How to improve your retail store audit process

In order to improve the retail store audit process, a solid retail execution strategy must be created and put into place. The greatest option for a merchandiser to gather crucial field information that improves their business should use retail audits. Business owners and managers can determine what works and what doesn't by evaluating data in order to make more educated decisions and changes to their retail strategy. In this article, we'll discuss everything one needs to know about performing a retail audit and how to use the information to make future business.

Numerous manual entries, data inaccuracies, sluggish submissions, and approvals are all common practices in retail auditing and inspection. Automating the retail audit and inspection process will remove these aches.

But audits won't ever stop being important for effective retailing, and they don't necessarily have to be time-consuming and labour-intensive. This manual will show you how to update your retail shop audits for the twenty-first century and maximise their effectiveness.

Audits fall short because:

• You can't expect audits to be accurate when the auditor is rating their own work, so don't put managers or retail employees in charge of inspecting their own stores.

• Using paper forms can get lost or damaged easily so are less likely to be referred back to by store teams. 

• Audits are admin-heavy. This results not just from the laborious work of filling out paper forms but also from the manual report compilation on a computer, which leaves the auditor with less time to coach, train, and interact with the shop teams.

• Retail audit report forms frequently don't have the best organisational structure. Store teams find it difficult to incorporate feedback when forms aren't standardised because HQ can't rapidly scan them or because 

 Ways to improve your retail sales audit process:

1. Define KPIs (Key Performace Indicators)

Determine the store audit's objective. Consider your competitors' performance in the area you're evaluating as well as where you wish to place your brand. Create KPIs for the objectives that retailers should then be achieving in connection to these goals.

It's crucial to assess store-specific targets as well. Verify that these target areas are examined as part of the audit by looking at the date of the store's previous audit and any comments, feedback, and action points that were documented.

2. Consider a remote audit

Remote store audits are quicker and, if done correctly, can be just as productive as in-person audits. Although it can be helpful to check in with store teams in person sometimes, remote audits allow for the completion of more audits in a shorter amount of time and enable more frequent contact with stores.

3. Find the right retail audit software to help you 

You need a tool that will make conducting audits effective and efficient. Auditors can retain thorough records in a portable format that can be emailed to headquarters in just a few clicks using an app on their smartphone or tablet, which is ideal for this.

To provide unambiguous feedback, HQ should be able to annotate and comment on digital report forms using an app that lets users attach photographs. This functionality is useful for both loss prevention (HQ can monitor where often damaged or stolen merchandise is placed inside the store) and merchandising (HQ can make sure displays and signage are properly positioned).

The ability to recognise product packaging and labelling helps users quickly determine whether their products are being presented properly. You should be able to access all audit data using the tool you select.

4. Create standardized checklists and report forms

Create standardised report form templates using the selected auditing instrument. To offer HQ a complete view of how a shop is operating, forms should include checklists, open inquiries, and opportunities for general comments. Audit report formats must be scannable while allowing auditors to add more information as needed.

Reports should be digital because employees may access them on many devices and paper forms are easily lost or damaged.

4. Track progress in real-time

With the appropriate tool, the auditor should be able to assign action plans, monitor their progress through the app in real-time, and automatically send reports to managers and other stakeholders.

Making the most of store data is crucial, so the technology you choose should make it simple to analyse audit data by store, region, and country so HQ can assess compliance and performance and spot trends. Data from audits should be able to be integrated with information from other KPIs, such as sales and training.

Conclusion:

Retail store audits can only provide insights that are as good as the audits themselves. Now, consider how your company might improve its retail audit process by organising the data collection, analysis, and scheduling processes.

Before developing a retail audit strategy, be sure that sufficient steps are done to appropriately record the data. Contact us right now to find out more about retail audit store service and the different types involved in it. Get in touch with our experts to know more about our offerings and methods.