Signal-Based Merchandising - Trax Retail

Leading water brand achieved 3.81x ROI

Rodney Keener — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 23:01:06 +0000

How a leading water brand optimized merchandising strategy with Trax’s Signal-Based Merchandising

Signal-Based Merchandising

/ Leading water brand achieved 3.81x ROI

Targeted execution and real-time insights helped boost sales and product availability in CVS test stores. 

sales uplift in test stores 

0 %

ROI across campaign period 

0 x

decrease in average OOS (2nd half vs. 1st half) 

0 %

consecutive weeks of OOS improvements 

The Challenge

CVS locations were experiencing consistent execution challenges with a national water brand’s key SKUs. Warehouse replenishment methods weren’t aligned with store-level demand, resulting in frequent out-of-stocks (OOS). Additionally, inconsistent planogram execution was limiting shelf visibility and reducing shopper conversion.

The brand needed a more responsive and granular approach to ensure availability where it mattered most — and drive measurable improvement in performance. 

The Trax Solution

To address the issues, Trax deployed its Signal-Based Merchandising (SBM) program across a select group of CVS stores.

Key elements of the strategy included: 
• Real-time detection of SKU-level OOS issues and planogram gaps 
• Dynamic tasking of field reps to address OOS hotspots as they emerged
• Focused attention on stores with recurring execution gaps 
• Tracking improvement over time to assess program impact and scale the solution

The goal wasn’t just fixing availability in the moment — it was about building smarter, more adaptive store-level operations. 

The Results

sales uplift in test stores where SBM was activated

0 %

ROI delivered over the course of the campaign

0 x

drop in average OOS in the second half of the program vs. the first

0 %

consecutive weeks where stores saw improved OOS performance

With continued monitoring and optimization, the brand saw consistent improvements that translated to stronger shelf presence and higher shopper satisfaction.

“Trax’s Signal-Based Merchandising didn’t just improve execution — it gave us a system we could rely on to maintain high performance in stores that had struggled for years.”

Want to bring smart execution to your most critical stores? 

The post Leading water brand achieved 3.81x ROI appeared first on Trax Retail.

Frozen fruit brand OOS solution

Rodney Keener — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:50:20 +0000

How a frozen fruit brand used Signal-Based Merchandising to fix OOS issues and recover $550k in lost sales

Signal-Based Merchandising

/ Frozen fruit brand OOS solution

By responding to inventory gaps in real time, this brand unlocked growth and efficiency across nearly 2,000 Target stores. 

Target stores visited nationwide 

of stores had insufficient inventory 

0 %

reduction in OOS in week one

0 %

in estimated lost sales identified

$ 0 k

potential ROI

0 %

The challenge

After being acquired by a larger CPG company, a fast-growing frozen fruit snack brand set its sights on national expansion — but ran into a major hurdle. Despite securing shelf space at nearly 2,000 Target stores, the brand struggled with frequent out-of-stock (OOS) issues.

They lacked real-time visibility into inventory gaps, which meant missed sales, poor shopper experience, and inefficient restocking. To meet their ambitious goals, they needed a smarter way to track and fix availability issues before they impacted the bottom line. 

The Trax Solution

The brand turned to Trax and its Signal-Based Merchandising program to solve the problem at scale.

The campaign included:
• Deployment of a dedicated Trax field team to 1,945 Target stores
• Real-time OOS detection using store-level insights
• Rapid in-store merchandising based on live data signals
• Improved shelf presence and planogram compliance
• Close collaboration between the brand and Trax’s on-the-ground workforce

By bridging insight and execution, the program created a continuous feedback loop that helped address availability issues almost immediately — and prevented them from recurring. 

The Results

of stores visited were not adequately stocked for restocking 

0 %

reduction in out-of-stock rates in just one week 

0 %

in estimated lost sales exposed and addressed 

$ 0

potential ROI — driven by improved inventory availability and field execution 

0 %

Faster product

rotation and stronger retail partnerships

This success demonstrated the power of real-time data and agile field support in scaling a frozen category brand’s growth. 

"Signal-Based Merchandising gave us the speed and scale we were missing. Trax helped us turn shelf gaps into new growth opportunities — almost overnight." 

"What’s important is we reduced out-of-stocks from 50% to 15% by the end of the campaign. Then during our Walmart pilot, the ops team called saying they’d seen 40% more orders than forecasted—Trax had been running for eight weeks, and the impact was clear."

Want to solve OOS issues before they cost you?

The post Frozen fruit brand OOS solution appeared first on Trax Retail.

Dairy brand increased sales and cut stockouts at Walmart

Rodney Keener — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:44:11 +0000

How a leading dairy brand reduced stockouts and drove $2.3mm in incremental sales at Walmart

Signal-Based Merchandising

/ Dairy brand increased sales and cut stockouts at Walmart

By using real-time insights to fix inventory gaps, the brand increased availability and achieved 5.5x ROI.

in incremental sales 

$ 0 mm

increase in dollar sales

0 %

lift in backroom stock for high-priority SKU

0 %

on-shelf availability achieved

0 %

return on investment

0 x

The Challenge

A national dairy brand was struggling to maintain in-stock availability of its top 10 SKUs at Walmart — especially during promotional periods.

One price-driven promotion — a $0.33 reduction on a top-selling 96oz SKU — drove unexpected demand surges. But without the right systems in place to respond, the product frequently stocked out. This created shopper frustration and lost sales, threatening the success of the campaign and long-term brand trust.

To turn the tide, the brand needed a solution that would surface out-of-stock trends in real time and enable fast, targeted remediation. 

The Trax Solution

Trax deployed a Signal-Based Merchandising (SBM) program tailored to address the brand’s most critical in-store execution gaps.

The approach included: 
• Surfacing real-time OOS alerts across key Walmart locations 
• Deploying Trax field reps to act on insights quickly, improving shelf conditions
• Informing backroom inventory adjustments to better support high-volume SKUs
• Driving compliance with shelf standards to support sales consistency

The data-driven actions helped the brand not only resolve short-term OOS issues — but implement longer-term changes to prevent them in the future. 

The Results

The SBM program delivered strong, measurable improvements across availability and sales performance:

increase in permanent backroom stock of the 96oz SKU 

+ 0 %

increase in safety stock levels of the 64oz SKU 

+ 0 %

increase in dollar sales and +10.1% growth in unit sales

+ 0 %

return on investment — totaling $2.3mm in incremental revenue

0 x

on-shelf availability reached across stores, reducing stockouts and improving the shopper experience

0 %

By acting fast and staying responsive to data, the brand achieved high performance in a challenging retail environment.

"Real-time data helped us rethink how we manage our high-priority SKUs. Trax’s Signal-Based Merchandising gave us the control we needed to protect promotions, reduce stockouts, and drive real growth at Walmart."

Ready to drive smarter execution and protect high-value SKUs? 

The post Dairy brand increased sales and cut stockouts at Walmart appeared first on Trax Retail.

Using Signal-Based Merchandising to Help a Global Chocolatier Avoid Out of Stock Issues and Drive Sales

Rodney Keener — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 16:16:49 +0000

Using Signal-Based Merchandising to Help a Global Chocolatier Avoid Out of Stock Issues and Drive Sales

Signal-Based Merchandising

Using Signal-Based Merchandising to Help a Global Chocolatier Avoid Out of Stock Issues and Drive Sales

The U.S. is the world’s largest chocolate market and consumers are increasingly choosing high-quality chocolate. Trax’s client, a leading European chocolatier, enjoys a substantial share of the premium segment of the global market. But while the company knew there was no shortage of consumers eager to buy its scrumptious products, serious out-of-stock (OOS) issues at Walmart were impacting sales and possibly leading customers to make spur of the moment decisions to buy competitors’ treats instead. It’s no surprise that OOS problems often impact loyalty: after all, why should customers be loyal to a brand whose product isn’t on the shelf?

The Challenge

The Solution

The chocolatier was able to answer these questions and strategically reduce OOS issues with Trax’s Signal-Based Merchandising (SBM) solution – which provides continuous store-level execution data that enables merchandising teams to optimize sales at high-traffic stores.

Here’s how it worked: during a six-week period, engaged shoppers were deployed to almost 1k stores to provide real-time information on the chocolatier’s targeted SKUs, which served as signals for the FlexForce team. Team members conducted 870 visits to 567 stores and were deployed to fix the OOS issues once a predetermined threshold for lost sales had been reached. This ensured that each merchandising visit yielded a positive ROI for stores with both large and small footprints and allowed the client to make any necessary price tag and inventory adjustments.

The Results

OOS issues resolved

After 100+ restock orders, OOS plummeted from
50% to 17%
at select Walmarts during the 3.5 day SBM cycle. As soon as it could determine where shelves were bare, the chocolatier was able to deploy the Flexforce to restock immediately.

Sales boosted

The chocolatier experienced $111,000 in lost sales due to OOS issues during the six week trial period. Fortunately, Trax’s SBM solution ensures that the company now has the tools to identify and mitigate OOS problems as they occur and before revenue is impacted.

Improved marketing strategies

The solution also provides additional insight into product popularity and demand. The chocolatier was surprised to discover, for example, that dark chocolate was the top seller of its nine SKUs, enabling it to tailor merchandising and marketing strategies accordingly.

Conclusion

In addition to pinpointing recurring OOS and the impact on sales, SBM revealed that the nine top SKUs were almost never in Walmart’s backstock. The chocolatier was able to address the issue and make sure that an adequate supply of product was always on hand, so customers were never disappointed during seasonal holidays. After all, who doesn’t love a chocolate truffle on Valentine’s Day?

The post Using Signal-Based Merchandising to Help a Global Chocolatier Avoid Out of Stock Issues and Drive Sales appeared first on Trax Retail.