✦ Task type · Research and checks
Shelf checks from people who are already in the shop
Your distributor's report says the display went up. This is the cheapest way to find out whether it did, in a shop three hundred miles away.
Retail execution is the classic gap between what was agreed and what is on the shelf, and it is invisible from head office. The task is small, the logistics are the hard part, and most briefs fail on frame consistency rather than on anything about the shop.
What to put in the public brief
- The retail chain or type of store, and the city
- That in-store photography is required
- Roughly how long it takes
- That they will be paid if staff ask them to stop
- The category, without the brand
Keep the brand, the specific stores and any planogram private.
What to put in the private instructions
Name the store and the aisle
Not the brand alone. "The chilled drinks aisle" saves a worker ten minutes of wandering and saves you the cost of it.
Specify the frame precisely
Distance, height, whether to include the shelf edge label. Consistency across stores is the entire value; inconsistent photos cannot be compared.
State the in-store rules plainly
Discreet, stop if asked, never argue, no moving product to improve the shot. That last one matters: a rearranged shelf is a falsified observation.
Ask for the store identifier and time
Branch name or number, and when. A photo without a location is an anecdote.
Proof worth requiring
Ask for
A wide category shot and a closer facing shot, plus the branch and timestamp. Two photos, specified, beat ten unspecified.
Do not ask for
Photographs of staff or other customers. It is unnecessary, it raises a privacy problem you do not need, and it makes the worker conspicuous.
When this task type is the wrong tool
If you need a full audit across hundreds of stores on a schedule, a retail audit provider does this at scale with trained staff.
If what you want is the shopping experience rather than the shelf, that is mystery shopping, and it prices and briefs differently.
Common questions
Are workers allowed to photograph inside a shop?
Policies vary by retailer and country, and some prohibit it outright. Put the rule in the brief: be discreet, stop if asked, never argue with staff, and no photo is worth a confrontation. A worker who abandons the task because a manager objected should be paid for the attempt, and the brief should say so.
What reward is fair?
Eight to twenty dollars, and set it against travel rather than the two minutes of photography. If the store is not somewhere they already go, you are buying a journey and should price it as one.
How do I get consistent photos?
Specify the frame, not the subject. "Stand back far enough to include the shelf above and below, camera level with the middle shelf" produces comparable images. "Photograph our product" produces fifty different crops.
Can they check competitors too?
Yes, and it costs almost nothing extra since they are standing there. Ask for one wide shot of the whole category, which is more useful than close-ups of individual rivals and less conspicuous to take.
Thinking of taking this task?
The same job, from the other side. Rewards are set by the poster, so treat these as the range this task type usually sits in rather than a promise.
- Usually pays
- $8 to $20
- You need
- To be able to visit the named shop
- Proof expected
- A wide category shot and a closer facing shot, with branch and time
Be discreet and stop immediately if staff object; you are paid for the attempt either way. Never move product to improve the shot, because that falsifies what you were sent to observe.
Create a worker accountBrief a shelf check
Set the reward and the cities or retail chains you need. Workers nearby reserve a spot; the brand and store list stay private until they do.
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