Mobile technology has brought relief to merchandising manager: With a retail auditing app, field reps and auditors can fill in forms and checklists on their mobile devices and the data is then, upon synchronizing, transferred to the Cloud, where it can then be accessed for monitoring and reporting purposes.
Store audits are a must-have in any retail business. Many aspects of the store might have to be checked on a regular basis, from merchandising to adherence to corporate standards and safety, so it is mandatory for management to have an efficient auditing system in place. While the inefficiency of traditional store audit checklists is the main reason for the success of merchandisers’ mobile app solutions, their reporting capabilities are why their use have become so quickly widespread.
Retail planogram checklists can be complex for all those involved with the process: From the managers setting up individual store distribution lists to merchandisers filling in information on extensive forms for several products at a time. Having an app for retail executions such as VisitBasis can greatly simplify the retail planogram checklist process.
Retail store audits are unavoidable. Besides allowing management to verify compliance with corporate standards, audits are a part of preventive control record-keeping requirements and also a way to safeguard businesses against lawsuits. Retail audit software brings many benefits to businesses.
Mobile forms for retail through SaaS, cloud-based retail audit systems solve many issues with in-store merchandising and shelf audits and also provide basically up-to-the-minute reporting.
A field marketing system allows reps, store personnel, and retail auditors to capture data on their smartphones and tablets. The information is then stored in the Cloud, where managers can run reports and follow in real time what is going on with their brands or territories.
Smartphone use during working hours is frowned upon in most businesses, especially when it involves outside contractors or field staff – such as merchandisers and marketing reps – or, even worse, store employees.
Big data is the word “du jour”. While being able to analyze large amounts of data and detect patterns, trends, and associations from such analysis might be beneficial for retail businesses, small manufacturers, distributors, and channels might feel like they are left out, since the cost of implementing Big Data can be prohibitive. However, recent cloud-based technology means software for retail execution has become easier – and more affordable – to subscribe and implement, opening the door of Big Data to small businesses.
Most retail manufacturers, distributors, and agencies have adopted digital tools for merchandisers to perform in-store activities. The advantages are clear, from having all data in digital format from the moment it is captured to the ease of scheduling and planning in-store tasks for reps.
Field marketing is mandatory when it comes to promoting retail channel sales. From product distribution to store auditing and sampling promotions, field marketing is the most certain way for CPG brands to tweak their message and get in front of the right customers. But with such and array of different activities being performed by sometimes …
