How to find which supermarkets are out of stock of your product
To find which supermarket stores are out of stock of your product, you can ask your field team or broker to check stores, use the retailer's supplier data where you have access, or use a store-level shelf data service such as Cannonball, which lists every out-of-stock store for each product, every day, with days out.
Updated 5 October 2026
1. Store visits
Reps and merchandisers see the shelf directly and can fix it on the spot, but they only see the stores they visit, on the day they visit.
2. Retailer supplier data
Some retailers share availability or sales data with suppliers through their own programs. It covers one retailer at a time, usually your own products only.
3. Store-level shelf data
A service like Cannonball checks every store every day and lists the stores out of stock for each product, across chains, with how long each has been out.
Which out-of-stocks to act on
- Two days or more: a single day at zero is often a sell-through before the next delivery.
- Clusters: many stores in one state usually point to supply or distribution, not shelf execution.
- During a promotion: the cost of an empty shelf is highest when you've paid for the promotion.
- Next to a rival in stock: that's a sale lost to them, not just postponed.