12 retail sales KPIs to monitor for your store

As a store leader, you set strategic growth objectives and need precise reporting to measure your store’s performance. Whether qualitative or quantitative, numerous indicators are available to manage your business effectively and make the best decisions to ensure the long-term success of your sports store. Here is a list of 12 essential sales KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to monitor for success.

1. Number of Transactions or Receipts

The number of transactions or receipts is the most commonly tracked indicator by retailers, representing the number of customers who have made a purchase from your business.

This in-store sales KPI, influenced by various factors such as sales team efficiency, customer profiles, and catchment area, helps you measure the growth in transaction numbers compared to a previous period.

2. Sales Index

The sales index is calculated by dividing the number of items sold by the number of receipts. This index allows you to evaluate overall sales performance compared to a previous period.

As a particularly useful indicator, it provides valuable insights into the in-store shopping experience of your customers. The more satisfying the experience, the more items customers purchase. It’s an excellent way to verify the success of your merchandising strategies.

3. Average Basket Value

This essential sales KPI for sports stores is vital for diagnosing your retail outlet’s performance. It is determined by dividing the total revenue by the number of transactions recorded.

The average basket value is a crucial indicator for identifying and resolving issues related to product assortment, pricing strategies, or customer traffic. The aim is to boost your customers’ average spending, and several strategies can help achieve this:

• Enhancing product lines, commonly referred to as upselling
• Emphasizing cross-selling
• Leveraging additional sales opportunities

4. The conversion rate

Conversion rate, transformation rate… This percentage reveals the number of store visits that actually result in sales. As a true indicator of your store’s commercial performance, it is calculated as follows: number of buyers / number of visitors x 100. While the focus is typically on highlighting customer purchases, the conversion rate can also pertain to any specific action taken by your customers after their initial contact with your business (such as signing up for a loyalty program).

Once again, the conversion rate heavily depends on the customer experience in your store. Ensure effective stock management to meet demand, optimize your store layout, and train your sales staff to build trust and demonstrate expertise in your products.

5. The customer Acquisition Cost

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) measures the expenses a merchant incurs to turn a visitor into a customer. This KPI for in-store sales includes all costs needed for converting a new customer, such as material investments, tools and strategies (software, marketing, etc.), and human resources (salaries).

The Customer Acquisition Cost is a crucial indicator for the company’s growth as it measures the profitability of the operations undertaken to accelerate the sales funnel.

6. The inventory turnover ratio

The inventory turnover ratio serves as a reliable indicator of the efficiency of your sales strategy:

• Low inventory turnover: Your products are moving slowly. This might indicate a decline in customer interest for specific items.
• High inventory turnover: On the other hand, your products are selling too fast, making it difficult to meet all the demand, which could lead to losing customers due to stock shortages.

The inventory turnover ratio measures how frequently inventory is replenished over the year. To calculate it, divide the cost of goods sold by the average inventory, then multiply the result by the number of days in the period.

7. The performance of a product

Calculated to identify trends, product performance depends on specific actions or particular contexts. Media coverage, competitor price reductions, promotional discounts—all these factors must be considered to determine if a product is selling particularly well compared to others over a given period.

8. Monthly Sales from New Customers

This valuable commercial indicator measures the monthly conversion rate, reflecting the percentage of new customers who purchase a product or subscribe to a service each month.

The goal of this in-store sales KPI is to evaluate the success of sales teams and explain the observed results: lack of sales motivation, seasonality, strategic decisions, and whether the products align with customer needs.

9. Customer Retention Rate

The customer retention rate gauges the strength of your customer relationships in your sports store. It’s calculated using this formula: 

(𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠−𝑁𝑒𝑤𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠)/𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙𝐶𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠

(FinalCustomers−NewCustomers)/InitialCustomers x 100.

This metric helps you understand if your customers frequently return to your store and maintain long-term loyalty to your brand.

To enhance this KPI, consider integrating a loyalty program directly into your point-of-sale software!

10. CRM Capture Rate

It’s crucial to emphasize: rich and comprehensive data is vital for executing effective in-store sales strategies. This metric is perfect for evaluating the robustness of your database and assessing the performance of your employees.

The CRM capture rate indicates the percentage of your store’s customers for whom you have complete contact details, or who have joined your loyalty program. The effectiveness of your personalized marketing and loyalty initiatives hinges on the quality of the data collected.

11. The GMROI

GMROI, or Gross Margin Return on Investment, is a key performance indicator that helps retailers assess the optimal gross margin for purchased inventory. It aids in maximizing the return on investment for the goods acquired.

A low margin, for instance, indicates that your products aren’t selling as expected, potentially necessitating markdowns.

12. Annual Growth

Lastly, the final in-store sales KPI we recommend is annual growth. This metric provides a clear snapshot of your store’s financial health, enabling you to measure overall performance, compare results with previous years, and refine your strategies to enhance your figures.

12 Key In-Store Sales KPIs to Monitor Closely:

• Number of Transactions or Receipts

• Sales Index

• Average Basket Size

• Conversion Rate

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

• Inventory Turnover Ratio

• Product Performance

• Monthly Sales / New Customers

• Customer Retention Rate

• CRM Capture Rate

• GMROI (Gross Margin Return on Investment)
• Annual Growth