How leading brands execute programs with inspections, corrective action plans and tasks
Guess what’s costlier than diamonds these days? Acquiring customers in the retail industry. That’s right. The customer acquisition cost in retail has skyrocketed in the last eight years, recording a whopping 222% increase. How did we get here? Among other things, stricter regulations around consumer privacy, the imminent demise of third-party cookies, and the launch … Continue reading 5 Store Operations Best Practices Every Manager Must Implement
When a customer walks into a store, first impressions really do matter. As retail grows more competitive, a clean, well-considered store layout can easily mean the difference between gaining a sale or losing one. So, what do furniture and home decor retailers need to consider in order to design a showroom and product displays that … Continue reading How to Design a Furniture Showroom That Converts
Values related to sustainability, community, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have become front and center for consumers, which is why many brands have ramped up their CSR efforts over the last few years. However, it’s worth pointing out that some retailers have long been prioritizing these values. We’re referring to co-op stores. Also known as … Continue reading 7 Tips to Successfully Manage a Retail Co-op
It’s no secret that site visits are incredibly important to your retail operations. Store audits and inspections enable you to evaluate programs and initiatives, ensure compliance, and even connect with teams on the ground. However, they can also take time. Between audit preparations, travel time, inspecting stores, and following up, site visits can take anywhere … Continue reading 6 Ways to Save Time During Site Visits and Inspections
Having high standards and a strong plan of action is great, but even the best strategies will fall flat if they aren’t carried out properly. As Larry Bossidy, former AlliedSignal CEO wrote in the bestselling book, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, “Strategies most often fail because they aren’t well executed.” This lesson rings … Continue reading 6 Store Inspection Mistakes District Managers Make When Auditing Retail Stores
Use a store operations checklist and regularly inspect your locations to ensure brand standards are upheld and stores are running optimally. Use this sample Store Operations Checklist to create or update store standards or operations programs across your locations. First impressions On a scale of one to ten; how presentable is the store? Are carts … Continue reading Store Operations Checklist
Retail audits, also called Store Visits or Store Inspections, drive higher compliance with brand standards at store level. They increase sales and profit margins, boost customer satisfaction and cut business risks. Maybe you are starting a retail audit program from scratch. Maybe you have an existing program and are looking to improve or automate your … Continue reading How to Build a Retail Audit Checklist
Despite being a mature category, the alcoholic beverages market continues to grow. Analysts are forecasting a CAGR of 2% from 2018 to 2025, a performance that’s driven by an increase in young adult consumers and a rise in disposable income. This is great news for retailers specializing in beer, wine, and spirits. However, it’s important … Continue reading How to Audit Your Beer and Wine Retail Stores
Between rapidly changing consumer trends and more competition, agility is a super power in the retail industry. If you want to thrive today and in the coming years, it’s critical that you learn how to be fast, nimble, and adaptable. This post explores the topic of retail agility in more detail, and sheds light on … Continue reading How to Be an Agile Retailer: 6 Expert-Backed Ideas
Compliance with standard operating principles, merchandising programs, health and safety directives, and loss prevention protocols is essential for store success. Stores executing best practice standards run more efficiently and provide a better customer experience. But with so much going on, publishing standards does not guarantee execution in-store. Here are 5 reasons why you should measure … Continue reading Why and How to Measure Store Compliance
Conducting store inspections (also called retail audits, store visits, or store walks) should be on every retailer’s agenda to protect store operations. Why? Store inspections promote higher overall compliance with brand standards, shrink the gap between stores and head office, and improve customer experience by ensuring merchandising, service, and safety standards are executed consistently. So … Continue reading 4 Types of Inspections that Protect Store Operations
A store missing its targets or failing to meet expectations can derail company revenue goals for the quarter or even the whole year. Additionally, underperforming stores can lower employee morale. This can lead to a further decline in revenue. For this reason, managers should act immediately to improve store performance when they discover that a … Continue reading 6 Ways to Improve Store Performance
Nobody said running a retail business would be easy. Even the most conscientious retailer can get bogged down trying to juggle the tasks that comprise day-to-day responsibilities. That’s why business operations need to be approached strategically. From managing sales associates to keeping a fresh flow of inventory stocked on the shelves, you can cut costs … Continue reading Retail Best-Practices to Help You Streamline Store Operations
Running a retail store is complex, and it might be difficult to know just where to start when you’re smoothing out your processes. But making retail operations run more efficiently should be at the top of every retail executive's to-do list, and the tips below will get you on the path to streamlined success. 1. … Continue reading 8 Ways Retailers can Streamline Store Communication and Execution
Your retail business is inherently complex. It has many moving parts and a multi-faceted cost structure. Cost of goods sold, labor costs, leasing fees, hydro costs...these costs are real and have a direct effect on a store's bottom line. Control your costs and if you sell a product for which there is demand in the … Continue reading The Business Case for Using Checklists and Inspections in Retail
A retail audit is a smart checklist. It is based on a form, has points, best-practice pictures, supporting files, conditional items, critical items and action plan recommendations. Retail audits, also called store walks or store inspections, help execute brand standards, as well as identify, track and resolve deficiencies. Corrective actions Retail audits let retail operators … Continue reading What is a Retail Audit?
Customer Privately owned UK insurance broker and their risk management partner specializing in safety analysis and legal compliance in construction and engineering sectors. Problem The customer required the flexibility to create and update numerous specialized forms based on client needs, record non-compliant safety issues in real time, track resolution and easily identify safety trends for … Continue reading Case study: How a Risk Management Firm Used Location Audit Software for Safety Audits
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 1.44%. This costs "the overall U.S. retail economy $48.9 billion.” This is why we put … Continue reading Loss Prevention Challenges in Retail
Who is this Guide for? This guide for retail audits is for multi-unit retailers in industries like restaurants, convenience stores, pharmacies, spas and clinics, telecommunications, and alcohol retailers. This guide also helps parking operators and manufacturers or distributors of consumer packaged goods. If you need to collect or validate data in stores/geographic locations, this definitive … Continue reading Retail Audits – The Definitive Guide
Retailers, manufacturers, distributors and operators are all struggling to do more with less. Fewer people, less budget, less time. You need to check brand standards, you need to collect data from the field, you need to send tasks to stores. You need to do all of that with limited resources. Do you buy or build? … Continue reading Operations Software: Should you Buy or Build?