Pain Points: Let's Talk about the Visibility Gap

With CPG universally adopting data points of when a product enters the store (Shipping data) and leaves the store (POS), this still leaves the gap: what actually happens to a product while it's in the store? Today, we'll be diving into one of the most common pain points that hinders excellent retail execution; How to spot gaps in your in-store visibility, why it's so important, and how to fix it.

In sitting down with Storesight’s COO, Marc Yount, he stressed the impact of one of CPG’s top stressors..  “They’re blind to what is actually going on with their products in the field.” When “educated guesses” and outdated data streams  the best option at hand, this pain is what’s considered as the  Visibility Gap.

Symptoms of the Visibility Gap

The visibility gap that plagues CPG professionals doesn’t imply an empty shelf, as the name might suggest. Rather, the visibility gap is widening disconnect from what a shelf “should” look like, based upon retail data and planogram models, versus the bone fide shelf condition that customers engage on a daily basis.
Let’s take a look at a few symptoms of a Visibility Gap. 

• The Ship-to-Shelf Disconnect:  A full truckload doesn't guarantee product on the shelf. Inventory can be stuck in the back room, resulting in an "in-stock, out-of-shelf" situation that traditional data completely misses. As retail professionals know the complexity of restocking and replenishment, especially in our omni-channel and ecommerce-to-retail delivery age; the on-screen data and delivery truck are rarely identical. 

• Phantom Inventory:  A retailer’s inventory system may show high stock levels, but the store shelves often reflect a different reality. Phantom inventory can be pervasive, especially in smaller size, higher cost products. Sound familiar? Here’s an example of how Church & Dwight relied on Storesight to deal with its elusive Phantom Inventory issue.

• The Weekly Delay: If solely relying on weekly POS reports, by the time your team is analyzing sales, your competitors are already determining their next move. Not to mention, consumers may have walked away from the shelf empty-handed, and a delay in responding to customers can have a deeper impact than just lost sales.

What Needs to Change? Moving from Reactive Guesswork to Proactive Certainty

For three decades, the CPG industry has relied on POS data because it’s been the best available option. But adapting to the market’s pace means you can’t afford to wait until Friday’s report to find out you lost sales on Monday. 

That’s what Storesight truly brings to the table: reliable visibility of the shelf’s condition and competition, in real time and at scale. With over 6 million photos analyzed annually, Storesight is bringing the next wave of retail insights, giving CPG brands the ability to link WHAT sold (or didn't sell) directly with WHY (the actual, visual shelf conditions) in near real-time.

The integration of Storesight’s AI-powered analytics allows CPG professionals to leverage massive, daily image captures from the field and run them through lightning-fast Image Recognition algorithms. It’s an unbiased data source too, allowing brands to compare and compete with clarity, so you can finally close the visibility gap.

This is the next wave of transparent and informed decision making within CPG; this is the future of retail intelligence. With Storesight, your teams move from analyzing losses to proactively preventing them. You move from educated guessing to data-driven certainty.

Ready to Close the Visibility Gap? Book a Demo to See Your Shelf’s Reality.