What's really on the shelf, at the counter and on the wall, outlet by outlet
Bharat Survey is a retail audit company in India for FMCG, pharma, telecom, beverages and consumer durables brands that need to know what happens in stores after the sales team leaves. Auditors visit kirana, chemist, modern trade and brand outlets, record availability, shelf share, planogram and POSM compliance with photos, and every visit is verified by GPS and time in our offline app. Sales and trade marketing teams see outlet-level results the same day.
Retail measurement services start from a business question. Pick the audit that answers yours.
A visual merchandising audit in India is only useful if the photo proves what the score says.
In kirana and general trade, a general trade merchandising audit checks whether your product is visible from the counter, whether hangers, dispensers and strips are in place, and whether competitors have taken over agreed space. Auditors photograph the counter and shelves from set angles so waves are comparable.
A signage deployment audit confirms that shop boards, glow signs and wall paintings paid for are installed, in the right location and in good condition, with GPS proving the outlet visited is the one listed.
Brands often pay a POSM deployment agency in India to install materials, then need an independent check. We audit deployment; we don't install POSM ourselves, which keeps the check independent.
A planogram compliance audit compares the shelf with the agreed layout, item by item.
Agreed layouts per outlet type go into the app as reference images and checklists.
Auditors photograph the bay and score position, facings and adjacency against the reference.
Reviewers check photos against scores; mismatches are corrected before results go out.
Non-compliant outlets listed by beat so field sales can fix them on the next visit.
A share of shelf study measures the proportion of category space your brand occupies, usually as facings or linear shelf length. We define the category boundary with you first — does 'biscuits' include rusks? — because that decision moves the number more than anything auditors do. A reviewer re-counts a sample of photos, and results are reported by outlet type, town class and region.
A POSM visibility audit checks whether the paid display — a chiller, a gondola end, a counter top unit — is present, stocked with your product and not used for competitors. Each check carries a photo and GPS, so payment decisions rest on evidence.
Alongside shelf share, pricing promotion assortment tracking records selling price against MRP, consumer offers, and which SKUs are stocked by outlet type, so brand teams can see where assortment is thin or promotions aren't reaching shoppers.
A discount violation audit checks whether outlets sell below agreed prices or run unauthorised offers that hurt channel partners, using purchase or price-tag evidence depending on the brief.
A channel audit in India follows the product from distributor to outlet. A distributor compliance audit checks the first link.
| Need | Audit design | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Track distribution and OOS | Fixed outlet panel, SKU checklist | Monthly |
| Verify paid visibility | Contract list, photo checks | Per payment cycle |
| Launch execution | Launch SKU and POSM checklist | Weeks 2, 6 and 12 |
| Distributor claims | Distributor plus sample outlets | Quarterly |
| Price and promo adherence | Price-tag or purchase evidence | During promo windows |
Map the full outlet universe before auditing.
Learn moreStore and kitchen hygiene checks.
Learn moreRun audits with your own team.
Learn moreConsumer, retail and brand research.
Learn moreShopper and consumer surveys.
Learn moreResearch beyond metros.
Learn moreBrand health over time.
Learn moreShort automated phone surveys.
Learn moreStraight answers to the questions people ask most about this topic.
A retail audit is a structured visit to stores to record what is actually there — product availability, shelf share, placement, prices, promotions and display materials — usually with photos. Brands use it to check execution against plans and to compare outlets, regions and distributors.
Each visit records GPS location and time in the app, compared against the outlet's coordinates, and includes photos of the storefront and shelves. Visits that don't match are rejected and redone.
Yes. The app works offline, and auditors are recruited locally for each region, so general trade in small towns and villages can be covered alongside metros.
Yes. Our retail audit app lets your team use the same forms, photo rules and GPS checks, while we run independent audits on a sample of outlets to validate their data.
Pricing is on quotation, usually per outlet visit, and depends on checklist length, photo requirements, outlet spread and frequency.
Share your outlet list, categories and what you need checked. We will send an audit design and itemised quote.
