Retail execution is often a major sticking point for consumer packaged goods brands. CPG brands with inadequate retail execution can find it difficult to be successful, especially as many fail to take advantage of the technology that is available to help them. CPG companies need to be proactive if they want to maintain their sales and aim for growth. One of the most important things to do is to be aware of how consumer behavior is changing and work on improving consumer engagement, especially at the shelf level.
The Importance of In-Store Availability
Shelf availability is one of the most important factors to consider for successful retail execution. Getting the attention of consumers begins at the self, and it has become more and more challenging as consumer behaviors have changed. With brand loyalty having less impact on sales, it’s more difficult to rely on loyal customers to spend money with even their favorite brands. With so many different products to choose from, people can easily switch to something else or make a different choice if they feel like it.
Consumers can also feel overwhelmed by how much choice they have, with an average of more than 38,000 items carried in supermarkets in 2021. But consumers typically only take notice of a few hundred SKUs and will default to intuitive and habitual processing of products to make their purchasing decisions based on their usual shopping habits and brand awareness. This makes it difficult to convince consumers to buy anything outside of their usual purchasing patterns.
Limited shelf space can be an issue too, especially with store-branded products taking up a lot of space. Smaller stores have also become more common, limiting shelf space even further. This increases competition and makes shelf availability more important than ever, especially as retailers are competing with online sales.
Essential Steps for CPG Companies
So what can CPG brands do about this to ensure they achieve greater shelf availability and successful retail execution?
For example, it’s essential to optimize your salesforce to ensure your sales reps are in the best position to execute your sales strategy. Making sure your teams have the right information will help them to achieve their goals. Real-time shelf data can provide you and them with some of the most important information that you need.
Other steps that can be taken include removing non-compliant products and tracking SKU availability to reduce out-of-stock items. Working with store managers and owners will also help CPG companies to achieve better results by forming valuable relationships.
Making Use of the Right Tech
It’s essential for CPG companies to make use of available technology to meet their goals. In addition to shelf availability, you also need to look at other factors affecting growth, such as in-store effectiveness, customer relationships, and field sales force productivity. Technology helps CPG brands to stay on top of all of these factors, ensuring the most accurate and up-to-date information at all times. Instead of relying on sales reps manually inputting data concerning what’s on your shelves, technology makes it possible to track shelves and provide real-time data.
Shelvz’ Shelf Availability module can give your company the power to track product availability and improve shelf availability. You can truly make the most of your shelf availability when you use image recognition tools to deliver the data that you need.
