“How can I actually know for certain what is happening in my stores and what my customers are doing, and so ultimately know what to do to improve their experience and my commerciality?”

 

It is still a widespread scenario that head office retail functions do not know what is happening hour after hour, day after day, inside their stores.


The situation is symptomatic of the gap that still exists in many retailers between head office and stores, and the lack of communication and integration between the different retail functions. But how can any business hope to improve both the customer experience and the store commerciality without knowing the definitive answers to the following fundamental questions..?


  • What is happening in my stores on an hourly & daily basis?
  • Is the same thing happening in all my stores?
  • Is the customer behaviour effected by store operational deficiencies?
  • How are my store functions impacting my sales, efficiency and profit?
  • Where are the weak links in what we do in stores?
  • Do I have the right number of people in stores doing the right thing?
  • Do my head office retail functions need to be more engaged with stores?
  • What are my priorities to change to make my stores work better?
  • How can I see what is happening in every store, every day?
  • Am I communicating correctly with my stores?
  • Do my store managers and personnel understand what is required of them?

These questions and many more can be answered!

 

Firstly, the combination of store visits and interviews needs to be combined to understand both what the customer is doing, and what the retail functions are allowing to happen.


Secondly, new technologies can be employed to focus on customer behaviour across time, or to gather evidence of store operational functions across a wider portfolio of stores


These findings need to be combined with the correct performance KPI analysis, as well as available loyalty CRM data to arrive at the definitive answer to “what on earth is happening in my stores?”


We have developed these processes and audits, and works constantly with retail business to answer this most essential question, giving conclusions on weaknesses and opportunities, and recommendations & guidance on how to prioritise improvements to retail operations


This post is the first in a series that will explore the vast array of store operational functions essential to commercial retail success, the importance of knowing how they are working for you, and the repercussions if they don’t.