A Complete Guide to the Importance of Retailer Compliance

Retailer compliance can make or break the success of your in-store display program. It’s so important and often downplayed because it’s so problematic and expensive to acknowledge. It has two parts, one is your compliance with the retailer’s requirements that the display must meet and the other is the retailer’s obligation to execute your program as they agreed to. This overview can help clarify the issues.

Your Compliance with the Retailer’s Requirements

Retailer compliance is a method by which you can ensure you work in the best way with your retail partners. It involves making sure that you follow all your partners’ exacting requirements when you enter into a contract with them.

Written Guidelines

Examples of written guidelines include:

• Maximum L x W x H for the display
• Dimensions of the fixture will be placed on
• Suggested configuration for shelves, graphic signage, and location of store price stickers
• Approved hardware for attachment to the store fixture
• Pallet requirements
• Labeling guidelines
• Maximum weight limits when loaded with product
• Appointment scheduling for deliveries

If you do not maintain compliance, your partners have every right to issue you with “chargebacks.” These are fines for when you get something wrong and can start to hurt your bottom line.

Location and Space

Knowing what location and space the retailer have agreed to put your display and for how long it will be used are important to know. Have this information before the start of your display design so you know which section of the guidelines to reference and how the location will impact the design.

Ease of Execution

Another important consideration is the ease of the store to receive, unpack, and correctly set your display up. The easier for the store staff to execute this, the better the outcome for your display presentation.
Suggestions include:

• Minimize the amount of handling store personnel must do to unpack your display, locate it, and load the product.
• Make your instruction sheets concise, clear, and easy to follow.
• Ship your display fully assembled if possible and pre-packed with the product. Make sure the product is secured and easy to access from the shipper.
• Test ship how your display is packed and ensure there is no damage in transit.

Retailer Compliance Industry Average

Retailer Compliance is also a term used to measure the level of accuracy and/or frequency of error in verifying that each store has confirmed and received your display undamaged with all components – especially signage- accounted for, and is correctly loaded with product and located at the agreed space on the agreed start day of your program. However, did you know the industry average is only 50%?!

Issues with Low Compliance

Low compliance is a huge cost factor that is extremely difficult to recover. Fixing the problem with random store visits is time-consuming, expensive, and problematic to scale but fix it you must. Not only will it improve your program’s ROI, but it also strengthens the channel partner relationship and ensures your program’s execution and timing are exactly as intended.

Tri-PlexDesign’s Solution to the Problem

Our collaboration with CapoCommerce’s retail compliance tool POP Track is an extremely easy and fast automated mobile solution that has proven to increase compliance above 90%. It will track individual store execution, visually document your display’s setup and placement, and report any issues so they can be quickly resolved. POPTrack is changing the industry’s attitude that low compliance is a cost of doing business. It doesn’t have to be and your investment in display merchandising will reap the reward.

Key Takeaways:

• Retailer compliance involves making sure you follow all your retail partners’ exact location, space, and display guidelines when you enter into a contract with them.
• Lower issues with retailer compliance by easing the shipping and execution of your display.
• Use our simple automated mobile solution to raise retailer compliance far above the industry average of only 50%.

Being a Better Retailer

At Tri-PlexDesigns, we understand the importance of retailer compliance and make sure all of our displays follow every requirement. Ready to work with us for stunning displays? Give us a call today, and we can get you started on the road to displays that follow retail compliance requirements.