In-Store Merchandising Outdated at Most Retail Chains

RIS News research identifies several key findings for optimizing in-store merchandising sales.

July 18, 2013

CAMBRIDGE, MA – According to new research by RIS News, retailers’ in-store merchandising practices are “broken and outdated,” at least for national and regional chains.

“Optimizing In-Store Merchandising” is based on survey responses from senior executives across national and large regional retail chains, and it concludes that there’s a major weakness among retailers of planogram knowledge.

Key findings from the report include:

  • Only 3.7% of respondents said they have accurate planogram knowledge down to the fixture level for all of their stores.
  • A major problem concerns outdated planning tools, with 63% of retailers using Excel spreadsheets for in-store merchandising planning, communication and compliance.
  • A quarter of retailers fail to measure store execution and compliance regularly, with 7.4% saying they only measure it one to two times a year and 20% admitting they never do it. 

“After surveying and speaking with these retailers, and learning more about their current practices, it became clear that in-store merchandising is a very broken process. Too many retailers are still relying on spreadsheets when they really need a comprehensive solution for managing their in-store merchandising campaigns and measuring execution,” said Joe Skorupa, RIS News editor and author of the report. 

The report also found that much of the retailing industry uses workarounds when they create merchandising plans and forecasts. 

“Retailers have lost confidence in their stores’ ability to execute localized campaigns quickly and effectively,” said RBM COO Dan Wittner. “Retail executives need access to real-time information in order to carry out directives from headquarters. This level of compliance ensures that every customer walking into their stores — regardless of store location – is seeing the right marketing messages and the right merchandise, exactly how it was envisioned to be placed within the store in order to create the optimal customer experience.”

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