Since the onset of conflict in the Middle East in February, 54% of UK consumers reported experiencing poorer on-shelf product availability in stores.
When shopping for fashion in stores, 29% had noticed shelf gaps and 23% had encountered out-of-stock issues while buying clothing online.
Invent.ai, supported by Clariti, surveyed 1,000 UK shoppers in April 2026.
The research also showed that this lack of availability has started to impact brand loyalty. 30% of fashion shoppers said they were less loyal to a brand after experiencing stockouts, while the same percentage also said they would turn to competitors for alternatives.
Beyond simply switching brands, 42% of respondents indicated they would move their spending to a marketplace to find an alternative item.
Meanwhile, 45% said they would abandon their purchase with a brand altogether and instead search on resale platforms such as Vinted to find the product, a response that rose to 64% among millennials.
Invent.ai attributes much of this product scarcity to conflict-induced shipping delays, which are affecting £92bn ($122.5bn) in assets and have exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains.
Overall, 69% of respondents connected these stockouts to supply chain issues linked to the conflict, while 62% cited sanctions and trade restrictions as further limiting access to certain goods.
The company’s research also found that grocery shopping was similarly affected, with 40% of planned shopping spend lost to unavailable or out-of-stock products.
Looking ahead, 73% of shoppers expect these shortages in grocery items to become more frequent as global shipping continues to face disruption.
“While shoppers understand – and in many cases are sympathetic to – the supply chain challenges retailers are facing at macro-level, their expectations remain unchanged: products need to be available at the right time, in the right place and through the channel they prefer," commented Invent.ai sales director Lukas Fischer.
"When items aren't available, shoppers won’t hesitate to switch retailers, brands or channels.”
