ghost de·mand

\ˈgōst di-ˈmand\noun

1 :Shopping done on a store’s inventory by AI agents acting for real buyers that never shows up as a lead, a call, or a visit. Real demand the store can’t see or count.

//No leads came in on the Forester all week, yet buyers’ agents priced it again and again. That was ghost demand.

You can’t win demand you can’t see.

First published October 16, 2026 · The Starting Line, issue 22