Key stat: The most common response to an out-of-stock is buying a similar product from a different brand in-store (36%), just ahead of staying with the same brand (33%), according to an April survey from Profitero.

Beyond the chart:

• The substitution decision is increasingly being handed to a machine. Shoppers lean on those answers because they feel surer about spending, with 60.8% saying AI increases their confidence in buying decisions, according to Bloomreach.
• Meanwhile, the recovered sale usually lands somewhere you do not control. Nearly a third of shoppers head to a different store and 27% try to order online instead, and among AI-assisted digital shoppers, just 10% complete the purchase on the AI platform itself versus 69% who buy on a retailer's site or app, according to Publicis Commerce and EMARKETER.

Use this chart: Drop this in a supply chain review to price an empty shelf in lost brand share, not just lost units. Show it to retail partners negotiating replenishment and shelf space. Use the 36/33 split to argue availability does more loyalty work than your next promotion.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• The Digital Shelf 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• The Agentic Commerce Ecosystem 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the July 2026 Profitero report "Digitally Influenced Shopper Report 2026 - US." 1,000 US shoppers ages 18+ were surveyed during April 2026. Respondents were a nationally representative sample of US primary or joint household purchase decision-makers.