UNDERSTAND — Retail Audits
Retail audits that show what is really happening in store
A retail audit is a structured in-store check of availability, facings, siting, pricing, promotions and competitor activity, captured store by store with photographs. FOTS runs audits across the UK and reports the findings so you can fix execution, set pricing and prove rate of sale to buyers.
The problem we solve.
Sell-in data tells you what left the depot, not what a shopper sees. Without ground truth, pricing decisions, promotional plans and buyer conversations are based on assumption.
How retail audits works with FOTS.
- 01
Define the questions
What you need to know, and which stores and regions give a representative answer.
- 02
Build the audit
A consistent question set and photographic requirement, so every store is comparable.
- 03
Run the fieldwork
Trained auditors visit the sample, capture the data and photograph the fixture.
- 04
Report and act
Findings by store, region and retailer, with the actions they point to for sales and activation.
What you get
- Audit design and store sample
- On-shelf availability and facings data
- Price and promotion capture
- Siting and point of sale compliance
- Competitor presence and activity
- Photographic evidence per store and summary reporting
Where we deliver it
- Independent retail
- Convenience and symbol groups
- Multiple grocery
- Forecourt
- Health and beauty
- HORECA
How we measure it.
Every campaign reports against the numbers a commercial team actually uses.
- Stores audited
- Availability rate
- Average facings
- Price compliance
- Promotional compliance
- Competitor share of shelf
Proof.
Jack Link's — Building distribution and driving sales across independent retail.
- 15,000+
- stores visited
- 10,802
- decision-makers engaged
- 3,996
- orders generated
- 21,978
- cases sold
What does a retail audit measure?
Availability, facings, siting, pricing, promotional execution and competitor presence, store by store, backed by photographs.
How is audit data used commercially?
To target field sales and merchandising where they are needed, correct pricing, plan promotions and evidence rate of sale in buyer conversations.
Works well with
If your objective is
Frequently asked questions.
- How large does the store sample need to be?
- Large enough to be representative of the channel and region you are deciding about. We scope the sample against the decision you need to make.
- How quickly can an audit run?
- Scoping is fast. Fieldwork timing depends on sample size and geography, and national samples take longer than a single city.
- Can auditors also fix issues they find?
- Yes. Audits can be combined with merchandising so problems are corrected on the same visit.
Talk to us about retail audits.
Tell us your objective and we'll tell you what we'd do first.