Eli5 How do grocery stores around the world afford to be fully/half stocked in a product 24/7 simultaneously even in small towns where not everything’s bought?

Question

Eli5 How do grocery stores around the world afford to be fully/half stocked in a product 24/7 simultaneously even in small towns where not everything’s bought?

In: 47

Answer 1

I don’t think OP does much grocery shopping, because things are *constantly* out of stock. I’m not talking about items like produce or meats & fish which run out because of being on sale or related to a holiday (think burger buns on the 4th or elbow mac around thanksgiving). But run of the mill things.

I was just at the store last Sunday for the weekly grocery run and for the 5th time in the past year individual bottles of either soda or tonic were out. Until a few months ago, the small 8oz bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry juice were missing and even Costco didn’t have them by the case for about 4 months.

Sliced kalamata olives was another that will go missing every now and then at my Ralphs.