Retail Merchandising Solutions to Quickly Overcome Challenges after Your Product Has Reached the Store

If you sell CPG products at retail then you know just how important good retail merchandising is. While we all hope that the retailers where products are sold will have control over in-store retail merchandising, this is often not the case, especially where brands with vast retail coverage are concerned. Merchandising challenges can directly impact the customer experience, customer retention and your bottom line.

Look at something as simple as UPC codes that aren’t scanning properly or aren’t on some products at all – it happens all the time. When a customer is in a hurry and at the grocery check-out and sees that the cashier is about to call a price check, do they wait or just forgo purchasing the product? Or have you ever experienced seeing a product on sale but then when you get to the check out, the UPC scans the non-sale price, causing you to wait while the store figures out what the actual price of the product is? How frustrating is that!

In retail merchandising time is not on your side. Each day hundreds and perhaps even thousands and tens of thousands (if you have national coverage) of consumers have interactions with your brand. Each day that goes by when your product has UPC scanning issues, or if your product is out of stock, moved, or improperly packaged or labeled, etc… is costing you more than just your lost sales. The CPG industry is competitive and consumers have so many choices that holding on to customers who have made your brand a part of their shopping list by going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure positive customer experiences is crucial.

Your ability to be agile and adapt to retail merchandising challenges can quickly make or break your success at the retail level. The number one merchandising solution that we recommend to brands that sell at retail is to have their own boots on the ground.

Having your own brand ambassadors on the ground who routinely visit retail locations to ensure that your retail merchandising is in order is the best way to learn quickly of retail merchandising issues. This will enable you to respond to retail merchandising challenges quickly.

When thinking about retail merchandising solutions, think about technology. Implementing technology that enables your merchandising team to transmit data and images in real time will keep your brand ahead of the competition.

You may be thinking that this is easier said than done, especially if you have coverage in many different retail locations. Sure, there is value in trying to build this infrastructure internally but many companies have learned that it is often less expensive to go with a pro rather than to re-invent the wheel.

Good retail merchandising companies will have the resources, infrastructure and coverage to be able to support your retail merchandising needs at a fraction of the cost of trying to do so internally. Whatever the retail merchandising solution you choose, if you want to compete, paying close attention to your retail merchandising is a must!

For more information about overcoming merchandising retail challenges and our retail merchandising solutions please visit www.storesupport.ca or call 905-847-6513.