UK retailers could lose an estimated £147 million of revenue this Christmas due to missed sales opportunities through out-of-stock products according to Vanson Bourne
The survey of 100 retailers sponsored by NetSuite used statistical modelling from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) to calculated the loss in revenue.
Half of retailers surveyed stated that their biggest order fulfilment challenge this Christmas is aging IT systems, while almost a third (29%) cited human errors when processing orders.
Just over half (52%) of retailers surveyed also blamed out-of-stock situations on inaccurate demand planning. The survey also found that 34% of retailers lacked a holistic view of the business.
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Colin Edwards, economist at CEBR, said: "The Christmas period represents the most lucrative revenue opportunity of the year for retailers, comprising one fifth of annual revenues on average. By investing in the right solutions, CIOs and IT managers can enable their businesses to successfully compete with other retailers and capitalise on the potential revenues offered by Christmas".
The study reported that 66% of retailers were out-of-stock of particular products last Christmas. On average, retailers who were affected by stock-outs could not fulfill 21% f Christmas orders due to a lack of product availability – leading to a potential overall revenue loss of £147m through missed sales opportunities.
Andy Lloyd , general manager of commerce products for NetSuite said: "While investments in eCommerce and social capabilities are vital to ensuring that retailers can keep up with an increasing volume of online, mobile and social commerce, retailers are taking huge risks by not investing in their ERP and demand planning systems."
NetSuite recently introduced its SuiteCommerce platform, which is being used by retailers like Blitz Sport, to boost multi-channel opportunities.
