Retail Store Audit is a market research technique covering both systematic monitoring of shopping outlets as well as ad-hoc projects. The research involves the use of standardized questionnaires or palmtops. Retail Store Audit provides information about the surveyed category in comparison with the competition’s products. It is often used as a tool to check the level of meeting the KPIs and verify the employees’ performance and provides the information necessary to plan the budget for the category for the following year.
Retail Store Audit may be carried out in several areas:
Distribution monitoring – the presence of products in the store checking the following parameters:
- products distribution vs. listings
- speed of launching new products
- range of products available in the store or in a given category
- availability of products in individual areas
Price monitoring – recording product prices. Prices may be recorded in the following breakdowns:
- regular price
- promotional price (including bonus and free)
- price in customer loyalty program
Shelf share – depending on the category, the share is measured:
- by length- by the length of the shelf
- by surface – by the length and height of the shelf
- by number of facings – by the number of the so-called facings on the shelf
List of additional displays – a list of all additional points of sale offering the product category. The record may include:
- types of display (e.g. shelf end, stand)
- places of display (e.g. main aisle, entrance aisle, in category)
- size of the display (e.g. in relation to the size of the pallet, with the number of shelves)
Merchandising – a record of all activities in the store aimed at highlighting a regular or promotional product in order to increase its sale. Merchandising may be recorded in the following breakdowns:
- place of display (regular, promotional)
- types of POS materials (shop’s, producer’s)
List of promotions – list of promoted products in selected categories. The list may be arranged in the following breakdowns:
- price promotions
- product display in additional promotional spots
- promotion marked POS materials
- other promotion types (e.g. hostesses, contests, newsletters)
List of products in a range – a list of all products available in a store or in selected categories