Towards Understanding Consumer Response to Stock-Outs KATIA CAMPO Accuris Group Belgium ELS GIJSBRECHTS UFSIA-University of Antwerp, and CREER-FUCAM PATRICIA NISOL Ghent University Manufacturers as well as retailers can suffer important losses as a result of stock-outs. The magnitude of these losses depends on specific consumer reactions, which have been found to vary with product, consumer, and situation factors. This paper presents a conceptual frame- work that integrates the major determinants of consumer reactions to stock-outs. The theoret- ical relationships provide explanations for the marked differences in stock-out effects observed in previous studies. Moreover, the framework can be empirically implemented, allowing retailers and manufacturers to determine how much each factor contributes to stock-out losses. We collect survey data to provide evidence on the relevance of the framework and the direction and importance of the effect of different consumer behaviors. INTRODUCTION Studies to date show that out-of-stocks (OOS) can result in substantial revenue losses for manufacturers and retailers. Emmelhainz et al.’s (1991) research results show, for in- stance, that a stock-out can make a manufacturer lose more than half of his buyers to competitors, whereas retailers face the loss of up to 14% of the buyers of the missing Katia Campo is Senior Manager Modeling and Analytics, Accuris Group Belgium, Plantin & Moretuslei 220 b-10, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium (e-mail: KATIA.CAMPO@ACCURIS.COM). Els Gijsbrechts is Professor of Marketing, UFSIA-University of Antwerp, and CREER-FUCAM, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium (e-mail: Els.Gijsbrechts@ufsia.ac.be). Patricia Nisol is Research Assistant, Ghent University, Department of Marketing, Hoveniersberg 24, 9000 Ghent, Belgium (e-mail: Patricia.Nisol@zug.uc.be). Journal of Retailing, Volume 76(2) pp. 219 –242, ISSN: 0022-4359 Copyright © 2000 by New York University. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 219