Shopping

Start with who needs retail shop service and merchandising and why. Around residents and visitors drive demand in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.

• List 10 offers or suppliers in the UAE with price per sale in AED and who buys.
• Interview 5 people from residents and visitors: what do they buy now, how often, what do they pay, what annoys them?
• Learn three terms: Planogram (a plan showing where each item sits on shelves); Shrinkage (stock lost to theft or error); Conversion (the share of visitors who buy).
• Write a one-page brief: user, need, hoped-for price, and the rule that matters most.

Activity. Complete the market table, five interview notes and the brief.

Standard to meet. Price ten offers, interview five users, and state one need in one sentence.

Know the rule before the work. Main hazards here: theft, falls and stock errors. Hazard thinking means list each step, ask what could go wrong, and decide the control.

• Ask your local authority or free zone which licence, permit or inspection applies. Write the answer and the date you asked.
• For each step (receive and shelve; display; serve the customer; count and reorder) write the hazard and the control.
• Use a hierarchy: remove the hazard, replace it, separate people from it, change the way of work, then protective equipment last.
• Keep a one-page incident rule: who you call, what you stop, what you record.

Activity. Draw the flow and mark hazard and control at each step.

Standard to meet. Name a hazard and a control for every step, and answer the licence question in writing.

The work is a short chain: receive and shelve, display, serve the customer, count and reorder. Learn each link, then link them with records.

• Write a checklist for each of the 4 steps: input, action, check, output.
• Time each step three times and note the slowest.
• Record a defect or delay each time it happens: what, where, cause, fix.
• Measure sales per visitor; this is your main number.

Activity. Run the chain three times (simulated or real) and fill the log.

Standard to meet. Complete three logs, and give the slowest step a cause and a fix.

What you do not measure you cannot improve. Your main measure is sales per visitor.

• Define sales per visitor: what counts, what does not, and over what period.
• Draw a simple chart of the last 10 results and mark the average.
• Find the top two causes of loss with a tally sheet, then fix the biggest one first.
• Check measuring tools: are they accurate, clean and in date?

Activity. Collect a tally for one week and make a Pareto chart.

Standard to meet. Complete the tally, name the biggest cause, and plan one fix with a date.

Know the cost of one sale before you set the price. Include materials, labour, energy, transport, licence share, waste and a safety margin.

• Cost per sale = total cost divided by sales sold (not made).
• Margin = (price minus cost) divided by price.
• Break-even units = fixed costs divided by gain per unit.
• Test the price with two users and write down the answer.

Activity. Build the cost sheet with AED on every line and have your mentor check it.

Standard to meet. Check that no cost is missing, and calculate the margin twice by different routes.

Customers return when you keep promises. Promise only what your workflow can deliver.

• Write a one-page offer: what is included, what is not, price, time, how you fix mistakes.
• Write a short script for the first call or visit.
• Agree dates in writing; confirm each change.
• Handle a complaint in four steps: listen, apologise for the impact, fix, record what changed.

Activity. Present the offer to two users and note changes.

Standard to meet. Write an offer with scope, price, time and a fix rule, and collect comments from two users.

Small, real and recorded. Change one thing at a time and learn quickly.

• Keep a daily log: date, units, cost, delays, defects, safety notes.
• Hold a 15-minute review each week with your mentor.
• Write down every complaint and what you changed.
• Take photos only where allowed and never of people without consent.

Activity. Complete 30 days of the log and four weekly reviews.

Standard to meet. Log 30 days, give each defect a cause, and keep weekly notes.

A decision beats a feeling. Compare plan with result and choose to scale, change or stop.

• Make a before and after table: cost per unit, defects, delays, repeat users.
• Write three lessons.
• Decide scale, change or stop, with the numbers behind it.
• Give two peers one strength and one fix each.

Activity. Present to a review room and collect one written comment from a user.

Standard to meet. Justify the decision with numbers, and give two peer reviews.

A full, tidy shelf sells. Gaps lose sales.

• Follow the planogram and face products forward.
• Count stock and reorder before it runs out.
• Keep aisles clear and floors dry.
• Handle returns with a clear rule.

Activity. Run a shelf audit on a sample aisle.

Standard to meet. Find the gaps and write a reorder list.

Conversion rises when staff greet, ask and help.

• Greet within 10 seconds; ask one open question.
• Offer one relevant extra, not a push.
• Count visitors and buyers to find conversion.
• Handle complaints by listening first.

Activity. Run a one-day count and compute conversion.

Standard to meet. Record the counts and test one change.

How a shop handles a return tells customers whether to trust it. A fair, calm process also protects the shop from loss.

• Know the return rule: time limit, condition, proof of purchase and what is excluded. State it clearly at the till and on the receipt.
• Listen to the whole complaint, repeat it back, and offer a solution before explaining policy.
• Check the item and receipt; refund to the original method of payment where possible.
• If a customer is abusive, stay calm, offer a manager, and record the event.

Activity. Role-play three return cases, one valid, one late, one with no receipt.

Standard to meet. Explain the rule in one sentence, calculate the refund amount correctly, and keep a calm tone.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Parts of a shop

Notes: Name a planogram, shrinkage and conversion and say where each shows in a shop. Notes: use a mall shop and ask learners to point out the shelf plan and the queue.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Theft, falls and stock errors

Notes: Describe the hazards of theft, falls and stock errors and the controls such as clear aisles and counts. Notes: show a photo with a box in the aisle; learners mark the fall risk and the fix.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Count stock and serve a customer

Notes: Count one shelf and serve a customer with a supervisor present. Notes: check the count matches the system, the aisle stays clear and the sale is recorded.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Run a 30-day shop pilot

Notes: Receive, shelve, display, serve and count for a real or simulated shop and report sales per visitor. Notes: with a sale of AED 150 against AED 95 cost, gain is AED 55 or 36.7 per cent; record every stock error.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Compare displays and decide

Notes: Compare two displays by conversion and decide to scale, change or stop. Notes: at 3,000 sales a month, even a gain of AED 5 per sale adds AED 15,000, so count the test carefully.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Coach a sales team

Notes: Set greeting, queue and stock-count rules and a weekly review for a small team. Notes: sample five stock counts and five sales against the plan; shrinkage is checked every week.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Design the retail system

Notes: Design a shop system with a planogram, shrinkage audit, safety checks and a 12-month plan. Notes: at 3,000 sales a month and AED 55 gain each, gross gain is AED 165,000; present one risk, one saving and the plan.