A retail audit checklist is the list of pass-or-fail checks a brand’s rep runs in each outlet the brand sells into but does not own. The seven checks are must-sell packs, layout and facings, price, the scheme, point-of-sale material (POSM), stock on hand and pack condition. In Nigeria and Kenya that outlet is usually a duka, kiosk or provision store kept stocked by a distributor or a van, and sometimes a supermarket.
Your distributor’s invoices say what left the depot. They cannot say if your must-sell sachets reached the clip outside a kiosk in Nairobi, or the shelf behind a provision store counter in Lagos. A shelf visit is how you find out. A rep who comes back every cycle also spots the slow slips: two facings lost to a rival, an old price still up, a poster behind crates.
A full store audit runs all seven checks. A shelf audit, price audit or merchandising audit runs one or two of them. Either way, this is the brand’s own checklist for retail auditing, not a shop’s stock-take against its till or a research firm’s panel count of a market.
The retail audit checklist: seven checks for every outlet
Audit only what the shopkeeper agreed to and what your own team can put right. Each check is a pass or a fail. In a duka or kiosk where the buyer asks across the counter, “on display” means the buyer can see the pack from where they stand.
| Check | Where the rep looks | Mark it a fail when |
|---|---|---|
| Must-sell packs | Every pack on the must-sell list for this outlet class: on the shelf, on the counter or on its sachet clip | A must-sell pack is not on display, even if cartons sit under the counter or in the store room |
| Layout and facings | The agreed spot, order and height, and how many facings the brand holds | The brand sits in the wrong place, its block is broken up, or it holds fewer facings than agreed |
| Price | The price on the shelf strip, price board or pack | No price is shown, or it differs from the agreed price or the scheme price |
| Scheme | The consumer offer agreed with the outlet, from its first day | The offer is not running, or a buyer at the counter cannot see it |
| POSM | Posters, danglers, shelf strips, stands and branded coolers the brand paid for | Anything is missing, torn, covered up or full of another brand’s stock |
| Stock on hand | Packs on display plus packs under the counter or in the store room | The count is below the minimum set for this outlet class |
| Pack condition | Torn or crushed packs, broken seals, expiry dates | Any pack is damaged, or its date breaks the brand’s own rule for stock on display |
Three steps go around the seven checks. Nobody scores them, yet an audit without them is hard to believe:
- Check in at the outlet. The time and location go on record, so the visit counts for the rep and the supervisor can see it happened.
- Photograph before you touch anything. One clear shot of the brand’s whole display, so the record shows what a buyer saw.
- Close the visit. Note what you fixed, take an after photo, and name an owner for every fail still open.
A rival’s move on the same shelf is worth a photo too: a new pack, a rival stand, a price cut. Send it to trade marketing. It is not a fail, because the rep cannot fix it.
Duka, kiosk or supermarket: one standard per outlet class
A kiosk, a provision store, a wholesaler’s counter and a supermarket shelf each get their own must-sell list, layout and minimum stock, with a photo of a correct display. The rep then judges a kiosk against other kiosks. Audit as often as an outlet can lose you sales between visits. The outlet class sets how much of the checklist runs, and the trade calendar adds visits:
- Supermarkets and chain stores: all seven checks on every visit.
- Dukas, kiosks and provision stores on a long call cycle: a short audit of must-sell packs, price and the scheme.
- In the first days of a scheme: every outlet that carries it, while fixing a missing display still pays back.
- After a launch: the first visits confirm the new pack reached the shelf and not only the distributor’s store.
Score it so any two reps get the same result
An outlet audit is only worth having when two reps standing at the same shelf record the same thing.
Answer yes or no, never a rating. “Good visibility, 7 out of 10” changes with whoever writes it. “Every must-sell pack on display: yes or no” does not.
Keep the before photo with the score. With the time, place and outlet on it, a supervisor or the shopkeeper can check the result later.
An outlet’s score is the share of checks it passed, out of the checks that apply to its class. Track that score visit by visit for each outlet. When a missing must-sell pack costs you more than a dented one, weight the checks; our perfect store guide explains how.
Who fixes each fail, before the rep walks out
Send every fail to the person who can fix it while the rep is still in the outlet. The BeatRoute audit works this way: each gap becomes a ticket with an owner, so no fix waits for someone to read a report.
- The rep can fix it on the spot.
Bring packs out from under the counter, face them up, hang the strip or poster, or ask the shopkeeper to correct the price. Then take the after photo. - The outlet needs stock.
Book the order on this visit, or send a restock task to the distributor. - Someone else must say yes.
The shopkeeper will not take the stand, or a supermarket’s head office sets the price. Pass it to the supervisor or key account manager, photo attached.
Then watch one number: the share of fails fixed before the next visit. If it stays low, more audits will not help. Fix the follow-up first.
In Nigeria, AAVA Brands grew store-level sellouts by 25-30% on BeatRoute SFA and DMS. Its field team tracks must-sell and focus-sell lists against its retail execution KPIs, and it now resolves execution gaps faster. The AAVA Brands case study tells the full story.
Running the checklist in BeatRoute’s shelf audit app
With BeatRoute’s retail audit software, the rep works through your checklist in the mobile app while still in the outlet. Each photo is stamped with time, location, outlet and campaign. If an outlet drops below target, its supervisor gets an alert. No network in the shop? The audit still runs, and it syncs once the phone finds signal.
The VM Audit AI Agent is now in field runs with customers. In those runs it grades each shelf photo against your benchmark for planogram compliance, share of shelf, SKU visibility, POSM and competitor activity. BeatRoute puts the agent’s cost per shelf audit 80% below a manual audit.
BeatRoute suits brands whose reps, merchandisers or promoters check stores the brand does not own; a retailer auditing its own stores for safety and operations needs a store operations tool instead. Book a demo and see a shelf audit run on your own checklist.
Frequently asked questions
Should our own reps audit, or a retail audit company?
Use your own reps when the aim is to fix the display. They come back every cycle, know the shopkeeper and can act on what they find. An outside audit agency fits a one-off check, an independent count to set beside your team’s numbers, or areas your reps do not cover.
Can we start with a checklist in Excel, a PDF or a WhatsApp group?
For a pilot in a handful of outlets, yes. Use one row per outlet and one column per check, with pass or fail in each cell. It breaks down when photos need a time and place on them. It also breaks when each fail must reach its fixer without someone reading every sheet and chat. That is the point to move to a shelf audit app.
How is a retail audit different from in-store execution?
Execution is the work: getting stock on display, setting the layout, running the scheme. The audit checks that the work happened as planned. An audit that changes nothing is only a report. Our guide to in-store execution covers the work itself.
If AI scores the photos, do we still need field auditors?
Yes, for a different job. Reps still take the photos, talk to the shopkeeper and close the gaps. Once photo scoring runs, they stop filling long forms and spend the visit on the fix.
