Planogram software has evolved into a powerful retail planning tool, but have retailers evolved too?

Recent studies have shown that despite the pandemic, brick and mortar retail continues to be preferred over e-commerce by a significant margin. After e-commerce hit a pandemic high of 25.5% of all retail sales (excluding restaurants, motor vehicles and gasoline sales) in April 2020, they have begun going back to pre-pandemic levels. In December 2020, e-commerce sales had already dipped back to 21.3%, and the e-commerce share of sales is now only 2.0 percentage points above its trend since 2014. With customers back in stores and looking for an engaging and elevated experience, brick & mortar retailers need to prioritize optimizing the customer experience as well as their retail operations, which can benefit both the in-store experience and store performance.

The optimization of stores starts with the optimization of space, and planograms have long been incorporated into successful retail planning. As a critical tool  if not the most critical tool  for retailers, brick & mortar retailers have relied on planograms to view and plan their stores for decades. At their core, planograms allow brick & mortar retailers to effectively communicate with stores, maximize the effective use of space, and ensure the right amount of product is on the right shelf. Effective planogramming and allocations can significantly increase sales and strengthen store performance. But while the planogram has evolved and become more effective, tailored, and targeted over the years, have brick & mortar retailers evolved too?

Technology has advanced and expanded the critical role planograms play, but many retail leaders still rely on outdated planogram software that isnt benefiting their brand or store performance as much as they could. At the same time, the need to look at innovative and turnkey ways to improve efficient communication with stores, ensure compliance, and improve store performance has never been greater as many retailers continue to navigate through our post-pandemic normal and rebound from lower sales and shifts in consumer behaviour seen during the height of the pandemic.

The future of planogramming is here, and the future is one-click.

With ORs retail management platform and its one-click planogramming feature, the benefits to retail team are extensive. Many of ORs new clients are drawn to the simplicity of the tool and the ease with which they can refine floor plans and expedite go-to-market strategies. Retailers are that are further along in their planogram journey see additional benefits such as a reduction in level of effort (LOE) among frontline staff, saving them money and improving the bottom line. Our tool helps retail leaders optimize their store operations, with benefits for both HQ and store associates.

Benefits of one-click planogramming for management and HQ:

• One-click to improved communication. With OR, management can send localized planograms to each store based on store-specific data captured in our system. Data-driven store profiles are automatically created that then inform the targeted planograms each store receives, making communication with stores tailored and seamless.
• One-click to streamlined collaboration and improved visibility. ORs clients can collaborate across functions and departments to add, move, or remove fixture elements to a planogram in a shared view. Teams have stronger visibility into floor plans and greater insight into their stores.
• One-click to hyper-localization. While some planogram software provides an overview of space planning to retailers, it only tells half the story. OR allows retail teams to plan at a micro level, targeting every fixture in every store in a strategic way, with every store receiving different content that reflects the unique attributes of each. With OR, retailers can create a variety of campaigns based on region, demographics, type of store, and time of day, among other inputs. Campaigns are more strategic and go-to-market timelines are reduced.
• One-click to measure store compliance. With ORs AI and deep Machine Learning (ML)-powered Automated Photo Compliance (APC) feature, the automated recognition of images uploaded by stores means HQ no longer has to manually review photos to ensure compliance. On average, ORs clients report that 98% of images are accurately captured on the first attempt, empowering retail leaders with a realgram for each store and a quick way to assess store effectiveness.

Benefits of one-click planogramming for stores:

• One-click retail execution. Store associates know exactly what they need to do in their stores to maximize sales and strengthen store performance. With OR, they can open tickets and order missing or damaged items with one click, allowing them to get to full compliance faster while saving both stores and HQ time and resources by avoiding archaic ticketing systems.
• One-click to look up SKUs. By integrating store inventory into OR, store associates can easily and quickly look up specific SKUs, ensuring efficient use of time and resources.
• One-click to demonstrate compliance. With ORs Automated Photo Compliance (APC) feature, demonstrating store compliance has never been easier. With APC, staff are empowered to execute their planograms by simply holding their smart phone camera up to a display. ORs propriety AI and ML-powered engine then confirms the actual fixture against the planogramed fixture in its software, executing the fixture as compliant or opening a ticket in the event theres an issue.

As the planogram has evolved, brick & mortar retailers have evolved with it to varying degrees, often unaware of technology advancements that are changing the nature of retail planning. Yet the time to look at technology-driven solutions to improve performance has never been more urgent – retailers across the globe are facing a perfect storm, dealing with labour shortages, supply chain issues and inflation. Against that backdrop, brick & mortar retailers are faced with the challenge of offering superior customer service and efficient product delivery within significant operational constraints, and are often under pressure to do more with less. With retail software like OR and its one-click planogramming feature, retailers can save time and money, freeing up resources to focus on other priorities. Let OR get to work for you.