Ask shoppers about the worst retail experience they had all year and they don’t describe anything exotic. They describe an empty shelf and a long line. Both get more likely in December, which is exactly the problem.
According to Alchemer’s 2026 Holiday Shopper Report, out-of-stock items are the number-one shopper frustration at 41%, ahead of hidden fees at checkout (32.3%) and long or slow checkout (30.6%). Here’s the full ranking and what each one signals for peak season.
TL;DR — key takeaways
- Out-of-stock items are the #1 shopper frustration at 41%, according to Alchemer’s 2026 Holiday Shopper Report.
- Hidden fees or unexpected charges at checkout rank second at 32.3%, ahead of long or slow checkout at 30.6%.
- The top four frustrations are all availability, price transparency or speed problems. None of them need a new strategy to fix.
- Rushed or unavailable staff frustrate 18% of shoppers, while great staff are one of the top reasons a shopper remembers a good experience.
- Only 13.1% of shoppers had no frustrating experience at all in the past year.
What is the biggest shopper frustration in 2026?
Items being out of stock, cited by 41% of shoppers, according to Alchemer’s 2026 Holiday Shopper Report. It leads the list by a clear margin. A stock-out wastes the trip, breaks the reason the shopper chose you and hands them a reason to try a competitor. Nothing else on the list does all three at once.
What are the top retail shopper frustrations, ranked?
Here’s the complete ranking from the report. Shoppers could select every frustration that applied, so these percentages show how many carry each one rather than a forced choice between them.
| Rank | Frustration | % of shoppers |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | Items out of stock | 41.0% |
| #2 | Hidden fees or unexpected charges at checkout | 32.3% |
| #3 | Long lines or slow checkout | 30.6% |
| #4 | Difficulty finding what they came for | 25.8% |
| #5 | Unhelpful, unavailable or rushed staff | 18.0% |
| #6 | Delivery taking longer than promised | 15.9% |
| #7 | Damaged or incorrect items received | 12.6% |
| — | No frustrating experience at all | 13.1% |
The shape of the list matters as much as the order. The top four cluster inside 16 points, which means most shoppers aren’t carrying one grievance. They’re carrying several.
Why do the top three frustrations matter most?
Because together they describe a shopper who came to buy something and got blocked. Out-of-stock items (41%), hidden fees (32.3%) and slow checkout (30.6%) all interrupt a purchase the shopper had already decided to make. That’s the most expensive kind of friction there is, and all three get worse under holiday volume.
Hidden fees deserve a closer look. It’s the only frustration in the top three that’s a communication failure rather than an operational one. The item was available, the line moved, and the experience still soured because the price at checkout didn’t match the price on the shelf.
Friction you can’t see is friction you can’t fix. Alchemer collects feedback in real time across in-store QR codes, post-purchase surveys, email, SMS and your app, so a stock-out or checkout bottleneck reaches you the same day instead of next week’s reviews. Explore Alchemer for Retail →
What about the frustrations lower on the list?
They’re smaller, but they’re not noise. Rushed or unavailable staff frustrate 18% of shoppers, and staff show up on the opposite end of the data too. A team member who went above and beyond is the second most-cited reason shoppers remember their best experience of the year. Same variable, opposite outcome, depending on who’s on the floor when the store gets busy.
Delivery delays (15.9%) and damaged or incorrect items (12.6%) round out the list. A gift that shows up broken on December 23 isn’t a service ticket. It’s a lost customer.
What should retailers do with this ranking?
Treat it as a pre-peak checklist rather than a complaint log. The data points to a clear sequence:
- Protect availability on your top sellers. It’s the #1 frustration and the one shoppers can’t work around.
- Show the full price early. Shipping, taxes and fees belong on the product page, not the confirmation screen.
- Add checkout capacity before you need it. Slow lines are predictable in December, which makes them preventable.
- Ask at the moment of friction. A QR code at the register or a post-purchase survey catches the stock-out while you can still restock.
Only 13.1% of shoppers made it through the year without a frustrating experience. That’s not a reason for pessimism. It means nearly every shopper is holding a specific, fixable piece of intelligence about your operation.
Want the full report? Read the complete 2026 Holiday Shopper Report for the seven priorities shaping the season, including full data on pricing behavior, service recovery, staffing and reviews.
Methodology: Alchemer’s Research Solutions team surveyed 1,002 U.S. shoppers across age groups, genders and shopping channels about their retail experiences, research habits and 2026 holiday shopping plans.
FAQ
Q: What is the biggest retail frustration for shoppers in 2026?
A: Items being out of stock, cited by 41% of shoppers as their worst experience of the past year, according to Alchemer’s 2026 Holiday Shopper Report.
Q: What are the top shopper frustrations, in order?
A: Out-of-stock items (41%), hidden fees at checkout (32.3%), long or slow checkout (30.6%), difficulty finding items (25.8%), unhelpful staff (18%), late delivery (15.9%) and damaged or incorrect items (12.6%), per Alchemer’s 2026 data.
Q: How many shoppers had a frustrating retail experience this year?
A: Nearly all of them. Only 13.1% of shoppers say they had no frustrating experience in the past year.
Q: Do hidden fees affect retail loyalty?
A: Yes. Hidden or unexpected charges at checkout are the second-ranked frustration at 32.3%, which makes price transparency one of the cheapest experience fixes available.