One of the needs to face retail business competition is mapping the strategic placement of products in outlets, which easily attracts consumers’ attention and will have a direct impact on increasing sales. The “perfect store” is a method that accommodates these activities. The definition of a perfect store is a store where the 6Ps (Product, Pack, Placement, Promotion, Price & Proposition) are applied perfectly. The goal is for customers to get the maximum shopping experience which then encourages increased purchases of goods. Perfect Store is important in the FMCG business because it is able to align the profile of each store with market conditions, and is a way to reach more customers.

• How can that be?

When shopping for retail at a store, have we ever thought about how store workers manage the placement of goods at the outlet? Are only grouped by types, such as food and cleaning equipment in their own place. However, we often see some brands placed on the front shelves, while there are other brands of the same type that are placed behind.

The use of Perfect Store terminology is different for each FMCG company but actually refers to the same activity. “Perfect Store” is used by Unilever, “Golden Store” by P&G, “RED –Right Execution Daily” – by Coca-Cola, “Flawless Execution” by PepsiCo, and “Pictures of Success” by Belfoods and Sinarmas.

• Perfect Store Application

The application of Perfect Store can be different for each outlet. A salesman or salesforce must know the character of each store to implement Perfect Store properly. Some of the factors that must be carefully analyzed in each store include:

1. What is the appropriate grouping of goods?
2. What is the best pricing and promotion strategy?
3. Where is the best location for your product in-store?
4. What is the best display?

In addition, the principal or distributor must also know the character of the visitors to each store. The characters here are how they choose products, how the visitor’s route around the store, including how they respond to the promos that are in the store. The pattern of store service also greatly influences purchasing decisions. This can also be a consideration for distributors in deciding which store is the most appropriate to sell their products.

For FMCG businessmen who are new to implementing Perfect Store, the main pattern that must be seen is when customers enter the store. Generally, they will be attracted to items that get large displays, in strategic places, or dominate. The ease of getting items on the shelves is also very important, for example, one brand gets a position of up to 2-3 rows on one shelf so that its position looks dominant and catches the eye. Purchase opportunities will generally be greater for products with displays like this.

However, the shop’s job is not only to make them buy the product but how to fill their shopping cart with more or how “impulse buying” happens to every consumer. In order for impulse buying to occur, the store needs to design other strategies such as discount promotions, bundling promotions, or club member promotions.

The implementation of Perfect Store must be accompanied by accurate data collection. This data will be the basis for making decisions for various strategies to improve the implementation of the next Perfect Store or the same implementation in other stores.