Planogram software tools have become an integral part of retail management, aiding businesses in optimizing their product placement and enhancing the overall shopping experience. This article seeks to give a thorough review of planogram software tools, outlining their advantages, salient characteristics, and step-by-step directions on how to use them for efficient merchandising and shop layout planning.
The programme includes topics like the placing and facings of products, shelving unit arrangements, and thorough descriptions of various fixture kinds. The best merchandising software interfaces with floor planning, retail analytics, compliance, and sales optimisation technologies. A renderer for producing visuals, an editor for generating layouts, and a database containing common information are typically included.
Advanced solutions might provide cooperation programmes and analytics tools for many parties. POGs software can assist businesses with a variety of challenges, including optimising space, goods placement, and traffic flow, facilitating inventory management, prioritising in-stock items, and enhancing the customer experience by organising store layouts and placing products on shelves strategically. Businesses can increase sales and overall outlet performance by assuring compliance. It helps merchants increase in-store sales and improve the aesthetics of the shopping experience.
Benefits of Planogram Software Tools
Planogram software tools offer several benefits to retailers and merchandisers. Some of the key advantages include -
1. Efficient Space Utilization
Retailers can maximise the utilisation of shelf space with the aid of planogram software. Retailers may make sure that things are displayed in the most effective and space-efficient way possible by visualising and constructing planograms. This increases the visibility of the goods and makes the best use of the store space that is available.
2. Improved Visual Merchandising
Retailers can design visually appealing and enticing displays using planogram software. Retailers may improve the overall shopping experience and draw in customers by displaying their products in a visually appealing way. Sales growth and improved customer satisfaction may result from this.
3. Enhanced Category Management
The use of planogram software by retailers to analyse and plan the placement of products inside particular categories promotes effective category management. Better chances for cross-merchandising, shelf positioning, and product selection are made possible. Retailers can enhance client navigation and boost sales within particular product categories by strategically arranging their products.
4. Inventory Optimization
Retailers can learn more about product performance and inventory levels by using planogram software. Retailers can guarantee adequate stock levels and lower out-of-stock situations by analysing sales data and consumer demand trends. This ensures a more effective inventory management procedure and helps eliminate lost sales opportunities.
5. Streamlined Collaboration
Merchandisers, suppliers, and store managers can all collaborate on planogram designs using the collaborative features that many planogram software packages offer. The implementation of the planogram is accelerated and made more effective as a result of the streamlining of the communication and collaboration processes.
6. Quick Planogram Updates
Retailers can swiftly update and adjust planograms when product assortments change and promotions take place thanks to planogram software. This flexibility enables retailers to respond quickly to market trends, seasonal changes, and promotional activity. Making changes manually takes less time and effort, and it ensures consistent execution across many stores.
7. Performance Tracking and Analysis
Retailers can frequently track the success of planograms with the use of analytical tools provided by planogram software. Retailers can assess the performance of their planograms and make data-driven decisions to optimise future merchandising strategies by examining sales data, consumer behaviour, and other important variables.
In general, planogram software solutions give merchants more control over their visual merchandising methods, boost collaboration, make better use of space, and deliver useful information for decision-making. These advantages help to boost revenue, enhance customer satisfaction, and streamline processes.
Planogram Software Implementation in Your Business
It's critical to first comprehend what they are and what they can do for a business in order to get ready to use them - the system maintains inventory and builds a visual representation of their store layout in order to optimise product placement and enhance the shopping experience. Once you are aware of the advantages, do your study and choose the software that best suits the requirements and financial constraints of your individual firm.
1. Assess Your Needs
Assessing your company's needs and goals should be your first step. Choose the precise issues or objectives that planogram software will help you with. For instance, you might want to boost visual merchandising, optimise space use, or improve product positioning.
2. Research and Select a Planogram Software
To find planogram software choices that meet your needs, conduct extensive study. Take into account elements like functionality, usability, scalability, compatibility with your current systems, and customer support. Before choosing, research your options by reading reviews.
3. Gather Data
Gather the information required to produce planograms. This normally includes details about the product, its measurements, sales statistics, and any other pertinent data. To create excellent planogram designs, make sure your data is accurate and thorough.
4. Train Your Team
Your team members who will be utilising the planogram programme should receive training. Make sure they are capable of using the software's functions, creating planograms, and navigating the system. Depending on the software's complexity, you might need to hold several training sessions or offer continuous assistance.
5. Create Planograms
Planograms should be designed and created using the planogram software. Make a store layout and shelf plan first. Then, arrange the products in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and tactically advantageous. Utilise the software's functions to speed up the generation of planograms, such as drag-and-drop capabilities, product libraries, and visualisation tools.
6. Implement and Monitor
Put your planograms into action in your real stores or retail locations. Cooperate with visual merchandising teams or store managers to ensure proper execution. Keep a close eye on the effectiveness of your planograms by keeping tabs on important metrics including sales information, client comments, and inventory turnover. This will enable you to evaluate the performance of your planograms and make the required corrections.
7. Continuous Improvement
Continually evaluate and improve your planograms based on consumer feedback and performance data. Determine what needs to be fixed, such as product positioning, assortment choice, or promotional displays. Utilise data-driven decisions to optimise the effects of your planograms on sales and customer experience over time.
8. Stay Updated
Keep current with your planogram software's most recent changes and features. Check for software upgrades, bug fixes, and new features frequently. This will guarantee that you are utilising your planogram software to its full potential and benefiting from any upgrades or additions.
Keep in mind that the implementation procedure may change depending on the particular software you select and the particular requirements of your firm. To ensure a successful integration and maximise the advantages of the software for your company, it is advisable to speak with the provider of the planogram software or to enlist the help of a specialist.
Measuring Planogram Effectiveness
It's critical to measure the performance of your planograms in order to assess how they affect sales, customer satisfaction, and your overall merchandising strategy. To gauge the effectiveness of planograms, take into account the following major metrics and techniques -
1. Sales Performance
Assess the effect of your planograms on the performance of your products by analysing sales statistics. To find out if there have been any changes in revenue, units sold, or average transaction value, compare sales before and after the planograms were implemented. To determine the effectiveness of the planograms, track the sales performance of the specific SKUs, categories, or sections that they affect.
2. Conversion Rates
Keep track of the percentage of visitors who convert after engaging with the planogram displays. To ascertain whether the planograms are successfully influencing client purchasing decisions, compare the conversion rates of planogram-related products or sections with those of other parts of your shop.
3. Shelf and Product Availability
Analyse the planograms' product replenishment and availability. Track statistics on things like out-of-stock occurrences, shelf capacity use, and product availability rates. Planograms' capacity to guarantee a seamless shopping experience is demonstrated by their ability to increase product availability and decrease out-of-stocks.
4. Customer Behavior Analysis
To learn how customers feel about the planograms, get feedback through surveys or interviews. Consult customers about the planogram-enhanced sections' navigational simplicity, product visibility, and overall shopping experience. Additionally, to learn more about how customers interact with the planograms, track their behaviour using heat mapping or video analysis.
5. Time Spent in Displays
Count the amount of time that clients typically spend in displays or sections that feature planograms. This statistic can be used to assess how appealing and engaging the planograms are. Higher engagement and possible sales possibilities are indicated by longer client dwell times.
6. Category Performance
Analyse the effectiveness of the various product categories that the planograms have an impact on. Consider KPIs like market share, basket penetration, or category sales growth. Finding the effects of planograms on category performance can be done by comparing category performance to pre-planogram eras or to similar categories.
7. Merchandising Compliance
Watch how merchandisers or store staff comply to the planogram rules. Conduct routine store audits to verify that the planogram is being followed, including the right product facing, price, and signage. Tracking compliance rates helps maintain consistency and maximise the impact of planograms because non-compliance can reduce their effectiveness.
8. A/B Testing
Consider conducting A/B testing by producing two distinct versions of the same planogram and comparing each one's effectiveness. This method enables direct comparisons of planogram designs and aids in determining the best product assortment, layout, or placement.
Before using planograms, remember to establish a baseline for comparison, whether it is based on historical data, control stores, or certain time periods. In order to make data-driven decisions and to enhance your planogram methods over time, you need regularly evaluate and analyse the data that has been collected.
8 Best Planogram Software Tools
The ideal planogram software will vary depending on the particular requirements of your company. For instance, small, independently owned stores won't require as many resources as a big-box chain. We hand-picked two of our favourite options, one free and one paid, to help you with your search. But if you want to conduct more study, there are six more possibilities listed lower down the page.
1. Canva
Canva is a fantastic option if you have a small retail staff for your merchandising requirements. It takes little to no design skill, works well for teamwork, and is completely free. Drag and drop your products into position, then edit your planogram with text and images.
Planogram design can benefit from using Canva, which is most frequently used for things like social media graphics, brochures, and presentations. You are sure to discover a template for your specific needs among the many planogram templates that Canva offers.
Price - Free with possible premium upgrades starting at $120 per year for teams.
2. Infogram
Infogram, like Canva, is not designed specifically for creating planograms, but it nevertheless offers almost everything small teams need for efficient planogram design.
Infogram features user-friendly custom templates and is especially effective for teamwork during the design phase. Select from more than 37 chart types, make up to ten projects, and look through various map types.
Price - Basic is free; Pro costs $19 per month; Business is $67 per month; Team is $149 per month.
3. Scorpion Planogram
Scorpion Planogram is a user-friendly, design-focused planogram development tool that is a good fit for small to mid-sized teams because of its focus on design.
With the help of Scorpion retail planogram software, you can quickly create effective planograms with eye-catching graphics and insightful knowledge of your categories and specific products. Scorpion differs from other space planning software in a number of areas that we've listed below that make the planogram creation process more efficient, rapid, and intelligent.
Price - Contact Scorpion Planogram for Pricing
4. DotActiv
DotActiv offers a variety of planogram software solutions for retailers of all sizes with space optimisation and performance tracking capabilities.
Users can access up to 40 products on a single-drop planogram thanks to its data-driven automation, which also offers retail insights that support decision-making.
Users may visualise store space and comprehend how shelf layout impacts performance with the help of customised dashboards. DotActiv offers a lot in exchange for its comparatively higher monthly pricing, including excellent training videos for quick learning and a money-back guarantee.
Price - DotActiv offers a 14-day free trial with training and paid subscriptions starts at $70/month.
5. Quant
Quant is among the most expensive alternatives available, yet it still contains useful features for planogram merchandising.
Their tool offers an easy-to-use interface and supports a wide range of fixture types, including traditional shelving systems, table displays, and hanging systems. Quant offers automated planograms that are intended to maximise space and sales, much as OneDoor. You won't have to worry about a user limit with Quant Premium, but you will need to pay a sizable sum of money.
Price - Quant Basic is available for $1,320 per user/year while Quant Premium is available for $4,400 per year.
6. Smartdraw
SmartDraw offers several fantastic capabilities for retail teams and is perfectly suited for enterprise-level collaboration, while not being a pure planogram solution.
It offers a wide variety of template options, integrates with a good number of widely used programmes, creates graphics on demand, and facilitates easy file sharing. Additionally, the cost is quite low for software of this calibre.
However, it is not the most effective planogram solution available because its application is not specifically created for retail teams. However, if your team has additional demands that coincide with SmartDraw's offerings, it can be a perfect fit.
Price - $9.95 per month for single user and $5.95 per month for 5+ users
7. One Door
One Door, a provider of cloud-based visual merchandising software that uses AI to aid frontline employees in executing product placement, is the technology that most epitomises the modernization of planograms.
Teams can quickly establish, carry out, and share shop strategies using their platform. All of your visual merchandising data is digitally organised and stored safely in the cloud via One Door. Your entire team has access to a single "source of truth" for merchandising data, which saves time, eliminates guessing, and guards against expensive errors.
For maximum labour effectiveness in stores, One Door's planograms can also be smoothly disseminated through a variety of practical channels and even integrated into your current retail execution software.
Price - Contact One Door for Pricing
8. Shelf Logic
A good option for creating and sharing planograms is Shelf Logic, which was created expressly for smaller CPG companies who wish to sell to major retail chains that demand planograms from their suppliers.
They offer a variety of levels with various features, like product measuring, photo post-processing, and bespoke reports. Although they target smaller businesses, their price is a tad on the expensive side.
Since they have been in business since 1995, it is safe to conclude that they have a firm grasp of planogram requirements; nevertheless, like many legacy systems, they fall short on execution software integration, a feature that is becoming more and more crucial for frontline personnel.
Price - Price starts from $995 to $7,495 for Master and enterprise editions
Conclusion
In conclusion, planogram software systems have many advantages for merchandisers and merchants. They facilitate effective space utilisation, enhanced category administration, greater visual merchandising, and inventory optimisation. Planogram software also makes it easier to collaborate efficiently, change the planogram quickly, and track and analyse performance. Businesses may improve their merchandising tactics, maximise space usage, and ultimately increase sales and customer satisfaction by utilising these technologies. It's critical to evaluate business requirements, choose the appropriate software, acquire pertinent data, train the team, develop efficient planograms, monitor performance, and continuously improve based on insights while deploying planogram software. Businesses may assess the impact of planograms and make data-driven decisions for continuing optimisation by monitoring planogram efficacy using indicators including sales performance, conversion rates, customer behaviour analysis, and category performance.
Comments