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retailers’ in-store merchandising practices are “broken and outdated,” at least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- A major problem concerns outdated planning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.”