The 5-Second Rule: What most brands forget: Shoppers don’t stand there analysing your range. They scan. They hesitate. They decide. Usually in about 5 seconds. And in those 5 seconds, your merchandising is doing all the... Mar 30, 2026 VSS News
Why Your Best-Selling Product Still Isn’t Selling On paper, it makes no sense. It’s one of your top sellers. It’s ranged in store. It’s in the system. It should be flying. But it’s not. This is one of the most common conversations we have with brands... Mar 25, 2026 VSS News
Your Merchandising Team Is Actually a Data Team When people think about merchandising, they usually picture someone filling shelves, building displays, or straightening products. But that’s only part of the story. Every store visit is generating so... Mar 21, 2026 VSS News
Retail Runs on Relationships When people talk about retail execution, the conversation usually starts with planograms, displays, promotions, and stock levels. All important, of course. But there is something even more powerful si... Mar 9, 2026 VSS News
Quick Fixes Brands Can Do Before a Store Visit Quick Fixes Brands Can Do Before a Store Visit You’ve booked your merchandising team. The call plan is locked in. Everyone’s ready to go. But here’s a little secret from the shop floor… There are a ha... Mar 4, 2026 VSS News
Multitasking in Retail Multitasking in Retail: Superpower or Survival? As I write this, I’m: Eating my lunch Mentally planning my next task Rereading my last email - did I get that right? Adding a new task to my calendar fo... Feb 28, 2026 Our blog
How to Get the Most Out of Your Merchandising Team You can have the best merchandising team in New Zealand. Experienced. Detail-driven. Retail-savvy. The kind of team who notice when a competitor has gained 10cm of shelf space before anyone else does.... Feb 24, 2026 VSS News
How to Bridge the Gap Between Head Office Strategy and Store Reality How to Bridge the Gap Between Head Office Strategy and Store Reality - why great strategy still fails without strong in-store execution. At head office, everything looks aligned: The range review is a... Feb 19, 2026 VSS News
10 Most Common Merchandising Mistakes We See In-Store At Plum Agencies , our national merchandising team works in retail stores across New Zealand every single day. From pharmacy and beauty to big-box and specialty retail, we support brands with professi... Feb 15, 2026 VSS News
Execution in Motion: No two days in merchandising are ever the same. That’s part of the appeal, and also part of the challenge. Our field team is the face of Plum Agencies in store. They’re the ones navigating planograms,... Feb 11, 2026 VSS News
Great Brands Don’t Struggle With Strategy, They Struggle With Execution In retail, execution is everything. You can have the best product, a strong brand story and a solid strategy, but if the people representing you in-store aren’t reliable, results will slip fast. At Pl... Feb 8, 2026 VSS News
How Planograms Drive Sales Walk into any well-performing store and you’ll notice something straight away. It feels easy to shop. Products are where you expect them to be. Categories make sense. Best sellers are visible. New lau... Feb 5, 2026 Our blog