Distribution Checks · UAE & the Gulf

Distribution Checks in the UAE and the Gulf

Measured SKU by SKU: on-shelf availability.

SMRC sends its own trained, GPS-tracked auditors into the trade to check whether your products are actually there. We measure numeric and weighted distribution, on-shelf availability, out-of-stocks, pricing and share of shelf, then report it by outlet, city and SKU. Because SMRC does not sell, distribute or merchandise your brand, the numbers are independent.

Talk to us about distribution checks → What we measure
49,100Outlets censused across the GCC
1,500Outlet MENA field panel
100%GPS-verified visits
In one line

What is a distribution check?

A distribution check, or distribution audit, is an independent field measurement of whether your products are present, available and correctly priced across the outlets that should stock them. SMRC auditors visit a representative sample of modern-trade and traditional-trade outlets across the UAE and the wider Gulf and record, SKU by SKU, numeric and weighted distribution, on-shelf availability, out-of-stocks, facings and share of shelf, pricing and promotion compliance. Every visit is carried out by a trained in-house evaluator and carries a photo, GPS and a timestamp, so each data point is traceable to where and when it was collected.

Because SMRC is an independent research firm that does not sell, distribute or merchandise your products, the results are unbiased evidence you can act on, not a scorecard from the team being measured.

Why it matters

Distribution can look healthy while sales quietly leak.

A brand can be listed almost everywhere and still be missing from the shelf when a shopper reaches for it. The gap between distribution on paper and availability in the aisle is lost sales. A distribution check is how you find it.

The availability gap: distribution measured three ways Three horizontal bars on a shared 0 to 100 per cent scale. Numeric distribution 88 per cent and weighted distribution 92 per cent in green; on-shelf availability 71 per cent in amber. A red dashed bracket links the end of the on-shelf availability bar to the end of the numeric distribution bar, marking a 17 point gap that equals lost sales. Illustrative read for one SKU in one market. ILLUSTRATIVE READ · ONE SKU, ONE MARKET DISTRIBUTION CHECK 0 25 50 75 100 Numeric distribution % of outlets stocking 88% Weighted distribution % of category volume 92% On-shelf availability % of visits, in stock 71% 17 pt gap = lost sales GAP = NUMERIC DISTRIBUTION − ON-SHELF AVAILABILITY
Distribution on paper looks healthy. Availability in the aisle tells the real story.
What a distribution check measures

Six numbers that tell you if your brand is really in the market.

Captured SKU by SKU, outlet by outlet, with photographic proof on every visit.

Numeric distribution

The share of target outlets that actually carry your SKU. The simplest measure of whether your brand is present where it should be.

Weighted distribution

Presence weighted by the size or throughput of each outlet, so you see how much of the buyable market your SKU truly reaches, not just a store count.

On-shelf availability & out-of-stocks

Whether the product is physically on the shelf when a shopper looks, and where it is missing. The gap between listed and available is quantified store by store.

Facings & share of shelf

How many facings you hold and what share of the category shelf that represents, benchmarked against your named competitors.

Price & promotion compliance

Whether shelf prices, offers and promotional mechanics match what was agreed, and how they compare to the competitive set on the same fixture.

Planogram & MSL compliance

Whether the must-stock list and the planogram are being followed, verified with photographs and AI image recognition. See our retail audit service.

AI in the audit

AI reads every store. Your team owns the decision.

Our field auditors capture GPS-verified photographs across the trade. AI image recognition then reads every image and scores it by algorithm, so presence, facings, share of shelf and out-of-stocks are measured identically in every outlet, at a scale no manual count can reach. People capture the truth on the ground; AI turns it into consistent, comparable data.

How AI reads the shelf: capture, recognise, score Three stages left to right, joined by arrows. Stage one, field photo: a photograph of one fixture with three shelf rows of product blocks on thin ledges, thirty facings stocked and three empty. Stage two, AI image recognition: the same photo with green corner bracket detection boxes on individual products, a red bracket on the empty slot, a scan line crossing the frame, and tags reading SKU 98 per cent, facing, and gap. Stage three, scored data: three metric bars reading facings 27 of 33, share of shelf 41 per cent in amber against a fair share mark, and compliance 82 per cent. Illustrative read for one fixture. HOW AI READS THE SHELF ILLUSTRATIVE READ - ONE FIXTURE 01 FIELD PHOTO One fixture, one frame 02 AI IMAGE RECOGNITION Detected at facing level SKU 98% facing gap 03 SCORED DATA Scored against plan and fair share Facings 27/33 Share of shelf 41% fair share Compliance 82% 33 FACINGS READ, 27 CORRECT - THE SAME COUNT RULE ON EVERY VISIT
01

Capture, on the ground

Trained auditors photograph every outlet and fixture, GPS-tagged and timestamped. No desk research, no staged shots.

02

AI recognises the shelf

AI image recognition identifies your SKUs, counts facings and detects gaps from each photograph, automatically.

03

Algorithms score it

Distribution, availability and out-of-stocks are scored by algorithm, the same way in every store, with no human bias in the read.

04

Analysts verify

Our researchers quality-check the output before it reaches you, so the data is machine-consistent and human-verified.

SMRC does not sell, distribute or merchandise your brand. That independence is exactly why our distribution numbers can be trusted.

The team that executes should not be the team that reports the score.
How to read it

From a field visit to a decision.

Each measure answers a specific commercial question.

MeasureWhat it tells you
Numeric distributionWhat proportion of your target outlets stock the SKU at all.
Weighted distributionHow much of the sales opportunity your presence actually covers, weighted by outlet size.
On-shelf availabilityWhether the product is on the shelf and buyable at the moment of truth, not just in the back store.
Out-of-stocksExactly which outlets and SKUs are empty, so gaps can be fixed and lost sales recovered.
Share of shelfYour facings against the category and against named competitors on the same fixture.
Price & promo complianceWhether pricing and offers on the shelf match what was agreed and how they sit versus rivals.
How it runs

A distribution check, end to end.

Scoped to your decision, run by our own field team, reported so you can act.

Scope and sample frame

We agree the SKUs, channels and markets, then build the outlet sample from a real trade frame rather than a convenience list.

GPS-tracked fieldwork

Our own trained auditors visit each outlet as scheduled. Every visit is GPS-tagged and timestamped, so coverage is verifiable.

Capture and verify

Presence, facings, price and stock are recorded with photographs, and every shelf image is read by AI image recognition and scored by algorithm, for consistent, comparable results at scale.

Report and act

You receive the numbers by outlet, city and SKU in a live dashboard, with the gaps and lost-sale hotspots called out.

Coverage

Across the trade, across the Gulf.

Distribution checks run across both modern trade and traditional trade, from hypermarkets and supermarkets to groceries, kiosks and specialist outlets, in the UAE and the wider GCC. The same team and the same standard, so a brand can compare market to market on one footing.

SMRC has completed seven full-country retail censuses covering more than 49,000 outlets across the UAE and Oman, so we build your sample on real knowledge of the trade rather than a guess.

UAE, all 7 emiratesSaudi ArabiaOmanQatarKuwaitBahrain
49,100
Outlets censused across seven full-country GCC programmes, 2019 to 2025.
Modern trade and traditional trade, one field team
1,500-outlet standing MENA panel for speed and reach
100% GPS-verified visits, photo evidence on every call
Independent of any sales, distribution or merchandising role
Why SMRC

Independent measurement, from a team that only measures.

Agencies that build displays and move stock have a reason to report good numbers. SMRC has none. We are an independent research firm, our only product is the truth about your distribution, and our fieldwork is run in house rather than farmed out to strangers.

→

Genuinely independent

We do not sell, distribute or merchandise brands, so there is no conflict between the work being checked and the check.

→

Our own field team

Trained evaluators and auditors, GPS-tracked and timestamped, not an anonymous crowd. Every data point is traceable.

→

Census-grade sampling

Seven full-country censuses covering 49,000-plus outlets mean your sample is built on real knowledge of the trade.

→

One partner across the GCC

Run the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain through one team and one standard, with comparable results.

Common questions

Distribution checks, answered.

What is a distribution check?
A distribution check is an independent field audit that measures whether your products are present, available and correctly priced across the outlets that should stock them. SMRC records numeric and weighted distribution, on-shelf availability, out-of-stocks, facings, share of shelf and pricing, SKU by SKU, with photo and GPS evidence on every visit.
What is the difference between numeric and weighted distribution?
Numeric distribution is the plain share of target outlets that carry your SKU. Weighted distribution adjusts for the size or throughput of each outlet, so it reflects how much of the actual buying opportunity your presence covers. A brand can have high numeric distribution but lower weighted distribution if it is absent from the biggest stores.
How is a distribution check different from a retail or merchandising audit?
A distribution check focuses on presence and availability across the outlet universe: is the product listed, on the shelf and priced correctly, and where is it missing. A retail audit looks in depth at the shelf itself, including planogram and share of shelf, and a merchandiser audit measures the field person. They are complementary, and SMRC can run them together.
Which channels and markets do you cover?
Distribution checks run across both modern trade and traditional trade, in the UAE and across the wider Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. SMRC uses its own field team and a single scoring standard, so results are comparable market to market.
How do you measure on-shelf availability?
Trained auditors visit each sampled outlet and record whether the SKU is physically on the shelf and buyable, capturing photographs as proof. Shelf images are checked using AI image recognition for consistency. The result is an availability figure and an out-of-stock map by outlet and SKU, distinct from what is simply listed in the system.
Does SMRC use AI to check distribution?
Yes. SMRC uses AI image recognition to read every store and shelf photograph, so presence, facings, share of shelf and out-of-stocks are scored by algorithm for consistency and scale. Trained field auditors capture the evidence on the ground, and AI does the reading and scoring, so you get human-verified fieldwork with machine-consistent analysis.
How do I start a distribution check?
Tell SMRC the brands, SKUs, channels and markets you need to measure, and the decision you are trying to make. SMRC will design the sample, run the fieldwork with its own GPS-tracked team, and report the numbers by outlet, city and SKU. You can start on the contact page.

Not sure your brand is really on the shelf?

Let SMRC put independent numbers on your distribution and availability, across the UAE and the Gulf.

Talk to us about distribution checks →
Prefer to talk?
Most enquiries start with a quick WhatsApp or call. Speak to our team directly and we will scope it with you.