Field merchandising and compliance can feel more challenging than it appears. One moment you’re covering every store that comes in your way and the next you’re finding yourself behind numerous deadlines, new managers, weird displays, and conducting the never-ending search for the most attractive displays.
Nevertheless, the exact mistakes you wish to never see again are still the ones that constantly occur and never stop. I might have been in those shoes for long enough, so I tell you, these are not just petty flaws; they are also a source of your sales and your brand’s credibility being discredited right under your nose.
That’s why I will now point out the 5 major errors in visual merchandising I often see in the field, and the method you can use to do away with them.
1. Product Placement Failures
Before going to a store, make sure the best-selling product of yours is placed at the most noticeable spot in the store. What if, in the end, it’s not there at all, and you find that it is most probably at the extreme left on the bottom shelf, though it could be in the middle rather, and even, the items around it are mixed randomly?
You inquire from the employees, and they reply saying, “Oh, we shuffled everything last week.”. This is definitely one of the typical issues that are also mostly unattended. In this case, your product goes out of the customers’ sight, they get lost and the sales go down without any of the employees recognizing the cause.
The story is not new to me at all. Already there was a very well known snack that was placed where none of the buyers could notice it and so the stores became at least 25% less wealthy in selling it.
How to rectify the above?
Keep the most up-to-date planogram with you always. Do not let it be the memory or the memory of employees that is determining the cases. Use that piece of electronic software which is like FieldPie to get a view of your categories in a second. When you find a contradiction don’t forget to document it and report it on the spot. The sooner you get the change the quicker the sales come back.
2. Promo Materials Missing? So Are Sales
Shelf talkers, signs of promotion, price signs, insignificant-sounding, right? These are typically what tip a customer over into a purchase, though. If they don’t exist or haven’t been replaced in a long time, you’re leaving money on the counter.
I visited a store once with a new product rollout. Shelf setup was perfect, but signs of promotion were from an entirely different campaign that ran a month ago. Customers were confused; employees seemed confused.
What do you have? Customers become uncertain. They might avoid your product or select a competitor.
Quick tip:
Require photo confirmation for each stop. If you notice missing or inaccurate promotional material, report immediately. If your field tool permits, send pictures and comments live so the promotion team can send replacements as quickly as possible. No exceptions.
3. Are Empty Shelves Hiding Your Sales?
Empty shelves are the first sign “we don’t care” and speak volumes about your company’s retail merchandising standards. Customers often assume the product is either unpopular or permanently sold out and choose not to make their purchase. The main reasons for empty shelves usually include field personnel not having time to restock, or a lack of inventory due to poor retail replenishment planning.
We’re confident that nearly 30% of missed sales result from this easily avoidable inventory visibility issue.
How to tackle it?
You should enable out-of-stock tracking by monitoring stock quantities at each location you visit. If you notice that stock levels are low, don’t wait—report it immediately. By using mobile field tools (can we suggest FieldPie?), sales reps can mark low stock and instantly trigger requests to the warehouse or store manager.
Pro tip:
Always do a quick visible stock count during every visit, even if you’re in a rush. A couple of minutes spent on this can dramatically improve merchandising accuracy and prevent sales loss.
4. Brand Compliance in Visual Merchandising
Your brand is more than your logo; it’s the promise you give to your customers — and that promise is communicated through every element of your visual merchandising. When signage doesn’t follow brand guidelines — wrong colors, misplaced logos, sloppy alignment — that promise is broken, and brand compliance is compromised.
I once walked into a store where the brand’s upscale lighted stand was replaced by a generic cardboard display. The product itself was there, but due to poor in-store brand execution, it looked cheap and untrustworthy.
This kind of inconsistency damages your retail branding and, ultimately, hurts your sales.
What’s working?
Train your field merchandising team thoroughly on your visual merchandising standards until they can recite them in their sleep. Provide them with easily accessible reference guides on their phones. Teach them to quietly but confidently report any deviation from your branding in stores.
5. Is Your Display Hurting Customer Perception?
I know I’m stating the obvious. But I just can’t help but count how many times I’ve seen dusty shelves, ripped posters, or messy product displays. Customers do see them, and they assume that you don’t care, even if the product is great.
This little negligence in merchandising execution can repel potential customers in a split second.
Easy solution
Make the pickup and straightening an integral part of your routine during every shopping trip. A quick wipe-down, mending a torn sign, putting merchandise in its place — it only takes a few minutes but makes such a big impact.
Let’s Fix Field Execution and Grow
Because these small mistakes snowball and fast. They drive away customers, damage your company image, and chip away at your sales numbers.
But, on the other hand, getting them done correctly will add 20-30% to your sales that’s huge. If you’re in the field, software such as FieldPie is revolutionary. It enables you to recognize problems in real time, report them in real time, and keep everyone updated.
