Bloomberg reports that “the number of out-of-stock toys is increasing at the websites of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Sears Holdings Corp.’s Kmart chain while Amazon.com Inc. remains almost fully stocked, according to a Bloomberg Industries analysis.”
According to the story, “Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, was missing 34 percent of 116 toys tracked as of Dec. 7, up from 16 percent a month ago, according to a report led by Poonam Goyal, a Bloomberg Industries analyst. Out-of-stock items totaled 46 percent at Target’s website, 23 percent at Kmart and 29 percent at Toys R Us. Amazon didn’t have two of the 116 toys.
“The data highlights Amazon’s advantage in e-commerce because it also sells the goods of other retailers through its site, so it is more likely to have items in stock, Goyal said. That will train shoppers to rely more on Amazon to find in- demand items, she said.
In addition, “Prices online at Target, the second-largest U.S. discount chain, were 1.4 percent cheaper than Wal-Mart, the Bloomberg Industries survey also showed.
“Amazon’s prices were 0.4 percent cheaper than Wal-Mart’s, compared with 4.6 percent a week earlier. Toys R Us also gained on Wal-Mart, reducing the price difference from 11.5 percent on Nov. 30 to 7.7 percent. Wal-Mart’s advantage over Kmart remained the same at about 6 percent.”
According to the story, “Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, was missing 34 percent of 116 toys tracked as of Dec. 7, up from 16 percent a month ago, according to a report led by Poonam Goyal, a Bloomberg Industries analyst. Out-of-stock items totaled 46 percent at Target’s website, 23 percent at Kmart and 29 percent at Toys R Us. Amazon didn’t have two of the 116 toys.
“The data highlights Amazon’s advantage in e-commerce because it also sells the goods of other retailers through its site, so it is more likely to have items in stock, Goyal said. That will train shoppers to rely more on Amazon to find in- demand items, she said.
In addition, “Prices online at Target, the second-largest U.S. discount chain, were 1.4 percent cheaper than Wal-Mart, the Bloomberg Industries survey also showed.
“Amazon’s prices were 0.4 percent cheaper than Wal-Mart’s, compared with 4.6 percent a week earlier. Toys R Us also gained on Wal-Mart, reducing the price difference from 11.5 percent on Nov. 30 to 7.7 percent. Wal-Mart’s advantage over Kmart remained the same at about 6 percent.”
- KC's View:
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Somehow, I doubt that the reason Amazon has more toys is because it is selling fewer.
These numbers have to be a wake-up call to brick-and-mortar retailers faced with an increasingly tough battle against an online retailer that has a high degree of customer focus.
