Experience the customer journey

Retail Auditing

What is a Retail Auditing program?
It’s an audit that is carried out to verify the operation of the commercial activity in the physical establishments. They are a way to control the operation of the brands and thus have the highest possible visibility on the stores. A shop retail audit helps you boost sales and improve the customer’s shopping experience. Some stores receive advance notice of some audits, while others may take place without notice. Among the analyzed data you can find: brand image, stock management, marketing, time management, work environment, etc. While retail store audits can bring valuable benefits, they can also become a huge waste of time if not properly structured and analyzed.

Types of retail audit?
Audit of retail operations: This type of audit assesses how a store carries out various operational processes to ensure they are compliant with company standards. A retailer, for example, can audit the way a store handles returns to see if the correct procedure is being followed. Operations audits are usually conducted at pre-established times throughout the year. Or they can be designed as a support mechanism before / after a special store program or seasonal sale.

Advertising audit:  Audits of a business’s advertising are common. In these cases, the auditor examines the marketing initiatives in the store. Are the products displayed correctly? Is the signage not faded and pointing in the right direction? Are the products being sold at the correct price? These are some of the questions that an advertising or marketing audit would answer. These types of audits can follow a pre-established schedule, or they can be tied to seasonal product offerings or store programs.

Customer service audit:  A customer service audit is exactly what it sounds like: similar to a mystery shopping program it evaluates the customer service practices of a retail store. This audit is done at predetermined times, however, we preffer scheduling an unannounced (or anonymous) audit, buy announce ourselves to the staff, this way we provide an especially accurate picture of employee performance along with any other customer touchpoints within the store.

Loss prevention audit: Loss prevention audits are aimed at reducing waste, risk, theft, and vandalism. These audits typically take place at certain times of the year, and help reinforce the company’s commitment to reducing this costly revenue leakage.

How does it work?
The retail audit agents are highly trained staff hired to undertake a predetermined questionaire designed to cover all aspects of the retail outlet, from the internal business processes and its employees to the customer experience perspective. Upon a predetermined time schedule known only to HDP, the audit agents will act similar to a normal customer and follow a set scenario (example: buying a pizza) this is to measure the customer interaction and service delivery, they will then introduce themselves to the management of the store and start their unbiased audit, including completing a checklist behind the counter and kitchen in this case. These visits are spread out across the week days and weekends, mornings, lunch time and evenings to gather a broard understanding of the customer service delivery. All the data collected in the electronic form is sent in realtime to the management dashboard for immediate followup.

What do we measure?
All the data collected electronicly by the agent is uploaded into the management dashboard in realtime. Some of the elements which we measure include:
Customer service performance: How are your counter sales staff performing? Do they have sufficient training? How do they interact with their customers? Are they building rapport? How do they handle objections and complaints? Are they upselling other products?
Product and menu knowledge: Do all staff have the required product knowledge? Are they able to recommend appropriate products? Can they upsell?
Store presentation: Is the presentation of your products, store and staff up to standard? Are there any issues relating to cleanliness or hygiene?
Product quality: Is the presentation of your products, store and staff up to standard? Are there any issues relating to cleanliness or hygiene? Buying experience: Is the overall purchase experience positive? Do procedures need to be modified? Are add-on sales opportunities being capitalised on?