Actionable Performance Insights in Retail: A Checklist

When it comes to gaining actionable performance insights in the retail industry, having a checklist can help ensure that you cover key areas and collect relevant data. Here's a checklist of actionable performance insights in retail: 

1. Sales Performance: 

• Overall sales revenue 

• Sales revenue by product category or SKU 

• Sales revenue by store/location 

• Sales revenue trends over time (monthly, quarterly, annually) 

• Conversion rates (number of sales divided by the number of visitors) 

• Average transaction value 

• Sales per square foot/meter 

1. Customer Insights: 

• Number of new customers acquired 

• Customer retention rate 

• Customer satisfaction ratings and feedback 

• Average customer lifetime value 

• Repeat purchase rate 

• Customer demographics (age, gender, location, etc.) 

• Customer preferences and purchasing patterns 

1. Inventory Management: 

• Inventory turnover rate 

• Stockout and overstock situations 

• Sell-through rate (percentage of inventory sold within a specific period) 

• Aging inventory analysis (identifying slow-moving or obsolete items) 

• Inventory carrying costs 

• Fill rate (percentage of customer demand fulfilled from available inventory) 

1. Employee Performance: 

• Sales per employee 

• Conversion rates per employee 

• Average transaction value per employee 

• Employee satisfaction and engagement surveys 

• Employee turnover rate 

• Training and development effectiveness (assessing improvements in employee knowledge and skills) 

1. Marketing and Promotions: 

• Effectiveness of marketing campaigns (e.g., return on ad spend, customer acquisition cost) 

• Conversion rates from marketing channels (e.g., website, social media, email) 

• Coupon or discount usage and redemption rates 

• Customer response to specific promotions or offers 

• Social media engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments) 

• Website traffic and conversion rates 

1. Store Operations: 

• Foot traffic and visitor counts 

• Dwell time (average time customers spend in the store) 

• Queue/wait times at checkout 

• Point of sale (POS) system data and insights 

• Customer service response times and customer feedback 

• Store cleanliness and visual merchandising assessments 

1. Competitive Analysis: 

• Market share comparisons with competitors 

• Pricing analysis and comparisons 

• Product assortment comparisons 

• Online presence and performance of competitors 

• Customer reviews and ratings for competitors 

Remember that this checklist serves as a starting point, and you may need to tailor it to your specific retail business and objectives. Additionally, ensuring data accuracy, employing appropriate data collection methods (e.g., point-of-sale systems, customer surveys, web analytics), and using data visualization tools can further enhance the value and usability of these performance insights in driving actionable decision-making in retail.