With the advent of online sales digging deeper into retailers’ pockets, it is more important than ever for independent retailers to eliminate lost sales that occur as a result of stockouts.

According to a study in May 2018 by retail research organization IHL Group, customers of department stores and specialty retail shops experience a stockout 1 in 4 shopping trips. They estimate that stockouts are costing North American retailers more than $47B a year in sales! And where are these sales going? To Amazon, where else? IHL states that nearly 24% of Amazon’s North American retail revenue can be attributed to consumers who first tried to buy the product at a local store but couldn’t find it on the shelves.