Sector · Retail

Reporting for retail

Comparing two stores takes more than two revenue figures: floor space, footfall, assortment and the trading calendar explain most of the gap. A useful retail report is one that brings the stores onto a comparable footing.

Expert consultants: 11
Projects delivered since 2019: 100+
Of scoping workshop, free: 2 h
Saint-Priest, and the whole region: Lyon

Where the figures come from

The systems we connect in this sector

The tills

Receipts, sale lines, payment methods and discounts granted, sent up from each store.

The ERP and purchasing

Assortment, price lists, supplier orders, receipts and transfers between stores or warehouses.

Online sales

Web orders, click and collect and returns, to set against in-store sales and read the customer’s real journey.

Loyalty and footfall

The loyalty programme, people counting, and the staff rota in store.

What you follow

The indicators these companies really watch

These are the ones we find from one project to the next. Your list will differ at the edges, and refining it is the work of the scoping workshop.

Like-for-like performance

Sales per square metre and movement on a constant store base. It separates growth that came from trading from growth that came from openings.

The basket and what is in it

Average value, number of items and attachment rate. A rising basket rarely comes from a price: it comes from one more item.

Conversion rate

Receipts against footfall, by time slot. Crossed with the rota, it says whether the staffed hours are placed at the right moment.

Shrinkage and discounts

Stocktake differences, discounts granted at the till and promotional events, with their real effect on the margin of the period.

Turnover by family

Cover in days and observed stock-outs, by store. A stock-out reads in the sales that did not happen as much as in the stock at zero.

Seasonality accounted for

Comparison with the same week last year rather than with the previous month, with the promotional calendar alongside.

What calls for care

The points where these projects are decided

They come back almost every time in this sector. Knowing them in advance changes how the project is run, and the order in which things are done.

Frequently asked

What people ask us about this

Can we have yesterday’s sales first thing in the morning?

Yes, as long as the tills send their data overnight. It is the most requested freshness in retail and it holds with no particular architecture. A refresh during the day stays possible, and it gains from being reserved for the indicators where the hour changes a decision.

How do we compare a city-centre store with an out-of-town one?

By bringing sales onto a common base: floor space, opening hours and footfall. We put those bases into the semantic model, which makes the comparison available in every report rather than recalculated each time.

Our footfall data covers part of the estate, is it useful?

Yes, on the stores that have it, and the report says so clearly. A conversion rate calculated on half the estate is still a strong signal, provided the reader knows which stores it covers.

Other sectors

We also work here

Let us talk about your case.

Eleven expert consultantsSaint-Priest, near Lyon, France

Two hours with a consultant to look at your sources, measure the volumes and spot the rules to settle. Free and without commitment.

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