Article
How Widely is Walmart Posting About a Dish Soap Shortage?
Field Agent
October 24, 2019
There are lots of buzzwords in retail these days: omnichannel, pickup, endless aisle...
But, this week, the buzzword was "dish soap." Yep, dish soap.
As in, there are signs (literally) of a national dish soap shortage.
Many Walmart stores across the country have posted notices about a potential shortage of dish soap, which Procter & Gamble, maker of Dawn dish detergent, said is related to a temporary supply and demand issue.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal and Inc, on Friday, Field Agent gauged just how broadly Walmart is posting about the shortage.
It should be noted, Procter & Gamble, for its part, has announced that the shortage will most likely meet a quick end:
"Our temporary supply shortage has been resolved, so all shelves at any store that might be experiencing limited inventory should be stocked soon."
But questions remain: How widely is Walmart announcing the possible dish soap shortage? And what does on-shelf availability look like inside these stores?
Auditing the "Dish Soap Shortage"
On Friday, Field Agent dispatched agents to 100 different Walmart Supercenters across the nation (see below) where they captured photos of dish soap sections.
We had a two-fold objective:
To determine how widely Walmart is posting signs about the shortage, and...
To gauge the current on-shelf availability (i.e., stock levels) of dish soap
Below are highlights from the audit:
Of 100 Walmart Supercenters audited, 54 contained a sign (pictured above) announcing a potential dish soap shortage (see below for exact wording)
In all, agents reported that dish soap sections in 52% of Walmart Supercenters were either "completely stocked" or "well stocked," something Field Agent's photo analysis largely confirmed
Forty-five percent of audited stores were said to be "moderately stocked" (i.e., showing one or more out-of-stocks generally)
Only 3% of stores were reported as "not very well stocked"
In stores without signs posted, 61% of dish soap sections were described as either "completely stocked" or "well stocked," compared to 45% in stores with signs posted
The signs found in 54% of audited Walmart Supercenters read as follows:
Dish soap is experiencing a national supply shortage, impacting product availability for our customers. These shortages will remain until Dec. 1. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Yet, as seen, current stock levels of dish soap are generally sufficient or better.
Case Study: See How One CPG Brand Got Instant In-Store Visibility
As the CEO/co-owner of My Brother's Salsa, the maker of premium-quality salsas, Ashley Pointer had some questions about her brand's retail execution:
Are My Brother's Salsa products correctly priced on store shelves?
Are they competitively priced relative to other salsas?
Are they marked with the appropriate shelf tags?
Are they on shelf and in stock?
So the CEO turned to Field Agent and its Mobile Audit solution to obtain, as she put it, a “clear line of sight” into 200 stores across nine grocery chains.
What she found, in some cases, was both alarming and surprising.
Download the free case study to learn how Mobile Audits helped My Brother's Salsa take control of its retail execution.
Are My Brother's Salsa products correctly priced on store shelves?
Are they competitively priced relative to other salsas?
Are they marked with the appropriate shelf tags?
Are they on shelf and in stock?
So the CEO turned to Field Agent and its Mobile Audit solution to obtain, as she put it, a “clear line of sight” into 200 stores across nine grocery chains.
What she found, in some cases, was both alarming and surprising.
Download the free case study to learn how Mobile Audits helped My Brother's Salsa take control of its retail execution.
Of 100 Walmart Supercenters audited, 54 contained a sign (pictured above) announcing a potential dish soap shortage (see below for exact wording)
In all, agents reported that dish soap sections in 52% of Walmart Supercenters were either "completely stocked" or "well stocked," something Field Agent's photo analysis largely confirmed
Forty-five percent of audited stores were said to be "moderately stocked" (i.e., showing one or more out-of-stocks generally)
Only 3% of stores were reported as "not very well stocked"
In stores without signs posted, 61% of dish soap sections were described as either "completely stocked" or "well stocked," compared to 45% in stores with signs posted
The signs found in 54% of audited Walmart Supercenters read as follows:
Dish soap is experiencing a national supply shortage, impacting product availability for our customers. These shortages will remain until Dec. 1. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Yet, as seen, current stock levels of dish soap are generally sufficient or better.
Case Study: See How One CPG Brand Got Instant In-Store Visibility
As the CEO/co-owner of My Brother's Salsa, the maker of premium-quality salsas, Ashley Pointer had some questions about her brand's retail execution:
Are My Brother's Salsa products correctly priced on store shelves?
Are they competitively priced relative to other salsas?
Are they marked with the appropriate shelf tags?
Are they on shelf and in stock?
So the CEO turned to Field Agent and its Mobile Audit solution to obtain, as she put it, a “clear line of sight” into 200 stores across nine grocery chains.
What she found, in some cases, was both alarming and surprising.
Download the free case study to learn how Mobile Audits helped My Brother's Salsa take control of its retail execution.
Are My Brother's Salsa products correctly priced on store shelves?
Are they competitively priced relative to other salsas?
Are they marked with the appropriate shelf tags?
Are they on shelf and in stock?
So the CEO turned to Field Agent and its Mobile Audit solution to obtain, as she put it, a “clear line of sight” into 200 stores across nine grocery chains.
What she found, in some cases, was both alarming and surprising.
Download the free case study to learn how Mobile Audits helped My Brother's Salsa take control of its retail execution.
To determine how widely Walmart is posting signs about the shortage, and...
To gauge the current on-shelf availability (i.e., stock levels) of dish soap
Below are highlights from the audit:
Of 100 Walmart Supercenters audited, 54 contained a sign (pictured above) announcing a potential dish soap shortage (see below for exact wording)
In all, agents reported that dish soap sections in 52% of Walmart Supercenters were either "completely stocked" or "well stocked," something Field Agent's photo analysis largely confirmed
Forty-five percent of audited stores were said to be "moderately stocked" (i.e., showing one or more out-of-stocks generally)
Only 3% of stores were reported as "not very well stocked"
In stores without signs posted, 61% of dish soap sections were described as either "completely stocked" or "well stocked," compared to 45% in stores with signs posted
The signs found in 54% of audited Walmart Supercenters read as follows:
Dish soap is experiencing a national supply shortage, impacting product availability for our customers. These shortages will remain until Dec. 1. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Yet, as seen, current stock levels of dish soap are generally sufficient or better.
Case Study: See How One CPG Brand Got Instant In-Store Visibility
As the CEO/co-owner of My Brother's Salsa, the maker of premium-quality salsas, Ashley Pointer had some questions about her brand's retail execution:
Are My Brother's Salsa products correctly priced on store shelves?
Are they competitively priced relative to other salsas?
Are they marked with the appropriate shelf tags?
Are they on shelf and in stock?
So the CEO turned to Field Agent and its Mobile Audit solution to obtain, as she put it, a “clear line of sight” into 200 stores across nine grocery chains.
What she found, in some cases, was both alarming and surprising.
Download the free case study to learn how Mobile Audits helped My Brother's Salsa take control of its retail execution.
Are My Brother's Salsa products correctly priced on store shelves?
Are they competitively priced relative to other salsas?
Are they marked with the appropriate shelf tags?
Are they on shelf and in stock?
So the CEO turned to Field Agent and its Mobile Audit solution to obtain, as she put it, a “clear line of sight” into 200 stores across nine grocery chains.
What she found, in some cases, was both alarming and surprising.
Download the free case study to learn how Mobile Audits helped My Brother's Salsa take control of its retail execution.
Of 100 Walmart Supercenters audited, 54 contained a sign (pictured above) announcing a potential dish soap shortage (see below for exact wording)
In all, agents reported that dish soap sections in 52% of Walmart Supercenters were either "completely stocked" or "well stocked," something Field Agent's photo analysis largely confirmed
Forty-five percent of audited stores were said to be "moderately stocked" (i.e., showing one or more out-of-stocks generally)
Only 3% of stores were reported as "not very well stocked"
In stores without signs posted, 61% of dish soap sections were described as either "completely stocked" or "well stocked," compared to 45% in stores with signs posted
The signs found in 54% of audited Walmart Supercenters read as follows:
Dish soap is experiencing a national supply shortage, impacting product availability for our customers. These shortages will remain until Dec. 1. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.
Yet, as seen, current stock levels of dish soap are generally sufficient or better.
Case Study: See How One CPG Brand Got Instant In-Store Visibility
As the CEO/co-owner of My Brother's Salsa, the maker of premium-quality salsas, Ashley Pointer had some questions about her brand's retail execution:
Are My Brother's Salsa products correctly priced on store shelves?
Are they competitively priced relative to other salsas?
Are they marked with the appropriate shelf tags?
Are they on shelf and in stock?
So the CEO turned to Field Agent and its Mobile Audit solution to obtain, as she put it, a “clear line of sight” into 200 stores across nine grocery chains.
What she found, in some cases, was both alarming and surprising.
Download the free case study to learn how Mobile Audits helped My Brother's Salsa take control of its retail execution.
Are My Brother's Salsa products correctly priced on store shelves?
Are they competitively priced relative to other salsas?
Are they marked with the appropriate shelf tags?
Are they on shelf and in stock?
So the CEO turned to Field Agent and its Mobile Audit solution to obtain, as she put it, a “clear line of sight” into 200 stores across nine grocery chains.
What she found, in some cases, was both alarming and surprising.
Download the free case study to learn how Mobile Audits helped My Brother's Salsa take control of its retail execution.
