Key Takeaways
- Defining retail standards will help you deliver consistent operations, quality, and customer experience.
- Busy stores, training gaps, and staff accountability are key challenges in implementing retail standards.
- Big retail stores like Goodwill leverage store standard checklists and retail auditing apps to achieve high standards.
Retail standards form the foundation for a positive customer experience, directly influencing brand perception, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, sales figures. However, juggling day-to-day operations with ensuring consistent standards can be a challenge.
Read on to learn about 8 key retail store standards. Explore tips and best practices for their successful implementation with the help of store checklists and retail audit software.
Why are Retail Standards Important?
Retail standards facilitate operational standardization and help you deliver consistent service and product quality across all outlets. This builds a strong brand image and reputation.
It also enhances efficiency and control by identifying areas of strength and improvement. You can templatize excellence and identify poor performers who need training to improve the overall KPIs.
Finally, retail store standards ensure you stay compliant with the regulatory changes, protecting you against legal non-compliance.
Checklists to Implement and Improve Shop Standards
Use these free retail store standards checklists to meet or enhance retail industry standards across all outlets.
- Store Manager Checklist
- Retail Store Inspection Checklist
- Retail Store Maintenance Checklist
- Area Manager Store Visit Checklist
- Everyday Retail Store Daily Checklist
- Daily Retail Store Daily Operations Checklist
- Shop Review – Monthly
- Retail Store Opening Procedure Checklist
- Retail Store Closing Checklist
- Pest Control Checks
- Bathroom Cleaning Checks
- Hygiene Standard
- Supermarket Parking Inspection
- Elevator Maintenance Checklist
- Valet Parking Checks
- Fire Safety Inspection Checklist
Use These Checklists: Sign up with a 14-day free trial to try them.
8 Retail Store Standards to Deliver Exceptional Service
Here is an overview of key retail industry standards, which every retailer needs to keep in mind to deliver consistently exceptional services across all stores.
Product Quality
Auditing suppliers, checking products regularly for damage, functionality, and labeling, and implementing storage practices like FIFO can help you deliver consistent product quality.
Apart from this, you can implement external standards such as ISO 9001 (a framework for consistent quality processes) to meet the highest level of product standards.
Useful Resource: Free product inspection checklist to audit the quality of the merchandise in your stores.
Inventory Standards for Retail
Inventory standards in retail usually involve the following:
- Setting minimum stock levels for each item
- Tracking inventory turnover ratio
- Adjusting inventory levels as per seasonality
- Keeping track of lead time
- Conducting timely inventory audits, etc.
Well-maintained and accurate inventory minimizes out-of-stock, increases margin, prevents spoilage, reduces retail losses, and improves customer satisfaction.
Retail Operating Standards
Retail operations encompass the activities that keep a store running smoothly. From meticulously arranging shelves to ensuring efficient checkouts, it involves managing inventory, maintaining a clean environment, and providing exceptional customer service.
Useful Resource: A Retail Store Inspection Checklist to evaluate product knowledge, store facilities, inventory, etc.
Pricing and Merchandising Standards in Retail
Fair and transparent standard retail prices promote customer loyalty and trust. This includes pricing products competitively, displaying correct prices, and making customers aware of the ongoing offers.
While standard retail pricing drives sales, merchandising, and planograms influence customer behavior. It ensures a consistent and inviting shopping experience, guiding customers, highlighting products, and influencing buying decisions.
Useful Resource: A merchandising audit checklist and visual merchandising checklist to evaluate store shelf presence, competitive position, and trade promotion compliance.
Customer Service Shop Floor Standards
To uphold these standards, implement training programs that cover product knowledge, communication techniques, and de-escalation tactics for handling difficult situations and building rapport.
Housekeeping and Cleanliness Retail Standards
Focus on high-traffic areas like entrances, checkout counters, and restrooms. Regular dusting, sweeping, and mopping are essential, alongside frequent disinfection of shopping carts, baskets, and touchscreens.
Useful Resource: Retail cleaning checklist to evaluate hygiene standards and propagate a culture of cleanliness across all outlets.
Compliance With Law and Regulations
Compliance encompasses laws like product safety, consumer protection, and fair labor practices. This ensures a safe environment for employees and customers, protects against faulty merchandise, and builds trust in your brand.
Health and Safety Store Standards in Retail
Retail safety involves preventing slip-and-fall accidents, such as maintaining clear walkways and spill protocols. Additionally, they include guidelines, such as well-lit areas and security cameras, to deter theft and create a sense of security.
Also, retailers have a legal duty to provide a safe workplace for their employees. For instance, in the US, retailers have a legal duty to follow the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) guidelines to provide a safe workplace.
Useful Resource: Create a safe environment with retail safety standards, store safety, and retail safety audit checklists.
Improve Retail Industry Standards: Tips and Best Practices
Busy shops, training gaps, and staff accountability are the major challenges when implementing store standards in retail. Here are 3 tips to overcome these obstacles and implement shop standards effectively.
Conduct Frequent Retail Audits
Frequent store audits help you identify the areas of improvement. These can be conducted by Area Managers during a store visit, but also by store teams themselves.
Based on inspection reports, you can hold your staff accountable and foster a culture of responsibility. Furthermore, you can create an actionable plan to address the identified problem.
For effective auditing, encourage auditors to take photos and notes of non-conformances during the process. Use a mobile auditing app like GoAudits to generate reports in a single click.
Implement a scoring system for an objective assessment of different areas. Additionally, create a system to assess and take follow-ups on corrective actions in real time.
👉 Did You Know: Goodwill leverages GoAudits to maintain retail standards across hundreds of stores, conducting over 1,400 store audits annually, and saving $20,000.
» Get Started: Book a demo or start a 14-day free trial to explore GoAudits.
Implement Digital Retail SOPs
Digital SOP checklists are the best way to ensure that your staff follows the retail standards. It is a top-down approach that guarantees all stakeholders know the expectations, protocols, and quality standards.
You can create digital retail checklists based on the function, department, focus area, or seasonality with an audit app like GoAudits.
Unlike paper-based bulky retail SOPs, your staff can easily access digital checklists through their mobile and tablets. You can also use them for training purposes.
Other stakeholders – managers, supervisors, HQ teams – can keep track of the checklist items and hold the staff accountable in case of negligence.
Use a Retail Store Audit App
Besides skipping paperwork, digital auditor apps like GoAudits help you implement a data-driven approach toward achieving store standards in retail.
With GoAudits, you can
- Achieve retail standards by evaluating all stores against the same criteria.
- Perform efficient and regular retail standard audits, even in stores in remote locations.
- Track audit scores and identify trends and recurring issues that cause deviations from the standards.
- Assign corrective actions (both to users and non-users) within the app and monitor their resolution.
- Facilitate communication by instantly sharing standard audit reports with your team.
GoAudits brought us speed, and efficiency and helped us drive our results. We cut our audit times in half. We improved our average audit results, from 75% to above 90% over 6 months. A great improvement for store operations, accountability, and historical tracking!
Myles Blue, Area Manager, Body Energy Club
With a rating of 4.7 stars on Capterra, GoAudits is trusted by some of the biggest names in the retail industry.
» Customer Success Story: How businesses leverage GoAudits to save time and improve operations.
