Even the best product launches can melt under pressure when the basics break down at the store level. That’s what happened to one ice cream brand in Australia. Backed by a big marketing push (new flavors, national advertising, discount pricing, and vibrant freezer signage) the brand had every reason to expect a successful rollout. But sales didn’t follow.
Something wasn’t right, and they didn’t have the store-level visibility to work out what.
Cracks in the Execution
Despite the buzz, early data pointed to a conversion problem. With no eyes in-store, the manufacturer couldn’t tell if the issue was shopper hesitation, or something deeper.
This lack of visibility prompted them to turn to real-time retail audit data powered by a crowd of mystery shoppers, an approach that would soon uncover just how badly execution had gone off-track.
Here’s what they found in the first two weeks. Out of 400 stores audited across Australia:
- 100% of stores were non-compliant
- 80% were missing promotional signage
- 60% didn’t carry the new SKUs at all
In short: a textbook case of why in-store displays fail.
The Retail Intelligence Wake-Up Call
Using crowdsourced retail audits, the brand got immediate access to store data they could act on. The insights didn’t just highlight the problems, they pinpointed to where and why they were happening.
The issues traced back to two preventable breakdowns:
- A distribution delay left freezers empty across key retailers, resulting in out of stock conditions during the most important weeks of the launch.
- A POS delivery failure meant branded signage and discount tags, key to conversion, never made it into stores.
Without this fast feedback loop, the launch might have continued to underperform while teams scrambled blindly for answers.
Data in Action: Turning the Launch Around
Armed with this information, the brand’s account teams took swift action:
They escalated the inventory tracking issue with supply chain partners and got products flowing again.
They coordinated with retail contacts to get the missing materials delivered and displayed properly.
By reacting quickly, they were able to improve store compliance through data insights and protect their investment in a high-stakes campaign.
Lessons for CPG Brands
This case is a vivid reminder of why retail execution metrics that matter go beyond just sell-through numbers. When something’s off, audit data and real-time market data can expose the blind spots fast before damage becomes permanent.
Especially for brands in the CPG industry launching new products, visibility into execution is no longer optional. Mystery shoppers, store audits, and retail strategy tools give you the power to fix what’s broken, before it breaks your launch.
