Retail and Hospitality Operations
Choosing the right type of business relationship with a parking operator is even more important than choosing which operator should run your parking facility. Why? Because the terms, conditions, and expectations of the business arrangement (in the form of a management contract or lease agreement) are clearly set out in advance between the property owner … Continue reading Parking Contracts: The Good, The Bad and The Really Ugly
More than 1 billion shoppers find the products and services they need and want online today. It has become increasingly difficult to get customers into a physical store and even harder to keep them engaged long enough to make a purchase. The good news is, with the right techniques, you can improve the overall in-store … Continue reading How to Create a Memorable In-Store Experience for Your Customers
Retail productivity is a metric that every store owner or manager wants to maximize. After all, the more productive your stores are, the better it is for your bottom line. Many factors contribute to helping maximize staff productivity — your selling space, fixtures, and products are key examples. But one factor that’s sometimes overlooked (and … Continue reading 7 Ways to Maximize Retail Staff Productivity
Seasonal programs like Father’s day drive big profits for retailers and restaurants. Father’s Day spending has surpassed $22 billion! “Fathers, husbands and sons can expect to feel the love this Father’s Day,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Over the past decade, spending on Father’s Day gifts has increased significantly. Retailers are ready with gifts that will have … Continue reading Father’s Day in Retail: Interesting Facts and Emerging Trends
While the regulations around cannabis retail in Canada are still being ironed out, we do know one thing: the industry is booming. According to Deloitte, "Total recreational and medical sales between 2018 and 2021 are estimated to be $11 billion in Canada overall, two-thirds (67.8%) of which was for recreational cannabis." Clearly, there are a lot … Continue reading 5 Tips to Help Your Cannabis Dispensary Stay Compliant
Retail is abuzz with the momentum of companies jumping to create a niche for themselves in the emerging cannabis market. As cannabis becomes more widely accepted thanks to legalization, the market will continue to boom with new products. Here are the trends affecting cannabis and retail. Cannabis Edibles and Retail Photo credit: Shutterstock Though cannabis edibles … Continue reading Cannabis and Retail: Interesting Facts and Emerging Trends
This definitive guide to retail audits is everything you need to plan, build and launch a retail audit program across your retail network. Who is this Guide for? This guide for retail audits is for multi-unit retailers in industries like food service, convenience stores, pharmacies, spas and clinics, telecommunications, and alcohol retailers. This guide also … Continue reading ⭐ Retail Audits – The Definitive Guide
In retail today, every dollar counts, and loss prevention challenges are very real. Shrink has a significant effect on a retailer’s bottom line. In fact, a recent study by the National Retail Federation (NRF) found an average shrink rate of 1.6%. This costs the retail industry more than "a staggering $100 billion...”. This is why … Continue reading Loss Prevention Challenges in Retail
The cannabis retail checklist ensures that your dispensaries have the right processes and systems in place and meet regulatory, community and health and safety standards. Regulations do vary between US states and Canadian provinces. So this checklist is meant to help you get started in building a core collection of critical areas to inspect in … Continue reading ✔️ Cannabis Retail Checklist
Mother's day is the third largest retail holiday in the U.S, following Christmas and the back-to-school season. Seasonal programs like Mother's day drive big profits for retailers and restaurants. Mother’s Day spending reached a record $35.7 billion! “Mother’s Day spending has been growing consistently over the past several years, and this year’s spending is expected to be the highest in … Continue reading Mother’s Day in Retail: Interesting Facts and Emerging Trends
Visual merchandising creates an impact and makes an impression on every guest who visits your business. Anything the customer can see from the outside of the store and throughout the interior can work to optimize the retail space. From storefront displays to signage and overall floor plan, effective visual merchandising techniques work cohesively to reflect … Continue reading 7 Visual Merchandising Techniques to Increase Sales
While your success as a district manager largely depends on your skills and knowledge, the tools that you’re using can significantly affect how well you do your job. That’s why it’s vital that you utilize solutions (i.e., apps, platforms, services, etc.) that keep you informed, boost your productivity, and make your job easier overall. Need … Continue reading 6 Essential Tools Every District Manager Should Use
Loss prevention is a set of policies and procedures designed to minimize theft, fraud, vandalism and waste. Use this sample Loss Prevention Checklist for Parking Operators to create or update your loss prevention program across your parking lots and sites. General Record date of the last LP Audit Location has a key control log for … Continue reading ✔️ Loss Prevention Checklist for Parking Operators
Focusing on operational standards, safety, and customer experience isn't just for retailers. Too often parking operators neglect reviewing standards and best practices until there is a problem (e.g. broken gate, slip and fall, theft). Regular parking lot inspections/audits help you be proactive (not reactive) and solve problems before they are liabilities. Revenues from parking management … Continue reading 3 Types of Audits Parking Lot Operators Should Conduct
Are small stores the next big thing in retail? It would appear so. Over the last few years, big name retailers have made the move towards smaller format stores. Target, for one, already has numerous small stores in various urban areas. They continue to grow their small format stores year over year to bring more … Continue reading 4 Ways SMBs Compete with Big Retailers Opening Smaller Stores
The United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia are all experiencing a swell in their aging populations. In the US 10,000 people turn 65 every day, and in just over a decade, 20% of the US population will be over 65. Already in 2016, 15% of Australia's population was 65+. An aging population means a greater … Continue reading How Pharmacies can Better Engage Seniors
Through our business and research, we have come across a number of high-level facts and statistics about the retail pharmacy industry, its direction and emerging trends. While our research focused on North America, we thought these emerging pharmacy trends would be of interest to our customers and readers in all markets. Your senior customers matter … Continue reading Pharmacy Industry: Interesting Facts and Emerging Trends
Any multi-store retailer would agree that having a competent district manager is critical to success. Tasked with overseeing the operations of all stores within a given district or area, a district manager needs to juggle several retail components, including staff development, compliance, sales, customer satisfaction, and more. Needless to say, the individual that you hire … Continue reading 6 Tips for Hiring a Retail District Manager
Retail store execution is a critical part of any retail operation or campaign. Your brand vision may be on point, and you may even have brilliant plans to engage in-store shoppers, but if they aren’t carried out the way you intended, then your vision and plans won’t yield results. And while tools such as planograms, … Continue reading Empower Your Staff to Execute Winning In-Store Campaigns
Use this sample Sexual Harassment Checklist to create or update your sexual harassment prevention program across your locations. Developing a comprehensive sexual harassment policy is only the first step to preventing and stopping harassment in the workplace. For any sexual harassment policy to be effective, policy development must be followed by persistent training, review, and … Continue reading ✔️ Sexual Harassment Checklist
Recent news cycles are, sadly, dominated by reports of sexual harassment. Across industries, women and men are sharing stories of exploitation. According to the Harvard Business Review, 98% of organizations in the United States have a sexual harassment policy. Yet, harassment continues to exist in the workplace. This means current policies are failing to stop … Continue reading 5 Tips for Dealing with Sexual Harassment in Retail
It happens even to the best brands. You conceptualize and execute a retail campaign to get your product into customers’ shopping carts, only to see lackluster results. The campaign, to put it bluntly, flopped. It’s a frustrating position to be in, but how you handle and respond to program flops can help you learn and … Continue reading 5 Tips for Dealing with Unsuccessful Retail Programs
Having the ability to connect with consumers across various channels (i.e. physical retail stores, ecommerce, mobile, and social media) isn’t just a “nice to have.” It’s an absolute must. Make no mistake: your customers are using several channels to research, browse, and buy. Brands that want to stay competitive need to engage consumers at multiple … Continue reading 4 Tips to Help CPGs Create Brilliant Multi-Channel Campaigns
Fact: CPG product launches are tough. According to I.R.I, more than 10,000 new products hit the retail shelves each year, but “less than 10 new launches capture more than $100 million in year-one sales.” If you’re a CPG firm looking to launch a new product, then your work is clearly cut out for you. How … Continue reading 5 Essential Components for a Successful In-Store CPG Launch
Across suburbs and cities, pet ownership is on the rise. Experts estimate that upwards of 60%+ of US households have at least one pet. The U.S. pet industry reached revenues of $136.8 billion. If you are wondering about the trends fueling the growth of revenues for all things related to Fido, check out our high-level … Continue reading 6 Trends Propelling the Pet Care Industry
It may be August, but if you work in the retail or CPG space, then your mind is probably in November or December (i.e. the holiday season) already. And if it isn’t, it’s high time to start thinking about the holidays. Brands across the board will surely bring their A-game to reach and convert shoppers, … Continue reading CPGs: 6 Steps to Ensure a Successful Holiday Season
...and What You Can Learn from Them Is everything moving online now? With ecommerce, subscriptions, delivery services — not to mention free shipping being more popular than ever — one might wonder if consumers still have the need to go out and shop. The short answer is yes. Consumers are continuing to flock to physical … Continue reading 4 Digital-First Brands That Found Success in Brick-and-Mortar Retail…
Through our business and research, we have come across a number of high-level facts and statistics about the convenience (c-store) industry, its direction and emerging trends. We thought they would be of interest to our customers and readers. There are lots of convenience stores! Convenience stores continue to have steady growth as an industry, doubling … Continue reading Convenience Store Industry, Emerging Trends and Interesting Facts
Are you disappointed with how your brand is performing in retail stores? Do you ever feel like you and your retail partners aren’t on the same page? If you find yourself nodding your head to those questions, perhaps your retail strategy is missing an important component: collaboration. When CPG companies and retailers form collaborative partnerships, … Continue reading 5 Tips to Improve CPG and Retailer Collaboration
Use this sample Lottery retailer Checklist to create or update programs across your locations. Many gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, shopping mall kiosks and drug stores sell lottery products. However, selling lottery tickets and games carries certain legal and societal responsibilities. A lottery retailer checklist ensures that lottery tickets and games are merchandised and sold … Continue reading ✔️ Lottery Retailer Checklist
Whether you like it or not, appearances matter a lot in the world of retail and CPGs. The look and feel of your products, and the way they’re displayed, can directly affect the purchase decisions consumers make. That’s why it’s incredibly important to invest in the creation and execution of your retail displays. You won’t … Continue reading 8 Tips for Creating and Executing Winning Retail Displays
Use this sample checklist to create or update your wireless authorized retailer program across your retail locations. Checklists ensure that wireless authorized retailers merchandise and sell consistently with company standards and reseller contractual obligations. Regular audits help retailers and distributors be proactive and address issues before they become major problems. Audits also tend to cut … Continue reading ✔️ Checklist for Wireless Authorized Retailers
Use this sample checklist for Wine, Beer and Spirits Retailers to create or update your operations and merchandising programs across your retail locations. Checklists ensure that wine, beer and spirits are merchandised and sold consistently with company standards and regulations. Regular audits help retailers and distributors be proactive and address issues before they become major … Continue reading ✔️ Checklist for Wine, Beer and Spirits Retailers
Branding should be a priority for any CPG. A compelling brand attracts great people to your company, promotes loyalty, and increases sales. Promoting a strong brand experience is relatively easy when you’re calling the shots. If you’re running your own retail store or website, for example, your company is in the driver’s seat, so you … Continue reading 5 Steps CPGs Should Take to Keep a Cohesive Brand Experience Across Multiple Retail Banners
Conducting store audits should be on the to-do list of every retailer, and for good reason — retail audits help you uphold company standards, improve operations, and promote a safe in-store experience. But what exactly are the types of store audits you should conduct and how often should you do them? More importantly, how can … Continue reading 3 Types of Store Audits Every Retailer Should Conduct
Keeping employees motivated is a challenge that retailers face all year round, but the task becomes especially difficult during the holidays when you’re dealing with seasonal staff. Why? Because unlike full-time employees, seasonal workers may not be as invested in your company and thus may not exert themselves fully. If you’re struggling with empowering your … Continue reading 9 Ways to Turn Your Seasonal Employees into Top Performers
The holidays are just a few short weeks away and we know that you and your staff are working hard on sales, promotions, and other seasonal programs. Before rolling out your initiatives, ask yourself: are you working just as hard to minimize loss in your business? While the holidays bring in more customers and sales, … Continue reading 4 Loss Prevention Tips to Help You Keep All Your Holiday Profits
The holiday season is practically here, and if you’re in retail, you’re likely all geared up for the coming months. You probably have your holiday inventory ready to go, and you have a number of programs planned out. From seasonal promotions to winter-themed window displays, you know exactly what you’ll implement this holiday season to … Continue reading 7 Tips to Guarantee the Success of Your Holiday Programs
Use this sample Drive-thru Checklist to create or update your drive-thru inspection program across your restaurants and sites equipped with a drive-thru. You can pick-up dinner, grab a coffee, do your banking and, at least in Las Vegas...get married all at the drive-thru! Customers value the convenience and speed of service of drive-thrus. Below, a … Continue reading ✔️ Drive-Thru Checklist
Use this sample Gas Station Checklist to create or update your inspection program across your gas stations. While individual situations vary, the following sample checklist details specific issues that may be included in a gas station inspection checklist. This checklist comes from the Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum and is included here in case the information is moved or … Continue reading ✔️ Petroleum Gas Station Checklist
Use this sample Hotel Safety and Security Checklist to create or update your inspection program across your hotels. Having the safety of a hotel property questioned can damage the brand and keep guests away. Below, a list of criteria for checking the safety of your hotel properties. Methodology: This checklist was compiled from a number of … Continue reading ✔️ Hotel Safety and Security Checklist
Some apps only work online ("in real-time"). Others only work offline (with synchronisation). Both models have advantages and drawbacks...so why not capitalize on the advantages of both? Store execution and retail audit software must work online and offline. Let's find out why. Connected is great...until you can't connect Here are a few situations where a … Continue reading Why a Store Execution App Needs to Work Online and Offline
Ninety percent of purchasing decisions are based on visual appearance alone! Additionally, while product companies spend an average of 19% of their budget on promotional campaigns, less than 40% of displays are executed properly. If you are failing at merchandising, or merchandising execution, you are missing out on sales, period. Use merchandising audits to ensure … Continue reading Merchandising Audits: Purpose, Scope and Methods
Whether you call them « audits », « assessments », « evaluations » or simply « visits », the practice of sending a district manager to a franchisee to check on brand standards, answer questions, communicate best practices and coach is widespread. Let's look at six reasons why franchisors should "audit" franchisees plus one reason … Continue reading 6 Reasons Why you Should Audit Franchisees (It’s not What you Think)
Seasonal in-store merchandising is like the proverbial gift that keeps on giving. Programs like Halloween and Christmas may run for a few weeks only, but they have year-round benefits. Let’s look at three. 1. Seasonal in-store merchandising is a profits magnet Products selected for seasonal merchandising typically come with higher built-in margins. Seasonal merchandising leads … Continue reading Why Seasonal In-Store Merchandising Keeps on Giving
Bindy recently asked a retail audience of over 49,000 retail professionals an open-ended question: "Do mystery shopping programs work?" Members quickly answered. The answers are overwhelmingly mixed or downright negative on mystery shopping. While some praised the insights it brought, the majority argue that mystery shopping simply doesn't work. Let's dive in. as good as … Continue reading In Your Words…Mystery Shopping Doesn’t (Really) Work
Why a lexicon? Many industries have their own vocabulary to describe the various facets and nuances of their trade. Retail audits (also called store walks or store inspections) are no exception. This is the lexicon for retail audits, retail execution and brand standards. It is based on Bindy's interactions with operations and brand-standards minded retailers … Continue reading Lexicon of Retail Audits and Brand Standards
You need to check brand standards across your retail or hospitality business, for all franchisees and locations. How do you do that? Do you rely on district managers, their experience and personal touch or do you deploy checklists for all to fill-out? Checklists largely consist of yes/no answers to standard questions. When a district manager … Continue reading District Managers or Checklists?
There are now mature, highly efficient, largely automated systems for conducting retail audits. Some organizations devise their own system, one or more "checklists", usually with Excel and email. Is this approach practical and cost-effective? In this post, we compare how much retail audits cost, with and without retail audit software. Let's get started. Audit Option … Continue reading How Much do Retail Audits Cost?
We have a bone to pick with some of our favorite QSR brands. It’s not the menu. It’s not the service. It’s not the seating, the parking lot nor the drive-thru. Quick service restaurants have obviously spent money, deployed systems and rolled-out processes in these key areas and it shows. But when nature calls, or … Continue reading Great Sandwich. Lousy Restrooms.
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