When most executives think about growth, they focus on product development, brand storytelling, digital campaigns, or supply chain efficiency. These are all vital. But too often, one of the most critical parts of the retail experience is overlooked—the last 100 feet.
That last 100 feet is where the customer encounters your product in a store. It’s where they make a split-second decision to buy—or walk away. For all the effort invested in strategy, marketing, and logistics, if the shelf is empty, the price tag is missing, or the product is poorly displayed, sales are lost.
Why the Last 100 Feet Matters
In the digital era, it’s easy to assume physical retail is a declining priority.
Yet even in categories that are rapidly shifting online, most consumer-packaged goods and household essentials are still purchased in-store. According to NielsenIQ, more than 70% of purchase decisions are made at the shelf. That means what happens inside the store is still one of the most powerful levers for growth.
But execution at retail is messy.
Staffing shortages, multiple competing brands, and constant inventory turnover create a daily struggle for retailers and manufacturers alike. It’s not enough to ship products on time or run an ad campaign—if the product isn’t available on the shelf, correctly priced, and accompanied by signage or merchandising displays, sales are left on the table.
This is where execution partners come in. Companies like Anderson Merchandisers specialize in managing the last 100 feet for some of the world’s most recognized brands and retailers. While not often discussed in boardrooms, these services are a linchpin in ensuring that all the upstream investments in innovation and marketing actually pay off in consumer sales.
The Common Pitfalls of In-Store Execution
Executives are often surprised by how fragile retail execution can be. Some of the most common issues include:
- Out-of-stock items: A product may be sitting in the stockroom, but if no one is there to replenish the shelf, customers walk away. Even a 5% out-of-stock rate can add up to millions in lost sales annually for large brands.
- Incorrect pricing or signage: A missing or wrong price tag can discourage purchase or erode trust. Promotional signage that doesn’t match advertised deals can cause frustration and returns.
- Inconsistent displays: Retailers may invest in custom displays or secondary placements, but without dedicated support, those displays can quickly fall apart, go missing, or be used for competing products.
- Lack of store-level feedback: Head office teams often don’t have visibility into what’s happening at the store level. Without real-time feedback, problems go unaddressed until they’ve already impacted sales.
All these challenges happen in the last 100 feet. And they don’t just hurt sales—they damage brand equity and weaken customer loyalty.
How Anderson Differs from the Other Players in this Space
While there are a handful of large, well-known merchandising agencies—such as Acosta Group, Advantage Solutions, CROSSMARK, and Daymon—many of them operate as broad sales and marketing organizations. Their service menus span everything from analytics and category management to private-label development, often at massive scale. That breadth is valuable for certain situations, but it can also dilute the attention given to the messy, everyday reality of in-store execution.
Anderson Merchandisers, by contrast, has built its reputation around one central priority: flawless performance in the last 100 feet. Instead of trying to be all things to all clients, Anderson focuses on what matters most: ensuring that products are in stock, correctly priced, and supported with the proper signage and displays. It’s a discipline honed across hundreds of thousands of store visits each month, and it’s this singular focus that keeps clients’ shelves full and their marketing dollars working.
In a landscape dominated by multi-service conglomerates, Anderson’s edge is specialization. Their teams are not distracted by sprawling service portfolios or spread thin across unrelated initiatives. They are on the floor, in the aisles, and on the shelves—where sales are won or lost. For brands that need confidence that their in-store presence matches the promises of their campaigns, that focus is not just an operational detail; it’s a competitive advantage.
The Power of Retail Execution Support
Retail execution companies bridge the gap between corporate strategy and in-store reality. For example, Anderson Merchandisers manages over 350,000 retail visits every month across categories like entertainment, electronics, and consumer goods. Their teams handle everything from stocking and organizing shelves to ensuring signage and promotional displays are correctly placed, and reporting back insights from the ground.
This kind of support creates a measurable impact. Consider:
- Sales lift through availability: Simply reducing out-of-stocks can drive significant sales gains. Customers can’t buy what they don’t see.
- Brand consistency in the field: Having a professional team ensures that national marketing campaigns are accurately represented at the store level.
- Data-informed adjustments: Field representatives provide feedback on what’s working (or not working) in real time, helping brands refine their strategies.
In other words, effective retail execution transforms the store from a potential weak link into a powerful amplifier of brand investment.
Why Brands Can’t Afford to Ignore This
The irony is that companies often spend millions on awareness campaigns but overlook the last mile of the journey—the store floor itself. Imagine investing heavily to get a customer to the shelf, only for them to find the product missing, mispriced, or poorly displayed. That failure undermines not only sales but the customer’s perception of the brand.
At the same time, retail complexity is only increasing. Retailers are experimenting with new formats, SKU counts are exploding, and competition for attention in-store is fierce. Meanwhile, labor shortages make it unrealistic for stores to maintain flawless execution without external help.
The brands that win will be those that see the last 100 feet not as an afterthought, but as a critical growth lever. By investing in in-store execution, they protect the value of everything else they do—from product development to digital marketing.
Three Takeaways for CPG Executives
- In-stock equals in-sales: If your product isn’t on the shelf when a customer is ready to buy, every other investment in your business has been wasted. Prioritizing in-stock presence is one of the fastest ways to protect revenue.
- Merchandising drives perception: Shoppers rely on cues like signage, displays, and pricing to make buying decisions. Proper execution in these areas not only drives immediate sales but also builds long-term brand equity.
- Execution is a competitive advantage: Brands that consistently deliver flawless in-store execution create a moat against competitors. They ensure that marketing dollars translate into actual consumer purchases, not missed opportunities.
The Bottom Line
The last 100 feet may be the most underestimated real estate in retail. It’s where customers decide whether to add a product to their cart. While it’s messy and operationally complex, companies that take control of this stage are the ones that maximize their growth potential.
Whether through internal teams or experienced partners like Anderson Merchandisers, brands that commit to excellence in the final step of the customer journey turn potential leaks in the system into powerful drivers of sales and loyalty.
Photo by Whoisbenjamin on Unsplash
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Note: Full disclosure – Anderson Merchandisers is a client of The Marketing Sage Consultancy
