Using Merchandising Software to Be First in the Basket

Making the most of space, displays and shelving is a never-ending challenge for retailers, merchandisers and product companies. Traditional tactics like adjusting product mixes and distributing newly designed planograms have their place, but it doesn’t matter much if your in-store execution fails.

Adding to this pressure to perform, stakeholders must constantly improve their performance against both past results and the silent sales syphon of the online marketplace. Consequences of failure to compete led to the notorious “retail apocalypse” of stores like J.C. Penney and Macy’s – with more closures expected in 2020.

To build an edge, we’ve got to understand just why today’s shoppers visit stores.

Some interesting answers come from a survey by RetailDive:

“…The primary motivation for shopping in stores is to see and try out products before purchasing. However, some notable differences exist among shoppers, depending on their gender, age and location.

In particular, female shoppers overwhelmingly want to see, touch and feel products before buying them. Males, on the other hand, skew more toward the immediate satisfaction of taking items home with them.

Shoppers at both ends of the age spectrum — younger and older generations — want to see or try products out in stores more than their middle-aged counterparts. Young shoppers clearly convey an “I want it now” mentality versus older cohorts.”

 

Turning Merchandising into Big Basket Sales

Leveraging the desire for testing and instant gratification won’t work unless all of the pieces fit together – shoppers can’t try, test or take home what isn’t on the shelf. The latest merchandising software solution, like Movista, unites retail execution’s disjointed systems and puts them into a single platform.

Take a look at the latest advances in unified retail execution to learn how stores across America get their products in the basket early and often:

1. Pricing Verification
   Through surveys or photo verification, field staff or in-store staff can send comprehensive pricing data and spot check floor execution.
   This results in reduced losses from price-change event mistakes and will ensure your latest price point is on those shelf tags or displays in time for peak shopping hours.
   Photo verification can also be used for competitor pricing research.
2. Display Verification
   Movista knows the pain of retail execution: retailers can’t sell what the customer can’t see. Quickly available photo-finish reports give execution team managers the peace of mind they need and the insights that lead to on-time completion.
3. Setup and Field Controls
   Display and shelf setup are time-intensive activities. Geo-fencing ensures that employees show up on time to check in for work. In combination with visual field verification of work, this tightens budgets and increases on-floor productivity.
4. Alert Systems
   When employees aren’t at the right location, team leaders or managers get an alert. This controls how long employees can claim they were working and can be used to benchmark the best employees (and track low performers).

We’ve said it before, but avoid using this tracking data to punish low performers. Instead, make the top performers your leadership squad. These team leaders can be paired up on shadowing missions to help improve speed, share their tricks for display and shelf setup, and more. Employees who know they are being nurtured and helped to succeed are far more likely to deliver more value, as well as strive to exceed goals and compliance expectations.

5. Planning Suite
   Top-end merchandising software systems also provide the tools you need to make staff scheduling simple and straightforward. From single tasks to entire projects, this means you’ll have staff where you need when you need them. 
6. Merchandising Execution Tools
   Delivering flawless displays and facings arrangements can be tricky with paper planograms. Try using a platform which lets you send instructions, videos and images to support their on-the-floor activities.

Retail Merchandising Software: One Tool to Rule Them All

Flawless merchandising is an uphill climb if you’re struggling to get staff where they need and get displays up on time. Movista’s merchandising software gives retailers, product companies and merchandisers the software superpowers they need to ensure perfect retail execution under budget and on time.

Schedule a demo to see Movista in action – and learn how to be first in the basket.