White Paper: Bridging The Merchandising And Store Operations Divide

By Rob Garf and Fenella Sirkisoon, AMR Research

A retailer's brand value is best represented when the consumer is actually in the store making a purchase decision. Why is consistently fulfilling brand execution so important? How about this: 85% of purchase decisions are made at the shelf, and the average consumer looks elsewhere after 2.3 negative experiences. Retailer missteps include outof- stock products or difficulty with a store associate—both controllable circumstances given the proper execution processes. With disappointed consumers taking potentially hundreds of thousands of spending with them to a competitor, the effect on future earnings is obvious.

While it is easy to place blame on store associates for a poor experience, the execution process starts well before the point of consumer interaction. There are several months, multiple handoffs, and numerous owners from the time a merchandise or promotional plan is conceived until that moment of purchasing truth.

Used with permission from AMR Research, originally published December 2007