How To Achieve Consistent Store-Level Execution In Retailing And Drive Increased Sales

By Reflexis Systems, Inc.

Recognizing that competing on price alone is rarely a good idea, retailers increasingly rely on a differentiated store experience to set themselves apart from the competition and improve financial performance. To accomplish specific customer satisfaction, sales, and profitability objectives, retailers develop corporate strategies around new products, promotions, store appearance, and customer service levels. Customer satisfaction is the number one priority for retailers, according to a recent suvrvey of retail executives conducted by Gartner Research and RIS News. Little wonder then that the same survey also found that merchants are investing the most in store level solutions to improve the consumer experience: even the most brilliant corporate retail strategy that aims to improve customer satisfaction will under-perform if it is not carried out to expectations in the stores.

Retailers that can consistently and efficiently execute their corporate strategy can boost employee productivity, reduce costs, and above all, improve customer satisfaction and sales. Yet, many retailers experience high levels of variability in their store-level execution due to a variety of reasons, including ill-conceived and poorly designed tasks; uncoordinated corporate planning and communication; lack of timely and actionable information; and differences in staff abilities. By implementing a formal approach to minimize variability, companies can successfully manage what they had previously considered to be uncontrollable — the execution of their corporate retail strategy across all stores.