Merchandising Compliance · UAE & the Gulf

Merchandising Compliance Audits in the UAE and the Gulf

Checked against your standard: planogram compliance.

SMRC sends its own trained, GPS-tracked auditors to check whether your merchandising is actually being executed in store. We measure planogram compliance, must-stock coverage, share of shelf against agreement, and display and POSM execution, fixture by fixture, with photographs and AI image recognition. Because SMRC does not build your displays or sell your stock, the compliance score is independent.

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

What is a merchandising compliance audit?

A merchandising compliance audit is an independent in-store check of whether your merchandising standards are actually being followed on the shelf. SMRC auditors visit a representative sample of outlets and record, fixture by fixture, planogram compliance, must-stock list coverage, share of shelf against what was agreed, facings and positioning, promotional and POSM execution, and shelf pricing. Every visit is carried out by a trained in-house evaluator and carries photographs, a timestamp and GPS, and shelf images are checked using AI image recognition, so each finding is traceable and consistent.

Because SMRC does not build displays, merchandise stock or sell your products, the compliance score is unbiased. It measures the execution against the agreement, from a team with no reason to flatter the result.

Why it matters

The plan on paper is not the shelf in the store.

A planogram, a listing agreement and a promotion brief all describe how the shelf should look. What a shopper actually sees is often different: missing SKUs, competitor products in your space, displays that were never built. A merchandising compliance audit measures the difference.

Planogram compliance across one fixture: 82 per cent A three shelf fixture holding 24 slots and 33 product facings. Nineteen slots, 27 facings, are green and compliant. Three single facing slots are amber, flagged as misplaced. Two slots are red and empty: one single facing at eye level and one double facing on the base shelf, six facings out of compliance in total. The readout states planogram compliance at 82 per cent, or 27 of 33 facings correct. Illustrative read for one fixture. ILLUSTRATIVE READ - ONE FIXTURE MERCHANDISING COMPLIANCE AUDIT PLANOGRAM COMPLIANCE 82 % 27 of 33 facings correct Compliant 27 facings Misplaced 3 facings Missing 3 facings TOP EYE BASE 24 SLOTS / 33 FACINGS ACROSS 3 SHELVES COMPLIANCE = CORRECT ITEM, CORRECT POSITION, CORRECT FACING COUNT
The planogram says full and correct. The audit finds the gaps a shopper actually meets.
What a merchandising audit measures

Six checks on whether the shelf matches the plan.

Recorded fixture by fixture, with photographs and AI image recognition on every visit.

Planogram compliance

Whether products are in the right place, in the right order and the right number of facings, against the agreed planogram.

Share of shelf vs agreement

Your facings and linear space measured against what was agreed and against the competitors on the same fixture.

Must-stock list (MSL) coverage

Whether every SKU that should be on the shelf is actually present, and which listed lines are missing outlet by outlet.

Display & POSM execution

Whether secondary displays, gondola ends, wobblers and point-of-sale material were actually built and placed as briefed.

Promotional execution

Whether the promotion is live on the shelf, priced correctly and displayed with the right mechanic, during the window it was booked for.

Facings, positioning & pricing

Eye-level versus bottom-shelf placement, block integrity, and shelf price accuracy against the agreed and competitive set.

AI in the audit

AI reads every shelf. Your team owns the decision.

Our field auditors capture GPS-verified photographs of every fixture. AI image recognition then reads each image and scores it by algorithm, so planogram compliance, facings and share of shelf are measured identically in every store, 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 maps the planogram from each photograph, automatically.

03

Algorithms score it

Planogram compliance, share of shelf and availability 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.

The team paid to build the display should not be the team that grades it. SMRC has no display to defend, only your shelf to measure.

Independent merchandising compliance, from a firm that does not merchandise.
How to read it

From a shelf photo to a fix.

Each check answers a specific execution question.

CheckWhat it tells you
Planogram complianceWhether the shelf is set the way it was agreed, or has drifted in position, order and facings.
Share of shelfWhether you hold the space you paid for, and how much the competition has taken.
MSL coverageWhich listed SKUs are actually present, and where must-stock lines are missing.
Display & POSMWhether the displays and point-of-sale material were built and placed, not just invoiced.
Promotional executionWhether the promo is live, correctly priced and correctly displayed in its window.
Positioning & pricingWhether placement and shelf price match the plan and sit right against rivals.
How it runs

A merchandising audit, end to end.

Built on your standards, run by our own field team, reported so you can act.

Set the standard

We load your planogram, MSL, promotion calendar and share-of-shelf agreement, so the audit measures against your rules.

GPS-tracked fieldwork

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

Capture and verify

Each fixture is photographed, 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 compliance by outlet, fixture and SKU in a live dashboard, with the non-compliant stores and hotspots called out.

Coverage

Across the trade, across the Gulf.

Merchandising compliance audits run across both modern trade and traditional trade, from hypermarkets and supermarkets to groceries and specialist outlets, in the UAE and the wider GCC. The same team and the same standard, so you can compare compliance market to market and chain to chain.

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.

UAE, all 7 emiratesSaudi ArabiaOmanQatarKuwaitBahrain
49,100
Outlets censused across seven full-country GCC programmes, 2019 to 2025.
Planogram, MSL, POSM and share of shelf, one field team
Shelf images verified with AI image recognition for consistency
100% GPS-verified visits, photo evidence on every fixture
Independent of any merchandising, display or sales role
Why SMRC

Independent compliance, from a team that only measures.

Agencies that build the displays and stock the shelf have a reason to report full compliance. SMRC has none. We are an independent research firm, our fieldwork is run in house rather than farmed out, and shelf images are checked with AI image recognition so results are consistent from store to store.

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Genuinely independent

We do not merchandise, build displays or sell stock, so the team being checked is never the team reporting the score.

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AI image recognition at scale

Algorithms read thousands of shelf photographs and score facings, share of shelf and planogram compliance identically, store to store.

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Census-grade sampling

Seven full-country censuses covering 49,000-plus outlets mean your audit sample reflects the real trade.

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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

Merchandising compliance audits, answered.

What is a merchandising compliance audit?
A merchandising compliance audit is an independent in-store check of whether your merchandising standards are being followed. SMRC measures planogram compliance, must-stock coverage, share of shelf against agreement, display and POSM execution, promotional execution and shelf pricing, fixture by fixture, with photo and GPS evidence and AI image recognition on every visit.
How is it different from a retail audit or a merchandiser audit?
A merchandising compliance audit checks the shelf against your specific merchandising agreement, the planogram, MSL, share of shelf and POSM. A retail audit is the broader shelf measurement, and a merchandiser audit measures the field person doing the work. They complement each other, and SMRC can run them together.
What is planogram compliance?
Planogram compliance is how closely the real shelf matches the agreed planogram: the right SKUs, in the right position and order, with the right number of facings. SMRC records the actual shelf, compares it to your planogram, and reports the compliance rate and the specific gaps by outlet and fixture.
How do you measure share of shelf?
SMRC captures each fixture photographically and uses AI image recognition to measure your facings and linear space against the category and against named competitors on the same shelf. The result is your share of shelf, compared to what was agreed and to the competitive set, outlet by outlet.
Which channels and markets do you cover?
Merchandising compliance audits run across modern trade and traditional trade, in the UAE and across the wider Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, using SMRC's own field team and a single standard so results are comparable market to market.
Does SMRC use AI to check the shelf?
Yes. SMRC uses AI image recognition to read every shelf photograph, so facings, share of shelf and planogram compliance 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 merchandising audit?
Share your planogram, must-stock list, promotion calendar and share-of-shelf agreement, and the outlets and markets you need checked. SMRC will design the sample, run the fieldwork with its own GPS-tracked team, and report compliance by outlet, fixture and SKU. You can start on the contact page.

Is your merchandising really being executed?

Let SMRC put an independent compliance number on your planogram, share of shelf and displays, across the UAE and the Gulf.

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