Are you wasting marketing dollars on inaccurate inventory data?

Inaccurate inventory data has consequences.

Imagine running a marathon, but no one told you the finish line moved. Frustrating, right? Now think about your marketing campaigns. Without accurate inventory data guiding them, you're sprinting toward consumers with no guarantee of success—sending them to out-of-stock retailers or broken links. For CPG brands, that's more than frustrating; it’s downright costly.‍

Why accurate inventory matters

Here’s a personal story to bring this to life:

One afternoon, as I was powering through work, I developed a craving for gummy candy—so strong that focusing on anything else became impossible. Naturally, I turned to my favorite brand's website and used their store locator. Jackpot! The retailer right down the street had what I needed—or so I thought.

I got there, and the shelf was empty. There are no gummies in sight. Turns out, their store locator’s inventory data was only updated every two weeks. Someone else must’ve shared my candy craving and cleaned them out earlier. I quickly left, disappointed.

Now, my story didn’t start because of an ad targeting me, but imagine if it had. Picture seeing an ad for that candy, feeling fine until the ad convinced me I had to have it, rushing out to buy it, only to find… nothing. Would I walk away annoyed? Probably. Would I try a competitor’s candy instead? Definitely.

For CPG brands, these scenarios aren’t just “unfortunate.” They represent wasted ad dollars, frustrated consumers, and missed opportunities—all because of outdated or inaccurate inventory data.‍

The domino effect of bad data‍

It might seem like small potatoes—what’s the worst that could happen if inventory data is a bit off? But think again. Here’s what happens when your brand sends shoppers to out-of-stock retailers:

• Consumer frustration: Pushing high-intent shoppers to an out-of-stock product leaves them feeling annoyed and undervalued.
• Lower brand loyalty: Once frustrated, shoppers may turn to competitors who can deliver on their promises.
• Higher acquisition costs: Retargeting these consumers becomes more challenging—and expensive—moving forward.
• Lost revenue opportunities: Out-of-stock products mean abandoned carts (whether physical or digital) and fewer completed purchases.
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‍Out-of-stock woes: Inventory challenges are frustrating shoppers

‍The last few years have brought on several inventory management challenges, and they certainly haven’t gone unnoticed by shoppers–particularly in grocery. One survey states that 46% of respondents said they noticed more missing items in their click-and-collect grocery orders, and another 46% stated they’d experienced increased item swaps and substitutions. Another study surveying retail associates revealed that 41% of retail frustrations come from out-of-stock products, and out-of-stock items are the #1 reason consumers leave a store.

With the rise of click-and-collect omnichannel shopping, CPG brands must ensure they’re seizing every opportunity to drive sales. Stockouts are a costly issue for retailers, but the true burden often lands on the brands whose products are being sold.

‍TL;DR: In retail ecommerce, inaccurate inventory data—whether in-store or online—is a major cause of consumer frustration. It leads to abandoned carts and undermines long-term shopper loyalty.

Protecting your marketing spend by avoiding OOS‍

Direct-to-consumer brands typically know when inventory is available for sales, but that info isn't as straightforward when selling through other channels (e.g. retail/retail ecommerce).

Retailers stocking products can change rapidly, since the exact date and time a retailer updates their inventory is hard to predict, and brands working with distributors (e.g. beer, wine, and spirit brands) may not even be aware of the full list of locations carrying their SKUs.

It doesn’t make sense for a CPG to run marketing campaigns for an audience whose closest retailer is out of stock. It makes even less sense to include those out-of-stock locations on any where-to-buy tools. But, up until now, it’s been nearly impossible for brands alone to manage these variants.

Most CPG brands rely on point-of-sale (POS) data that are two or more weeks old. So, by the time you know a product is OOS, you’ve already wasted 14+ marketing days’ worth of spend on an audience that couldn’t convert if they tried. Hitting broken or out-of-stock links pushes a high-intent consumer back a step in a purchase funnel and reduces consumer confidence in your brand. Now you have to work twice as hard to win them back in the future, assuming you haven’t already lost them long-term to a competitor.  

Fortunately, solutions now exist to enable rapid inventory scanning for brands, ensuring that another dollar is never wasted on out-of-stock campaigns.‍

Stop guessing and start growing with Pear Commerce

The days of relying on stale, error-prone inventory data are over. With tools like Pear Commerce, CPG brands can finally bridge the gap between marketing and sales, ensuring that every dollar spent hits its mark.

Every product on the Pear platform–including Landing Pages, Store Locators, Shoppable PDPs, and Direct-to-Cart links–enables shoppability with daily inventory scanning. Marketing teams gain access to the exact moment products become available at retailers to plan campaign launches (or pauses) and target by in-stock locations accordingly.

Plus, Pear Vision returns actionable insights that unlock performance marketing capabilities previously exclusive to direct-to-consumer brands:

• Capture shoppers that click shoppable tools and engage with the brand. Retarget those that don’t initially purchase.
• Build lookalike audiences of purchasers to capture new shoppers who may prefer trial through retail ecommerce before committing to larger or repeat purchases.
• Segment marketing campaign audiences by retail location, preference, and behavior (big box vs. mass vs. ecommerce).
• Retarget confirmed purchasers to cross or upsell into other products. Capture repeat purchases, and create brand loyalists.
• Decrease acquisition costs by creating loyal, repeat consumers (Harvard Business Review revealed it’s 5-25X more expensive to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one).
• Gain the flexibility to test and learn in new channels or formats!
• Experience a halo effect on sales from branding and awareness efforts.
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With Pear, you can stop wasting marketing dollars on inaccurate inventory data and start building seamless paths to purchase at retail ecommerce, gain greater shopper trust, and earn long-term loyalty with consumers.

Curious how your brand can leverage Pear to fuel growth through retail? Get in touch with our team →