Retail is a detailed business

Even though online sales growth is extremely strong, brick-and-mortar, and the physical store has likely never been more important.

I walk retail stores for my job, but for my own enjoyment as well as to provide insights to suppliers and others doing business in the retail environment. “Walking a store never gets old.” If you want to know your business well, you have to know your stores, and that is exactly what I do.”

Walking a store is what retailers do. I spent many years traveling with different leaders throughout the company doing just that, walking not only our stores, but also the stores of the company’s closest competitors. These days I spend in other grocery stores but still apply the same principles.

“I could spend a half-hour outside the store, driving around back and checking for cleanliness and ensuring trucks could easily get to the back door.

In every store visited included plenty of time to talk with the employees. The first stop was at the front of the store to see how many people were in line and how many cashiers were attending those needs. In walking a store is also reading a store, and to do that right, you have to talk with employees and customers.

Though retail stores have changed and continue to change significantly. The addition of self-checkouts and fewer cashiers was a good one. As we look across the store, we see many age demographics using the self-check-out, which indicates they have accepted the change. The employees overseeing the self-checkouts has accepted more responsibility and is able to help more people in her new role. The critics will say self-checkout eliminates jobs, but they miss the fact that employee(s) have the opportunity to take on more responsibility in this role, and it’s a good opportunity for advancement.

As I walk the store, we see much of the labor has shifted away from the front, but other jobs have been created, like the personal shopper.

Fresh produce and bakery departments at the front of the store are traffic drivers. Presentation is the key.

While in the dairy department, I stopped to chat with an employee, who is a department manager. The employee said he loves the job, and although it can be frustrating it’s rewarding at the same time. He has held many other jobs in his time at the store, most recently department manager of health and beauty. It has given him the opportunity to learn the fresh grocery business after years of working in general merchandise.

As I walk through the store, I spot some out-of-stocks in dry grocery and that was something I was taught and to always look for during a store walk. When an out-of-stock item was found, I was taught to call for the department manager and try to get to the root of why the shelf was empty.

Simply “We can’t sell it if we don’t have it, and being in-stock is a must.” We walked into the store with a notepad, and would write any out-of-stock we saw. Those would be shared before leaving the store with manager, assistant manager, and department manager. They were expected to have this fixed or an answer by the next visit no matter if it was two days or two months.

Walking toward the back of the store, pointing to the way the store was merchandised. The end cap displays feature two items that go together such as soup and crackers or Fritos corn chips and canned chili. In the freezer doors facing the main aisle at the front of the store, there was ice cream, frozen pies, and cool whip.

“I was a merchant, and was to taught to teach everyone who I worked with to think like a merchant.” He pointed to several store displays that promoted the season at that time. Managers and store employees should be encouraged to research their favorite item, figure out how much they can sell at a promotional price to turn a big profit. That is a way of teaching employees how to take calculated risks, which a good merchant has to do all the time.

See you in the stores.