PoS marketing remains an essential strategy for brands looking to influence purchasing decisions directly at the point of sale, and spending on this form of marketing will likely increase as companies integrate more technology into retail environments. Checking that goods are stocked and displayed according to agreements with retailers, that marketing collateral is displayed correctly, and securing knowledge of competitive activity, is vital. Store checking by crowdsourced networks of shoppers is increasingly providing the in-store intel that brand owners need to ensure the maximum return on their investment. Let’s look at how that works.
Market value
PoS marketing provides brand owners with a communication channel between their brands and consumers when they are in the act of making selections about what to buy. Global spending on point-of-sale marketing, including materials like displays, posters, and signage used in retail environments, and now increasingly electronic display screens and even augmented technology, amounts to billions of dollars each year. Although it’s difficult to pin down an exact figure due to the variability in marketing efforts across regions and sectors, the global market is forecast to grow from an estimated 2023 spend of almost US$39 billion at a compound annual growth rate of 6.27% to 2030. This equates to a spend in 2030 of almost $60 billion.
Major brands can afford to spend more, and exert a more dominant impact in-store. The adidas Group, for example, increased its marketing and point-of-sale expenses to nearly €2.53 billion in 2023. This represented an 8.5% increase on the previous year. The adidas flagship store in London’s Oxford Street also demonstrates the brand’s commitment to in-store technology and experiential retail marketing, which is in line with its bold history of product and marketing innovations.
Guaranteeing the Quality of Crowdsourced Data
Brand owners and managers may quite legitimately question the accuracy of data provided by networks of shoppers rather than employees. The intelligence it provides is going to influence decision-making with expensive outcomes. How Roamler handles store checking is a good example on behalf of the whole crowd-generated in-store intelligence sector. Roamler is the European leader in crowd-based field-marketing activities, performing tasks for the biggest FMCG/CPG manufacturers, consumer brands, and retail chains. This includes serving brands like Unilever, P&G and Red Bull with on-demand store audits, sales and merchandising services.
Roamler is 10 years old and is headquartered in Amsterdam, with offices in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and Spain.
Check the instructions
Roamler provides access to a network of shoppers who have been recruited and given an initial level of instruction to carry out simple store-checking tasks and photograph the required brands where they are on display in stores.
When new client instructions are received, they are carried out first in a small sample of stores, what they call a “soft launch.” This will reveal if the instructions have any ambiguities or elements that confuse the store-checkers, or for any other reasons fail to deliver the required intelligence.
Four eyes are better than two
Every set of findings and results entered by a store checker is double checked by a Roamler employee. This is to ensure the store checker is following instructions correctly, and that the images of the branded items are up to the required quality. On average, 5% to 11% of submissions are corrected or rejected.
Admissible submissions are then collated and findings are summarised by Roamler employees in reports for the clients. On receipt of the reports, brand owner teams can assess whether their goods and marketing material are being displayed according to contractual agreements, e.g. shelf height, width of shelf occupied, the goods are present and the shelves are not empty or running out, point-of-sale material is in place, proximity of competitive brands,
Advice given to store-checkers
To improve future store checking performance, advice includes tips such as opening doors of refrigerated cabinets before photographing the required brands inside them. This avoids strong reflections in the glass that can make a cabinet’s contents unrecognisable.
More specific tasks command a higher fee
After a selection process and additional training, the more experienced on-demand workers may also carry out in-store merchandising tasks. When they visit the same stores quite regularly, they can develop a rapport with the shop staff and elicit further help and support to meet the client’s instructions. Roamler has found their on-demand workers perform better when their tasks involve brands they personally use.
Store checking more than supermarkets
Roamler can mobilise on-demand workers to check products and brands in outlets including bars, convenience stores and coffee shops.
One notable project checked draught Corona, the Mexican beer brand, was being served in the correct manner in over 4,000 locations when it launched in UK pubs and bars in 2021. It had to be served in the correct branded glasses, chilled to the right temperature, and with a wedge of lime. Results were sent through to the local field sales reps responsible for each bar to correct any issues, and then Roamler would do a re-visit.
The client, AB InBev, achieved 76% compliance, which beat its target of 75%. Real-time data supported by photographs enabled the client to achieve higher compliance, which they believe directly influenced higher sales.
Roamler’s data helped AB InBev establish that the rate of sale in bars that sold draught Corona correctly was 60% higher than in the ones that did not. The target for the following year was raised to 80% compliance. The payback on that would be at least 160 additional bars selling 60% more product.
Key takeaway
On-demand crowds of gig-economy workers continually show they can carry out store checking and provide accurate and reliable feedback for companies to take decisive, profitable action.
BOLD Awards 2025
We are proud to announce that our BOLD Awards VI edition ceremony will be hosted in the vibrant city of Lisbon, Portugal on March 28th, 2025. This edition is supported in strategic partnerships with APDC (Portuguese Association for the Development of Communications) and Unicorn Factory Lisboa, two prominent organizations dedicated to fostering innovation and entrepreneurial success.
The BOLD Awards 2025 categories will encompass a wide range of fields such as AI, Quantum Computing, Sustainability, HealthTech, and more, ensuring a comprehensive celebration of groundbreaking achievements. The Boldest CPG Brand award is open to all consumer packaged goods (aka fast moving packaged goods) brands that demonstrate exceptional innovation, quality, and consumer appeal in their products and marketing strategies. From food and beverages to personal care and household goods, this category highlights the best-in-class CPG brands that have made a significant impact on consumers’ lives.
You can check the full list of categories, and submit your project now. You can return and update it as many times as you want up to the extended submission deadline of January 9th 2025.
