Reading a stock check result

A stock check returns each store near your postcode with a number beside it. That number is the retailer's own record of what is on hand. Understanding where it comes from tells you when to trust it.

Where the number comes from

We read the retailer's internal inventory system. We are showing you what the store believes it has.

Where staff scan stock in and out properly, that belief is accurate and the number is worth acting on.

When the number is wrong

Anything that bypasses scanning breaks it. Stock sitting in the back unprocessed, product sold informally, or items held aside by employees will not be reflected.

Walmart cannot be checked at all. Its card product is handled by third-party restockers, and that stock never enters Walmart's own inventory system, so there is nothing for a check to read.

Target needs a warning of its own. Some of its card product is restocked the same way, so a zero at Target frequently means "not tracked" rather than "not there".

Reading it in practice

• A high number at a well run retailer is worth a trip
• A 1 or 2 is often mis-scanned stock, or a display copy, or something already in a customer's trolley
• A zero at Target tells you very little
• A zero everywhere across many stores usually is real

Before you drive

Phone the store. Ask them to physically look rather than check their system, because you have already checked their system. The numbers narrow down where to call; they do not replace calling.

If a result looks wrong

Post it in #report-a-restock or your state thread in #state-channels. Local members frequently know that a particular store's counts run high or low.