Plan the work
What to confirm before deployment
Define the retail question the audit must answer
An availability audit asks whether shoppers can find an agreed SKU; a promotion audit asks whether the right price and display are visible. List the products, pack sizes, outlet sample and comparison standard before fieldwork. If your team needs repeated measurements, keep the definitions and visit windows comparable so a change in method is not mistaken for a change in store performance.
Separate shelf observations from stock assumptions
A gap on the shelf does not establish that the outlet has no stock anywhere. Record shelf availability separately from backroom quantities or store-system information, and only record those additional sources when access and scope allow. Missing price labels, damaged displays and products in the wrong position should have their own exception fields instead of being grouped into a single failure score.
Make every finding traceable to an outlet and SKU
Agree the outlet identifier, visit time, SKU list, price fields and required photographs. A wider shelf image helps show placement; a closer image may be needed to read the price or identify the pack. Set rules for blocked access, unreadable labels and unavailable information. Recording an unknown value accurately is more useful than filling the gap with an estimate.
Turn the report into a follow-up list
Group findings by issue, outlet and product, then assign the next action to the party able to resolve it. Replenishment, retailer approval and distributor supply may require different owners. A later visit can verify whether the visible condition changed. Corrective merchandising work should be included explicitly in the scope; observing an issue and fixing it are separate deliverables.
