Brands want to increase their sell-in with retailers, by increasing the turnover of your products in store. To achieve this, they use various sales and marketing mechanisms (increasing the number of references, merchandising, dramatization, promotion, animation, etc.), but without being able to measure performance. They'd be better off analyzing sales performance (sell-out) by outlet. Sell-outs are the only way to carry out these analyses by product and by store, and to measure actual sales. But these famous "sell-outs" are expensive and difficult to obtain.
That's why we've decided to devote this article to it: here, you'll understand why checkouts are essential for identifying sales dynamics in supermarkets, how to analyze checkouts, and above all how to stack the odds in your favor to obtain them at lower cost!
Checkout refers to the data collected by sales outlets when consumers pass through the checkout while shopping. By analyzing checkouts, we can understand which products are selling well, when, in which stores, and so on. A veritable diary of the store's transactions, this data can be enriched by loyalty card scans, enabling purchases to be linked to a customer.
Intermarché, Casino, Auchan and all the other major retailers use them for their accounting and reporting needs. However, this data, also known as sellout, is a goldmine for in-depth point-of-sale analysis, benefiting both the retailer and you, the brand.
Sell-out therefore corresponds to actual in-store sales, as opposed to sell-in, which refers to products purchased from your brand.
When distributors share their checkouts with you, it's called data sharing. This gives you a powerful tool for strengthening collaboration with your resellers and retailers!
Except that, as a manufacturer, you'll have to negotiate them with your distributors, since they own them...
The reason why checkouts are so valuable for brands selling in supermarkets is that they enable them to put an end to the notorious "invisibility" effect between central purchasing and checkout results.
This is because, in intermediate distribution, the agreements you sign with central purchasing bodies relate to a global volume. Being referenced is therefore excellent news, as it guarantees you a certain volume of orders by the chain in general. This is known as sell-in.
Except that...
While most companies keep track of the means they use to increase sales, in particular through shelf-space surveys, only sell-out data can really tell the whole story. In other words, while it's essential for your area managers to check in-store that the negotiated assortments are actually present, you'll still need to collect sell-outs to be able to analyze your results.
In the end, an increase in sell-out translates into an increase in sell-in!
Sharing this data, known as datasharing, generally gives you the opportunity to display the following analyses:
As you can see, analyzing checkouts is an essential step for brands operating in supermarkets, as it provides them with invaluable insights into consumer purchasing behavior at a highly granular level.
Share of stock - i.e. the number of references on the shelf versus the number specified in your distribution agreements - is a very crucial figure, as it indicates the importance of your ranges in the eyes of the distributor.
However, the fact that the right number of items are on the shelf does not mean that the products are selling well. Sales at the checkout therefore enable us to correlate analyses of presence, representation and merchandising with sales generated.
But that's not all: you might also want to use checkouts to back-up your area managers when they're underwater: having these automatic checkouts enables you to keep an input on sales without your sales reps having to systematically visit the site.
The multiple uses to which actual sales figures can be put make them an object of desire for many of your organization's key contacts: sales and marketing management, but also key accounts, sales management, regional managers and, of course, area managers.
In short, checkouts are useful for trade marketing, for sector managers and for steering sales strategy. So why do so few use them? Brands don't ask for them, because getting sell-outs is expensive. There's also a technological limitation: many CRMs don't allow you to use them.
Two limitations that present challenges for brands wishing to acquire them. In the second part of this article, we'll explain how to get them and how to exploit them, to take the sting out of the equation.
As you'd expect, retailers are well aware of the value of checkouts for brands. That's why supermarkets don't hesitate to use them as levers to ask you to make additional financial efforts or sell you new services.
Sharing distributor data allows you to benefit from detailed sales by sales outlet. These are the famous sell-outs mentioned above.
Spoiler alert... Your distributors know you want them, and as usual, you'll have to pay for them!
For example, you can expect to be given the cash register outlets in exchange for subscribing to in-store retail media offers. These digital advertising formulas - often large screens positioned high up in the aisles - are tending to replace traditional point-of-sale displays. As well as boosting sales, they enable you to benefit from a more modern image, and thus work on your brand's positioning. Of course, it's not free...
Sidely Council:
Take the time to study your data sharing objectives carefully. In fact, sell-out data sharing is generally included in the distribution contract for a period of twelve months. It's not a deal to be taken lightly, because if you make unsustainable financial or logistical efforts, the impact on your business could be far-reaching. So take a look at the list of possible benefits we've proposed above, and give yourself the means to improve your bottom line with data sharing, so as to justify the purchase!
You've got the checkouts and think you've cleared the last hurdle!
But we'll have to wait a little before uncorking the champagne...
Datasharing faces two challenges:
Fortunately, Sidely takes into account all retail formats and offers a database that integrates store codes. All you have to do is import them into our CRM, and you'll be able to analyze them. They will be linked to each of your customer stores. What's more, since formats vary from one chain to another, Sidely takes them into account and links them to store codes, enabling you to make the link with the stores to which they belong.
In fact, integrating your sells-out is quite simple:
Speaking of analysis, let's get to the heart of the matter: how do you analyze your cash outflows?
Sidely's advice is to think along the following lines:
For a long time, this was our customers' motto, and now it's ours:
These dispersal effects are detrimental to your company's performance. At a time when EDI systems allow systems to interface, it has become crucial to be able to centralize all your data in order to reap the full benefits.
At Sidely, we understand these challenges and go beyond simply facilitating in-store data collection. We give you the tools you need to integrate this valuable information.
And for good reason: centralizing your data and integrating your checkouts with your CRM gives you a consistent, global view of your POS performance. This facilitates analysis and decision-making, by making data accessible and exploitable by all members of your team.
So, are you ready to turn your sales data into sales? Ask us for an online demo !
