Retail Execution and Monitoring: A Guide for CPGs and Retailers

In an era where shopping is just a swipe away, it may seem surprising that successful CPGs and retailers still depend on a fundamental principle: getting the right product in the right place at the right time. This is contributed by the fact that an in-store customer buys what he/she sees on the shelf. Also, 80% of today's consumers still prefer to shop in physical retail stores instead of ordering over the online store. While retail execution might feel routine, it is essential for creating outstanding customer experiences and boosting sales.

In this article, we’ll explore the key elements of retail execution, the challenges that CPGs and retailers encounter, and the advanced technologies that can enhance monitoring and improve performance.

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What is Retail Execution and Monitoring

Retail execution refers to the set of activities that ensure that a product is properly presented in stores. This involves everything from product placement and pricing to promotions and inventory management. 

For CPGs and retailers, effective execution can make or break a product's performance in-store. Poor execution can lead to frequent stockouts, incorrect pricing, or products being placed in less visible locations, all of which negatively impact sales. Monitoring them regularly ensures that issues are quickly identified and corrected before they affect the customer experience. In short, proper execution and monitoring ensure operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and increased sales.

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Driving Forces of Retail Execution: The 4 Ps

A successful retail execution strategy is anchored by four essential components—Product, Pricing, Promotion, and Planogram compliance. These interconnected forces ensure that products are available, correctly priced, and positioned optimally to drive consumer purchases.

Product

Ensuring the right product assortment is critical for meeting consumer expectations. Retailers must choose products based on local demand and ensure stock levels are maintained to prevent lost sales from stockouts.

Pricing

Accurate pricing is essential for both in-store and e-commerce success. Competitive pricing, along with maintaining consistency across channels, ensures customer trust and drives purchasing decisions.

Promotion

Promotions boost customer engagement and drive sales. Effective execution means aligning in-store displays with promotional campaigns, ensuring visibility, and that discounts are applied properly at the point of sale.

Planogram Compliance

Planogram adherence ensures that products are positioned correctly for maximum visibility and easy access. Proper implementation of planograms boosts product discoverability, driving sales and improving the overall shopping experience.

These 4 Ps form the backbone of any retail execution strategy, ensuring that operations are streamlined and customer satisfaction is maximized.

Also read: How to Develop a Perfect Store Strategy

While knowing the driving forces might help you build a strategy for an effective retail strategy, it’s essential to recognize that despite the outlined strategies, challenges in retail execution management still persist.

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Challenges in Retail Execution Management

Despite its importance, executing retail strategies is not without its challenges.

• Complex Store Execution Strategies: Understanding and implementing complex in-store strategies can be difficult, especially across multiple locations. This often results in inconsistent execution.

• Inefficient Communication with HQ: Lack of clear communication between headquarters and in-store teams can lead to poor execution. For example, promotions may be rolled out without in-store teams being fully prepared, leading to inconsistencies in implementation

• Lack of Visibility and Monitoring: CPG sales teams often lack real-time visibility into how well products are being executed at the store level. Without proper monitoring, issues like stock outs, incorrect product placement or poor planogram implementation can go unnoticed.

• Consequences of Poor Execution: Poor execution leads to reduced customer satisfaction, a damaged brand image, and lost sales. A product that’s out of stock or incorrectly displayed is unlikely to attract customers, resulting in lower revenue.

Also read: Overcoming Store Execution Challenges with Retail Execution Solutions

Recognizing these challenges sets the stage for understanding the significance of effective retail execution monitoring.

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Importance and Benefits of Retail Execution Monitoring

Retail execution monitoring allows CPG brands and retailers to identify issues beforehand and fix them in record time, hence enabling them to maintain a consistent sales execution across all stores, all the time. By regularly reviewing in-store execution, businesses can ensure that products are well-stocked, strategically placed, and priced correctly to attract customers. This proactive approach allows CPGs and retailers to optimize operations and respond quickly to challenges, all while boosting customer satisfaction and ensuring operational excellence. Below are some key advantages of diligent retail execution monitoring.

• Ensuring Product Availability and Placement: Monitoring ensures that shelves are stocked and products are in the right place.
• Enhancing Customer Satisfaction: Customers are more likely to return to stores where they consistently find the products they want.
• Gathering Data for Improvement: Monitoring allows retailers to track execution and make data-driven decisions.
• Operational Consistency: Monitoring ensures that stores maintain consistent standards across all locations.
• Collaboration Between Teams: Monitoring promotes better communication between HQ, field reps, and store staff.

These benefits underscore the critical need for advanced technologies that can enhance monitoring capabilities.

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Using Advanced Technologies for Improved Monitoring

Up until now, CPGs and retailers relied heavily on manual store audits which were orchestrated by field force teams who visit every store and manually count products present on shelves and log them into a survey-based application. 

With the rising labor costs, this is proving to be expensive and unsustainable going forward. Apart from that, manual auditing methods are error-prone, slow and cover only a fraction of the stores, thus giving an accurate and complete picture of the retail execution performance.  With technologies like AI, Computer Vision and IoT, CPGs and retailers are enabled—real-time data collection to instantly track and monitor crucial aspects like stock levels and product placement. 

With the help of cameras, stores can detect when inventory is running low, triggering automated restocking alerts and avoiding the risk of stockouts, thus preventing lost sales. This real-time feedback empowers CPGs and retailers to make swift decisions and keep their shelves consistently stocked, meeting customer demands without disruption.

In addition to real-time data collection, image recognition technology has been a game changer in retail auditing. Tools like Paralleldots’ image recognition software allow retailers to analyze in-store conditions efficiently. For example, this technology uses mobile or shelf-based cameras that can scan shelves to check whether products are displayed according to planograms, if promotional materials are correctly positioned, and whether pricing is accurate. 

This automates what was previously a time-consuming manual process, enabling CPGs and  retailers to quickly correct errors in-store and ensure compliance with merchandising standards. This proactive approach ensures a better customer experience by reducing inconsistencies and driving in-store execution.

Furthermore, cloud-based platforms provide a centralized solution for managing retail operations. By integrating data from multiple store locations, these platforms give headquarters a comprehensive view of on-ground performance, ensuring consistency across all outlets. Managers can track execution data in real-time, making it easier to address issues quickly and ensure uniformity in promotions, stock levels, and product placement. 

This seamless integration of data allows for faster decision-making, improves collaboration between store teams and HQ, and ultimately leads to more effective retail execution. The use of such advanced technologies helps retailers stay competitive by maximizing efficiency and enhancing the customer experience. To wrap up our article, implementing best practices can further streamline retail execution efforts.

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Retail Execution Best Practices

Optimizing retail execution requires a set of best practices that help CPGs and retailers maintain consistency and improve in-store performance. These strategies are designed to ensure products are well-placed, promotions are effectively implemented, and store operations run smoothly. To optimize retail execution and monitoring, CPGs and retailers should follow these best practices:

• Build Strong Retailer Relationships: Collaborative partnerships lead to better execution outcomes.
• Provide Training and Promotional Materials: Ensure that store staff have access to training and materials to execute strategies correctly.
• Secure Optimal Shelf Placement: Placement directly influences sales, so securing prime-shelf real estate is key.
• Use Digital Tools: Digital solutions simplify tracking and identifying execution issues in real time.
• Facilitate Communication: Clear communication between field reps and HQ ensures smooth execution.

By focusing on collaboration, training, and leveraging digital tools, retailers can streamline execution and maximize their sales potential. As we conclude our exploration of tools that enhance retail execution, let’s look at specific technologies that can further elevate performance.

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Tools and Technologies in Retail Execution

To enhance retail execution, leveraging advanced tools and technologies is essential for improving efficiency and accuracy. These technologies not only automate processes but also provide real-time insights that help retailers make data-driven decisions. By integrating these tools, retailers can streamline operations, ensure compliance, and improve overall execution.

• Sales Force Automation: These tools streamline sales processes and ensure that execution goals are met.
• Image Recognition: Automatically monitor product placement and promotional compliance with technologies like Paralleldots’ ShelfWatch.
  
  ParallelDots ShelfWatch - Retail Image Recognition for Perfect Store Execution

• Real-Time Analytics: Leverage real-time analytics to adjust execution strategies and make informed decisions.
• POS Data Integration: Point-of-sale data can provide actionable insights into customer behavior and product performance.

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Conclusion

Effective retail execution and monitoring are critical for CPGs and retailers to ensure operational efficiency, drive sales, and maintain customer satisfaction. The integration of advanced technologies, such as image recognition and real-time data analytics, can significantly improve how retailers execute and monitor in-store strategies.

As retail evolves, adopting a data-driven approach and leveraging technology will remain key to staying competitive. Paralleldots offers cutting-edge AI-powered solutions to help retailers and CPGs improve their retail execution. 

Want to learn more? Book a demo today and see how Paralleldots can transform your retail operations.