Depletion Data

Depletion data refers to the sales from distributors to retail accounts. This data can show you how many products are being sold over a certain period of time, which products are selling best, and which locations are moving products. When suppliers (ie breweries) review their depletion data, they can see their own product set going from their distributor's warehouse to retailers. This is often referred to as what's "going in the back door". It is different from reviewing what's actually making it to shelves and selling at the retailer, or "going out the front door". This distinction is important, because 100 cases could be stuck in storage at the back of a liquor store, or sitting on the shelf and not moving, or have already sold out, but depletion data only shows that 100 cases were delivered to that liquor store. As with all data types, depletion data offers just one piece of the story.