"Because of higher prices, people are buying smaller amounts of groceries overall and may have become more careful not to waste food."
"Despite all of that, (there are) 8% to 12% missing items on shelves," he said.
"This has created a major, major issue around out-of-stock" in most of the 16 Middle Eastern countries where the company operates, he said.
Laurent Thoumine, Accenture's Europe lead for retail, said supermarkets in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have had the worst stock issues.
Products that are scarce in some stores include ketchup, pasta, chocolate, tea, potato chips, toothpaste and pet food, according to Nielsen IQ's Data Impact.