Retailers worldwide spent more than $270B on advertising, marketing, and promotions in 2008. They also spent $153B on IT, an estimated $15B of which was spent on planning systems for merchandising, price optimization, and promotions. But despite all this planning and promotion, 85 percent of buying decisions are made at the point of interaction - inside the stores. Consider the following example of a perfect retail scenario:

After seeing an advertisement that his favorite brand of shirt is on sale for $30, a shopper drives to a nearby department store. Once he's inside, a friendly store associate helps the customer by directing him to the correct department. A sign with an eye-catching design points out the aisle where the shirts are on display, but he can't find one in his favorite color that fits. Another store associate helps the man and also suggests a $10 dollar necktie. The customer takes both items to the cashier stand where he is quickly checked out. As he drives away, he makes a mental note to shop at the store more often. And the department store has just rung up $40 in sales, which is 33 percent more than what the man had originally planned to spend.

Unfortunately, only 59 percent of merchandising and promotional initiatives are executed in the intended fashion, according to analysts. They also say the cost impact of poor store-level execution is 2-5% of annual sales. To consistently deliver a positive consumer experience such as the example above that drives increased sales, retailers need a Retail Execution Platform. Click on the solutions below to learn more about how the Reflexis platform enables retailers to achieve flawless execution from merchandising planning all the way through to store operations.