Merchandising Rewired: How AI is Rewriting the Rules of Retail

Merchandising as You Know It Is Broken

Retail execution used to run on gut instinct, static planograms, and once-a-month audits. That doesn’t cut it anymore. Your teams move fast, your stores move faster and the cooler shelf resets before your data even loads.

You need merchandising that works with the speed of retail, not against it.

The Hidden Cost of Static Planograms

Most planograms still act like it’s 2010 with fixed layouts, generic assumptions, and no room for context. That leaves store managers guessing and corporate blind. Promotions are missed, products linger, and execution issues happen without anyone noticing.

Store Teams Are Overwhelmed

Field teams are juggling a dozen tools, inboxes, and spreadsheets just to get the basics done. That’s not merchandising, that’s chaos. And it’s why so many restocks get delayed, planograms go ignored, and mistakes get missed until it’s too late.

What AI-Powered Merchandising Actually Looks Like

Smart Decisions, on Repeat

No more guessing where your best-sellers should go. AI analyzes sales velocity, inventory, and store traffic to make localized, real-time decisions. What used to take weeks now happens in minutes. And it gets smarter the more you use it.

Central Strategy, Local Execution

With AI guiding the planogram and cameras in your coolers verifying execution, your team knows exactly what to do, where, and why. HQ sets the vision. Field teams get clear, actionable steps without digging through spreadsheets.

Visual Verification, On-Demand

No need to wait for field visits or trust a spreadsheet. Store teams snap a photo, and AI instantly verifies planogram compliance, flags out-of-stocks, and grades display quality. It’s like having a district manager in every store, 24/7.

Built-In Optimization

Every interaction feeds the loop. When AI sees what works and what doesn’t it updates the playbook automatically. So your execution gets tighter, cleaner, and more effective with every week.

Field Teams, Finally Unburdened

When AI handles the backend, your people can focus on what matters. Resets happen faster. Errors drop. Everyone’s working from the same playbook, with less meetings and less stress.

Execution That Gets Smarter Every Day

At Stoc, we help retailers turn retail chaos into retail clarity. Our AI-powered platform connects the dots between planogram, inventory, execution, and verification all in one dashboard.

Let’s stop calling it innovation when it’s really just modernization.

Our partners are already seeing:

  • Up to 8% sales recaptured from better in-stock performance
  • Hundreds of compliance issues flagged automatically
  • Field teams reporting higher accuracy and lower stress

Ready to bring AI to your coolers? Let’s talk.

Schedule your demo or join our pilot program at hellostoc.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Stoc is built for boots on the ground. The platform is mobile-first, frictionless, and guides your teams through exactly what needs to be done. Fast to adopt, no heavy training required.

Using door-mounted cameras and on-device AI, Stoc automatically scans cooler shelves and flags any deviations. No more manual checks or guesswork. Just clean execution every time.

Absolutely. Stoc uses AI to localize execution while maintaining corporate guardrails. It adjusts to real-world conditions without sacrificing consistency.

Some of our partners saw full ROI within 60 days. That includes stockouts resolved, facings optimized, and resets done right the first time.

Not at all. Stoc installs in minutes and is easy to adopt. We provide full white-glove onboarding and support from hardware setup to team training.

Yes. Whether you’re rolling out a new SKU or a limited-time display, Stoc makes sure your planograms stay on track and alerts you when something’s off.

One dashboard. All your stores. You get full visibility across the board, with the ability to drill into individual locations or zoom out to see trends across regions.

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