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Key Steps for Conducting a Retail Sales Audit


How are your stores performing? Deviations from an established marketing strategy can spell disaster for the bottom line. Companies conduct retail audits to make sure that retailers comply with the agreements made at the beginning of the relationship and to avoid the risk of confusing consumers and damaging their product’s reputation.
However, traditional retail audits methodology can’t give you the answer how your stores are performing at this very minute. But a real-time retail audit software solution definitely can.

Field reps using retail audit software get access to all the data and tools needed to perform retail audits at stores. Retail audit mobile solution comes with the ability to create mobile forms so your field reps can quickly collect store data using their tablets or smartphones. Here is the list of the most important things your field reps take note of during a retail audit visits.

1. Location.
In-store & shelf positions and the number of facings may have great impact on product sales. When conducting a retail audit, first thing that field reps usually take note of is where exactly in store the product is located and does the in-store location corresponds to the initial agreements with the retailer.

Shelf location also has a significant impact on sales. The best shelf position is being closer to the center of the aisle and eye-level on the shelf. The number of facings can have an effect on product sales similar to that of shelf location. More facings and best shelf location generally means more profit but only if the extra cost of purchasing additional facings and the best shelf position does not overweight the gains made in sales. To make this location data more useful retail audit software provides an opportunity to supplement it with a photo of in-store location, shelves and facings.

2. Price.
This issue is also very important thing to track when conducting a retail audit. The wrong price for your product means failure of your sales predictions and may cause customers negative reaction to your brand. That’s why if your product has wrong price at a point-of-sale it should be addressed immediately. Cloud retail audit software allows companies to act fast in multiple locations as soon as a price discrepancy is reported.

3. Stock.
It’s one of the key issues to be controlled if you want your sales to grow. Field reps should always control how many of your products left on the shelf and in store, and which of them need a re-order. Damaged and overstock items can impact your sales. Using retail audit software gives your field reps an opportunity to make product orders and returns right at the point-of-sale with just a couple of actions. Your field reps can view prior order quantities and order history on their mobile devices to create an order that makes sense.

4. Competitors brands and products.
If you are able to see where exactly your competitors’ products are located and how they are priced you receive a good indication of industry leaders marketing strategies. Photo reports and customized mobile forms to analyze competitors’ products are one of the most important features of retail audit software, which allow you to use targeted marketing when competing with those surrounding brands.

5. Point-of-sale status and employee knowledge.
Using retail audit mobile forms your field reps can easily report the cleanliness and condition of the point-of-sales, store equipment condition and employee knowledge about your product to give you information about how retailers takes care of the products they sell.

6. Promotions and marketing materials.
Make sure your promotions are being followed in compliance with your marketing strategy and your promotional displays, floor stickers, posters and others POS materials are properly used at stores.  

To learn more about how to conduct retail audits using retail audit software or to start your own retail audit  free, register at www.visitbasis.com 




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