call.  Or contact the manufacturers themselves -- trust me, those companies want to know if they're losing sales (and they might even hook you up with some free coupons for your effort!)


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Next: Walgreens deal: 2 free Got2B products 2/12 - 2/25/12