Demand analytics
The list of what customers asked for and you did not carry — and how to use it when buying stock.
Ordinary analytics shows what sold. The reverse information is worth far more: what was asked for and you could not offer. Before the chat is automated, that data simply does not exist — it leaves with the customer.
What lands in the report
Requests where the catalog had no suitable match: missing products, missing sizes or variants, missing specifications, demand for adjacent categories.
How to read it
Look at repetition, not at single cases. One request is a coincidence. Twenty requests for the same item in a month is not an opinion but demand confirmed with money: people came to buy.
How to use it for purchasing
- Collect the unanswered requests for the month.
- Sort them by frequency.
- The top of that list is a buying plan justified by real enquiries rather than intuition.
This is exactly how Tostco works: the store uses that list to expand its assortment.
A side effect
Part of the requests will turn out to be about poor names and descriptions rather than missing stock: the item exists but is not findable. That is fixed in the catalog and pays off faster than purchasing.