In the past decade, the emphasis on collecting, reporting, and analyzing data has come front and center for CPG manufacturers. For brands selling at retail, the increased availability of point of sale data (from retailers or syndicated sources) has provided teams with a snapshot of when and where their products are scanned for purchase. Armed with this data, brands have a heightened ability to identify retail trends, competitive threats, and opportunities for growth.
While the use of POS data to improve visibility into retail has become commonplace, many brands still have a long way to go. As much as 92% of brand manufacturers believe they can do more with the POS data they collect from their retail partners. That’s up 15% from just two years prior, suggesting more brands than ever are ready to use their POS data smarter — they’re just not sure where to start. Currently, only 28.5% of CPG companies believe that they have the tools they need to make appropriate decisions at the store level, despite the availability of POS data.
In the 2020s, advancements in retail execution software will allow brand manufacturers to link POS data to data collected in the field, so they can identify the exact store conditions and sales activities that lead to growth. From there, field sales and merchandising teams can target the stores where they can have the biggest impact on sales.
While some high-performing teams are starting to make those connections today, it will become an essential competitive advantage in the next decade. With access to POS data now an industry standard, those brands that choose to invest in maximizing the versatility of that data will be able to allocate resources more efficiently, strengthen retailer partnerships, and establish a reputation as proactive, data-driven teams in the years to come.
To learn more about what leading brands can do to maximize the impact of their POS data, check out our eBook The 4 Innovations Shaping Retail Execution in The 2020s. In this eBook, we elaborate on the topic of POS data in the next decade, as well as provide three more innovations in retail execution that will change the way CPG brands work in the 2020s and beyond. You'll learn how to:
- Discover the why behind POS data in every store
- Use targeted territory coverage to yield targeted results
- Build data driven relationships with national accounts
- Democratize data with all-in-one retail execution platforms
