Deliver perfect visual merchandising across your store portfolio

Launch day has arrived…

Your London flagship looks incredible, and you know it – you have visited the store yourself. You were involved in the set-up process; you were present at the unveiling, and it looks exactly as you envisioned it.

… But what does your store in Bristol look like? And what about the one in York?

Your creative vision may be flawless, but there is still a lot that can go wrong. What happens when Manchester does not have a mains connection for the chandelier you’ve sent for the window? Or the window vinyls never arrived in Bath?

It is nerve-wracking visiting your stores after a big launch. What if the vinyls are wonky, the graphics the wrong way around, and one of the fixtures missing? You can’t visit every store on the first day of a new launch, however, every store that is not executed brilliantly means a loss of sales and impacts perception of your brand.

Execution is key

Perfect execution has never been more important. According to a study by Newswire, “… physical stores play a role in sales 79% of the time and excel at converting interest to sales and increasing the value [for retailers].”

“59% of shoppers want an inviting ambience in-store and 51% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands whose stores are ‘interesting or different’, rising to 63% for consumers aged 18-34.”

But it is simply not possible to visit every store on launch day. So how can you be sure your store teams are delivering excellent brand standard in every store?

Harness the power of retail operations technology

The digital age is well and truly here. The retail sector saw a massive acceleration in digitisation during the pandemic as retailers were forced to do things differently. Forward thinking retailers are prioritising investment in technology to get customers into storse – whether it is virtual fitting rooms, or VR (Virtual Reality) mirrors.

But not all technology is good technology. Recently, the retail industry has begun to question the investment in “vanity IT” – technology that does not solve a problem, or directly affect the key day to day processes. VR mirrors are great, but are they really having a lasting impact on the business? Instead, retailers are looking to invest in practical solutions that improve the day to day running of stores, make life easier for stretched store teams and create a measurable improvement in sales.

Where does Cegid Retail Store Excellence’s visual merchandising module come in?

Cegid Retail Store Excellence for Visual Merchandising supplies a collaborative platform for retail teams to share, manage and review in-store visual merchandising standards. The cloud-based software can track task completion, manage campaign compliance, and shows you how your creative vision has landed across the portfolio.

Visual Merchandising teams can send launch guidelines to stores, which will then appear where your store teams need them: their Store Dashboard. Straightforward photo uploads make it quick and easy for stores to share photos, giving regional and head office teams instant visibility across the portfolio and enabling rapid feedback.

As Leonardo DaVinci said: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – and we completely agree when it comes to your VM tools!

For more information on how Cegid Retail Store Excellence can help realise both your and your brand’s creative vision – click here