Sell-out: the data everyone wants, but few use
- Apr 2
- 3 min read
In the sales teams of FMCG brands, sell-out has become an essential indicator.
Knowing what actually sells at the point of sale allows you to understand the performance of a product, identify growth opportunities and adjust sales actions.
For Pierre, On-Trade Sales Director at a beverage brand, this information is essential for managing his business. The field teams visit hundreds of establishments every week, negotiate listings, and implement activations to develop the brand's presence.
But once these actions have been carried out, one question often remains unanswered: what actually happens at the checkout?
In the foodservice sector, sell-out remains one of the most sought-after data points for brands… and yet one of the least accessible.
Why sell-out is so important for FMCG brands
In the retail world, brands generally have a fairly accurate view of in-store sales. Point-of-sale data allows them to observe changes in volume, track product performance, and analyze the impact of marketing campaigns.
In the foodservice sector, the situation is very different. Brands work with thousands of independent establishments that use a variety of point-of-sale systems and are rarely connected to the manufacturers.
Sales teams therefore often have good visibility on sell-in, i.e. the volumes sold to distributors or establishments, but much less on actual consumption.
However, this information is essential to understand whether a product is actually selling to customers.
When the sell-in only tells part of the story
In sales management, sell-in remains an important indicator. It allows tracking the volumes delivered to establishments and assessing order dynamics.
However, sell-in does not always reflect market reality.
A product can be ordered in large quantities by an establishment without being consumed quickly by customers. Conversely, some products can be very popular but remain under the radar if the order volumes are smaller but more frequent.
Without visibility on sell-out, it becomes difficult to understand the true performance of a product.
Sales teams may then get the impression that a product is working well when it remains under-consumed by customers, or miss out on a growth opportunity in certain establishments.
The challenge of the fragmentation of the hospitality market
One of the main reasons why sell-out data is difficult to exploit in the foodservice industry is due to the very structure of the market.
Unlike large retailers, the hospitality sector is extremely fragmented. Thousands of restaurants, bars, and cafes operate with their own management systems and point-of-sale systems.
This fragmentation complicates the collection and harmonization of sales data.
Even when data exists at the establishment level, it is rarely consolidated on a scale that allows brands to understand market trends.
Moving from a lack of data to leveraging insights
In recent years, the digitalization of the hospitality sector has begun to change the game. More and more establishments are using connected point-of-sale systems that record sales in detail.
When this data can be aggregated and analyzed, it offers unprecedented visibility into the actual consumption of products.
Brands can then observe the performance of their products in different types of establishments, understand consumption patterns, or analyze product combinations in orders.
This more nuanced understanding of the market allows sales teams to make much more precise decisions.
When sell-out becomes a strategic lever
Accessing sell-out data is not enough. The real value lies in the ability to transform that information into actionable insights.
When a brand can analyze sales recorded at the checkout, it can identify the establishments where its products perform best, understand consumption contexts and adjust its business strategies.
Some platforms now allow the connection of point-of-sale data from thousands of establishments to transform actual sales into market insights for foodservice brands. This approach enables a better understanding of consumer behavior and allows for more precise targeting of marketing efforts.
Finally, exploit the data that everyone is looking for.
In the foodservice industry, sell-out is often presented as the holy grail of data. However, its value lies not only in its existence, but in how it is used.
When this data becomes accessible and analyzable, it allows businesses to link their actions to actual consumption. Teams can then understand what works on the ground and focus their efforts on the most successful establishments and strategies.
In a market as fragmented as the hospitality industry, this ability to leverage sell-out becomes a strategic advantage for FMCG brands that want to precisely manage their development.
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