Executing an effective merchandising strategy doesn’t come without its own set of challenges. These challenges must be catered for not only right at that stage of planning but also during the execution phase.
These challenges vary in nature. One of the common problems merchandisers come across is a lack of reporting and data. Sometimes it’s the lack of responsibility that gets in the way of successful merchandising execution.
Sometimes it’s the merchandisers themselves who make the process that much more complex for themselves to execute it successfully. Cometh the busy shopping season and all these challenges become all the more difficult to tackle and resolve.
When it comes down to achieving compliance and the results are evaluated, many store owners struggle to meet the expectations.
One of the most common obstacles in a successful merchandising strategy is when a brand’s product goes missing from shelves or is incorrectly priced during key shopping times. That factor must be overcome in order to successfully implement what you’d planned at the beginning of the season.
Merchandising execution doesn’t get singled out on it’s own, it’s also interconnected with other things. Results of your merchandising execution influence everything from marketing budgets to supply-chain scheduling, sales results and customer experience.
In light of the above observations, some things must be kept in mind to avoid a failed merchandising strategy.
Always keep an eye on what your competitor’s up to. The real battleground is in-store. It’s where the customer experiences your product as the benefits, pricing, etc., of each option are laid out in front of them. Consider testing different ways to stand out from the crowd.
It’s always good to take help of technology when it comes down to merchandising. But you can’t totally depend on it. These tools don’t always take into account unexpected increases in consumer demand. Therefore, you need to expect the unexpected and have a plan in place to handle a change in circumstances.
All in all, a bit of extra preparation and all these hurdles in an effective merchandising strategy can be easily overcome.