o9 Survey Reveals That Consumers’ Perceptions of Supply Chain Disruptions Are Shifting Their Purchasing Behaviors

DALLAS, Sept. 26, 2023 – o9 Solutions, a leading enterprise AI software platform provider for transforming planning and decision-making, has released a new survey that reveals how consumers perceive the impact of supply chain disruptions, specifically regarding product availability. More than half of consumers (52%) surveyed indicated that they personally experienced supply chain disruptions in the last 12 months, and 49% reported issues with product availability for goods they typically purchase. 

Based on a Q3 2023 survey of 1,026 U.S. respondents in collaboration with TEAM LEWIS, the U.S. Shopper Spotlight: o9 Consumer Survey 2023* finds that supply chain constraints impacting product availability have played a role in consumers’ shifting purchasing patterns. More than one-third of consumers have stopped purchasing items due to cost increases (38%), started to do more comparison shopping (35%), and adjusted their shopping habits by prioritizing what products they need to purchase each month (33%). 

Additionally, the survey found that: 

• Consumers have varying degrees of confidence in supply chain performance, as 38% of respondents feel that supply chains are functioning well, 39% feel a lack of confidence in global supply chain performance, and 24% feel uncertain about the functionality of global supply chains.
  
• Consumers also believe that multiple external factors are disrupting supply chains and product availability. More than half of consumers (58%) believe that inflation is a key driver of supply chain disruption. Consumers also feel that labor shortages (49%), transportation shortages (42%), and geo-political factors (40%) also factor into supply chain disruptions. 

• Consumers also have varied opinions about how long supply chain volatility will last. Twenty-four percent of respondents said they are confident that supply chain disruptions will be resolved soon, 51% believe supply chain disruptions will take more time to fix, 13% feel that supply chain disruptions are here for the long term, and 12% are uncertain about the long-term impact of supply chain disruptions. 

Over the past few years, navigating market volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) has been an unprecedented challenge for organizations with  global supply chains. Technology platforms that are powered by AI and advanced analytic capabilities, like the o9 Digital Brain, can help businesses take an “outside-in” approach to an integrated business planning in which external data and real-time market insights play a key role in supply chain planning processes and allow teams to adjust their supply chain to better align to consumer demand. The ability to respond to sudden changes in market conditions ensures that supply chains can adapt to VUCA scenarios without significant disruption.

“Retail and CPG sectors are certainly the most visible to consumers since we can immediately detect when supply chain issues arise and result in out-of-stock inventory. Companies need to excel in predicting demand well ahead of when products will be available in stores and then synchronize production and logistics to ensure the right product is in the right quantity at the right store. That requires complex planning processes that are supported by advanced analytic technologies, such as the o9 integrated business planning platform,” says Igor Rikalo, President and COO at o9 Solutions. “The use of these technologies doesn’t just alleviate supply chain risk; it fundamentally transforms how businesses operate, making them more resilient, efficient, and responsive to market changes and shifting consumer buying behaviors.”

For more information about the U.S. Shopper Spotlight: o9 Consumer Survey 2023, click here. To learn more about o9 Solutions, visit www.o9solutions.com. 

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*Survey Methodology: 

TEAM LEWIS, o9 Solutions’ PR agency of record, surveyed the general population aged 18 and over across a census-balanced sample. A total of 1,026 respondents in the U.S. participated. TEAM LEWIS collected data through an online survey fielded from June 30 to July 6, 2023. The survey respondents were independently sourced from Op4G, a premium, full-service market research company.

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o9 Solutions

The Digital Brain Platform

o9 offers a leading AI-powered Planning, Analytics & Data platform called the Digital Brain that helps companies across industry verticals transform traditionally slow and siloed planning into smart, integrated and intelligent planning and decision making across the core supply chain, commercial and P&L functions. With o9’s Digital Brain platform, companies are able to achieve game-changing improvements in quality of data, ability to detect demand and supply risks and opportunities earlier, forecast demand more accurately, evaluate what-if scenarios in real time, match demand and supply intelligently and drive alignment and collaboration across customers, internal stakeholders and suppliers around the integrated supply chain and commercial plans and decisions. Supported by a global ecosystem of partners, o9’s innovative delivery methodology helps companies achieve quick impact in customer service, inventory levels, resource utilization, as well as ESG and financial KPIs—while enabling a long-term, sustainable transformation of their end-to-end planning and decision-making capabilities.