Retail Audit:
Inspection and Diagnosis of Your Point of Sale
We inspect labeling, pricing, stock, layout, POS displays, window displays, and customer service. The fundamental basis of your retail strategy.
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The Importance of Retail Audit (Store Audit) for Your Business
We seek an objective view of the actual condition of the point of sale. Every channel strategy and action must be backed by reliable data to meet the challenge of ensuring flawless retail execution. A rigorous retail audit is, in essence, the most accurate snapshot of what is really happening in your stores.
Our point-of-sale audit also known as a store audit or commercial audit not only identifies opportunities for improvement, but also highlights the importance of brand consistency and visibility in every store. A point-of-sale audit is the essential starting point before designing any channel action plan.
We collect and analyse data on labelling and prices, product placement, competitor positioning, facings and stock levels to provide an accurate picture that helps our clients make tactical and strategic decisions quickly. The result of a well-executed retail audit is always the same: greater control, greater visibility and better results on shelf.
Audit Methodology:
Understand, Analyse, Improve
Our retail audit methodology is structured in three phases that turn raw data into actionable decisions.
UNDERSTAND
Objective view of the POS
We obtain a clear, objective picture of each point of sale’s performance: shelf condition, POS display presence, stock levels, labeling, and window displays. Data-driven and free from bias.
Objective view of the POS
We obtain a clear, objective picture of each point of sale’s performance: shelf condition, POS display presence, stock levels, labeling, and window displays. Data-driven and free from bias.
ANALYSE
Diagnosis and benchmarking
We identify gaps between brand standards and the reality at the point of sale. We compare locations, zones, and time periods to detect patterns and opportunities for improvement within the retail audit.
Diagnosis and benchmarking
We identify gaps between brand standards and the reality at the point of sale. We compare locations, zones, and time periods to detect patterns and opportunities for improvement within the retail audit.
IMPROVE
Concrete action plan
We design and prioritize specific actions: price corrections, restocking, repositioning of POS materials, or sales staff training. Every retail audit concludes with an actionable plan, not just a report.
Concrete action plan
We design and prioritize specific actions: price corrections, restocking, repositioning of POS materials, or sales staff training. Every retail audit concludes with an actionable plan, not just a report.
How It Adds Value:
Detect, Study, Decide
A well-executed retail audit generates tangible value across three key dimensions for any brand or manufacturer with a channel presence.
DETECT
Errors and incidents
Reduce errors and bias by leveraging the impartiality and precision of a specialized external team. We detect stockouts, pricing errors, missing POS materials, and planogram deviations before they impact sales.
Errors and incidents
Reduce errors and bias by leveraging the impartiality and precision of a specialized external team. We detect stockouts, pricing errors, missing POS materials, and planogram deviations before they impact sales.
STUDY
Data with context
We analyze trends over time, compare performance against the competition, and study the behavior of each brand. You receive timely, detailed reports that enable you to make agile, well-founded decisions based on your point-of-sale audits.
Data with context
We analyze trends over time, compare performance against the competition, and study the behavior of each brand. You receive timely, detailed reports that enable you to make agile, well-founded decisions based on your point-of-sale audits.
DECIDE
Strategic action
Save internal resources by outsourcing retail audits and focus on critical areas of your operation. Store audit data provides the foundation for deciding where to invest, where to make corrections, and how to prioritize your presence in the channel.
Strategic action
Save internal resources by outsourcing retail audits and focus on critical areas of your operation. Store audit data provides the foundation for deciding where to invest, where to make corrections, and how to prioritize your presence in the channel.
Difference Between Retail Audit, Mystery Shopping and Retail Analytics
Three services that are often confused but answer different questions. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right service —or combine them— according to your objective.
Retail Audit (Store Audit)
What does it measure? Task force, field promoters, POS materials, and product training.
Result: Objective diagnosis del PDV. Detects incidents and deviations del brand standard. Corrective action plan.
Mystery Shopping
What does it measure?: The customer experience in store: service received, salesperson’s sales pitch, purchase process.
Result: Assessment of perceived service quality. Identifies gaps en la customer experience y team training.
Retail Analytics
What does it measure? Sales, traffic and consumer behaviour data over time, cruzados con external variables.
Result: Strategic and trend-based view. Informa assortment decisions, pricing, promotions and investment en el canal.
If you need to know the actual condition of your shelves today, a retail audit is your starting point. If you want to know how your customers are treated, mystery shopping is the tool. If you are looking for trends and forecasting, retail analytics completes the picture.
Retail Audit Reporting
The value of a retail audit lies not only in the data collected, but also in how it is presented and how quickly it enables action. At SGG, we deliver structured reporting that combines visual clarity with analytical depth.
Deliverable format
Executive PDF report + interactive dashboard y con Power BI. Real-time access a los field data a través de nuestro Client Portal , con visualisations por enseña, geographical area o product reference.
Key audited metrics
Share of shelf · Facing por referencia · Stock level and stock-outs · Conformidad de prices y labelling · POS material presence and condition · Planogram compliance · Competitor positioning.
Recommended frequency
One-off audits (lanzamientos, promotional campaigns), recurring (fortnightly or monthly) o continuous para implementation projects. Frequency is adapted al pace of your channel strategy.
Resulting action plan
Cada informe de auditoría retail concluye con un apartado de prioritised actions: what to correct, in which stores, within what timeframe y with which team. From data to execution in a single document.
Why Choose SGG
for Your Retail Audit?
More than 20 years operating in the channel have given us an understanding of the point of sale that goes beyond data collection. We know what excellent retail execution means.
Retail specialists
Our natural environment is the commercial and retail sector. We know how to interpret what happens at the point of sale and understand what each client needs from a commercial audit: not just data, but context and insight.
National and Iberian coverage
We scale projects at both local and national levels, thanks to our extensive coverage across Spain, Portugal, and Andorra. Point-of-sale audits, wherever you need them.
Flexible hiring models
Thanks to our own temporary employment agency, we handle hiring via outsourcing or temporary staffing arrangements, tailored to the specific needs of each retail audit project.
In-house document management
All administrative processes and certifications—including compliance with RDL 8/2019, DOKIFY, and CTAIMA—are managed by our team to ensure maximum efficiency and agility.
Integrated action plans
Once areas for improvement have been identified during the store audit, we design and execute the specific or combined actions required by the strategy to achieve the channel's objectives.
Approved by all major retailers
We are accredited by the market's leading retail brands: El Corte Inglés, Hipercor, Alcampo, MediaMarkt, Fnac, Makro, Dia, Leroy Merlin, Eroski, and Carrefour.
Other Retail Service Specialisms
Every point-of-sale activity requires the right service. As specialized retail consultants, we have developed 13 solutions to activate, boost the visibility of, and optimize your brand within the channel.
Point-of-Sale Activation
GPV, task forces, brand ambassadors and specialist promoters to boost your sales right where they happen.
Merchandising
Implementation, restocking, window dressing, POS displays, and shelf management in the mass-market, perfumery, electronics, and drugstore sectors.
Retail Design and Production
Retail interior design, ephemeral architecture, graphic design, and 360º production for stores, pop-ups, and commercial spaces.
Headhunting Retail
As a headhunting consultancy with over two decades of experience in the Iberian Peninsula, we identify, attract, and select executive and strategic talent that understands your business from day one.
Retail ETT
Personnel qualified in visual merchandising, stock replenishment, sales promotion, and field sales/merchandising (GPV).
Mystery Shopping
We evaluate your point of sale using professional mystery shoppers, assessing sales protocols, service, brand presence, and the customer experience.
Retail Training
In-person, online, and blended training programs for training and onboarding.
Frequently Asked Questions
About Retail Audits
What is a retail audit and why is it important?
A retail audit or store audit is the systematic process of inspecting the point of sale to verify compliance with brand standards: prices, labelling, product placement, stock levels, POS material presence and window-display condition. It is important because it closes the gap between the strategy designed at head office and what actually happens on shelf, enabling fast and precise action.
How often do you recommend auditing?
It depends on the channel and competitive intensity. For major high-turnover retailers, we recommend fortnightly or monthly audits. For launches or promotional campaigns, one-off audits before and after the activation. For continuous implementation projects, monitoring can be weekly. In every case, the store audit should be frequent enough for the data to be actionable rather than historical.
How is a retail audit used to improve brand visibility?
A retail audit identifies precisely where and how the brand is losing visibility: insufficient facings, damaged POS material, products outside the planogram or incorrect labelling. With this information, the sales team can prioritise which stores require immediate intervention and what type of action is needed: repositioning, replenishment or material installation.
What benefits does a retail audit provide compared with internal data?
Internal sell-in data reflects what leaves the warehouse, not what happens on shelf. An external point-of-sale audit provides objectivity, removes bias and captures the reality of sell-out: what sells, how it is displayed and how it compares with competitors. In addition, because it is carried out by a specialised external team, it ensures consistent data collection across stores.
What technologies do you use for commercial audits?
We use our Global App with Power BI integration for field data collection, real-time validation and results visualisation. Auditors record data, photographs and incidents directly from a mobile device, eliminating transcription errors and accelerating the data-report-decision cycle.
Which sectors benefit most from a retail audit?
Any brand or manufacturer distributed through physical retail: FMCG, consumer electronics, DIY, fashion, cosmetics, food or sports. The value of a retail audit increases as the point-of-sale network grows and as shelf execution becomes more critical to conversion.
How does a retail audit integrate with other marketing strategies?
The retail audit is the starting point of the channel’s continuous improvement cycle. Its data feeds the trade marketing strategy (promotions, POS materials, activations), sales-force planning and training plans. Combined with mystery shopping and retail analytics, it provides a 360-degree view of the point of sale: physical condition, customer experience and business trends.
Looking for accurate data to support your retail decisions?
If you want to know exactly what is happening at your points of sale, let’s talk. We design the retail audit programme you need, from a one-off audit to a continuous monitoring model.
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