Labour shortages impacting availability – shopper research 04-06 Feb 2022
07 February 2022Shopper research explores how labour shortages are driving product availability issues, impacting supply chains and shaping shopper experiences.
Availability issues
Operational labour and HGV driver shortages continue to disrupt food supply chains. Although there are some regional variations, absence rates within the food and consumer goods industry due to the Omicron variant remain largely manageable and are starting to decline.
Food and consumer goods businesses have been hit hard by recruitment and retention challenges. This is resulting in lower order fulfilment levels than normal, meaning there is an impact on availability of some food and groceries.
The government has committed to a package of support including the issuing of temporary visas for HGV drivers. Please see our latest Viewpoint report for more insight.
In the latest shopper research conducted for IGD over this last weekend 04-06 February 2022:
Slightly more shoppers are reporting availability issues. 66% experienced shortages of some food and groceries in-store or online recently, compared to 63% two weeks ago.
More shoppers have recently felt the need to stock up or purchase more than they normally do (41% vs 37%).
There has been a slight increase in in numbers saying they will or might stock up (44% vs 39%).
See the full results to understand:
How availability concerns have changed over time
How claimed current and planned stockpiling has changed over time
To understand which categories shoppers have experienced issues with availability
To learn about which categories shoppers are stockpiling
