A scored retail store audit for area and district managers: storefront and window displays, signs and lighting, sales floor layout and merchandising, price and promotion accuracy with a counted spot check, stock levels and backstock, fitting rooms, register and cash-handling procedures, customer service observed, team presentation and training records, health and safety, security and loss prevention, and the stockroom — ending in actions with an owner and a due date, and two signatures.
Audit Details
Which store, who was there, and what kind of visit.
Audit title
Store name or number
Store address
Retailer
District or region
Audited by
Date
Time the audit started
Type of visit — Scheduled audit, Unannounced audit, Follow-up on the last audit, New store or new manager
Manager on duty
Team members on shift
Score at the last audit (%)
Exterior and Window Displays
What a passer-by sees before they decide to come in.
Glass, frames and paintwork clean, with no smears, peeling or graffiti? — Yes, No, N/A
Sidewalk, entrance and planters free of litter, gum and weeds? — Yes, No, N/A
Window displays set to the current campaign, with nothing out of date? — Yes, No, N/A
Window displays lit and every prop and mannequin intact? — Yes, No, N/A
Trading hours and required door notices displayed and correct? — Yes, No, N/A
Entrance doors, mat and threshold clean and safe to walk over? — Yes, No, N/A
Photos — storefront and windows
Signage and Lighting
Signs inside and out, and every light working.
Exterior sign clean and fully lit, with no missing letters or damage? — Yes, No, N/A
Department and wayfinding signs in place and pointing to the right areas? — Yes, No, N/A
All ceiling, track and fixture lighting working? — Yes, No, N/A
Only approved signs on display — no handwritten or taped-up notices? — Yes, No, N/A
Digital screens on and playing current content? — Yes, No, N/A
Signs or lights to fix
Sales Floor Layout and Merchandising
The floor set to plan, full, clean and easy to shop.
Floor layout and fixtures set to the current floor plan or planogram? — Yes, No, N/A
Shelves and rails faced up, sized and folded, with no gaps left unfilled? — Yes, No, N/A
Feature tables, end caps and seasonal areas set and fully stocked? — Yes, No, N/A
Mannequins and display forms dressed in current stock and tagged? — Yes, No, N/A
Fixtures, shelves and floors clean throughout? — Yes, No, N/A
Aisles wide and clear enough for a cart, stroller or wheelchair? — Yes, No, N/A
Damaged, soiled or recalled goods removed from sale? — Yes, No, N/A
Music, volume and temperature right for shopping? — Yes, No, N/A
Merchandising notes
Photos — sales floor
Pricing and Promotions
What the customer reads matches what the register charges.
Items price-checked at the register
Items where the register and the label disagreed
Did every item checked scan at the price on display? — Yes, No, N/A
Shelf labels and tags present on every item looked at? — Yes, No, N/A
Promotional signs current, with expired offers taken down? — Yes, No, N/A
Markdowns and clearance ticketed the way company policy requires? — Yes, No, N/A
Today's promotions loaded and working at the registers? — Yes, No, N/A
Items with wrong or missing prices
Stock Levels and Backstock
The right stock on the floor, and the rest findable.
Empty facings or gaps counted on the floor
Core and best-selling lines in stock on the floor? — Yes, No, N/A
Gaps that have stock in the back being refilled during the shift? — Yes, No, N/A
Backstock boxed, labeled and stored by department so it can be found quickly? — Yes, No, N/A
The latest delivery received, checked and put away within the company standard? — Yes, No, N/A
Cycle counts or stock counts done on schedule? — Yes, No, N/A
Lines out of stock, or overstocks to move
Fitting Rooms
Staffed, controlled and clean.
Does the store have fitting rooms?
Fitting room staffed or monitored the way store policy says? — Yes, No, N/A
Items counted in and out, using tags or the store's system? — Yes, No, N/A
Tried-on items cleared back to the floor regularly, with no build-up of returns? — Yes, No, N/A
Cubicles clean, with working locks or curtains, hooks, mirrors and lights? — Yes, No, N/A
Checkout and Cash Handling
Registers and money procedures — record procedures, not balances.
Checkout area clean, stocked with bags and receipt rolls, and free of personal items, food and drink? — Yes, No, N/A
Register drawers closed and logged off when not in use? — Yes, No, N/A
Cash pickups from the registers to the safe done as the procedure requires? — Yes, No, N/A
Safe locked, with keys or codes held only by authorized people? — Yes, No, N/A
Refunds, voids and price overrides authorized and logged the way policy requires? — Yes, No, N/A
Card terminals secured and checked for tampering? — Yes, No, N/A
Variance on the last register count, as recorded by the store
Was that variance within the company tolerance? — Yes, No, N/A
Cash-handling notes
Customer Service Observed
What you saw the team do for customers during the visit.
Customers acknowledged promptly as they came in? — Yes, No, N/A
Team members on the floor and approachable, not clustered at the register or in the back? — Yes, No, N/A
Customers helped to find products, with team members walking them to the item? — Yes, No, N/A
Lines kept short, with backup called when they built up? — Yes, No, N/A
Any complaint or return you saw handled calmly and to policy? — Yes, No, N/A
Phone answered promptly and courteously? — Yes, No, N/A
Service observed — good and bad
Staff Presentation and Training Records
How the team looks, and what the training file shows.
Team in dress code, neat and wearing name badges? — Yes, No, N/A
Staff schedule posted and matching who is actually working? — Yes, No, N/A
Newest team members have a completed induction on file? — Yes, No, N/A
Required courses current for the team — safety, fire, and age-restricted sales where the store sells them? — Yes, No, N/A
Share of the team with all required training current (%)
Latest company updates and briefings read and signed off by the team? — Yes, No, N/A
Training gaps and who needs what
Health and Safety
Exits, fire equipment, first aid and hazards — front and back.
Every fire exit unlocked from inside, signed, lit and clear on both sides? — Yes, No, N/A
Extinguishers on their brackets, inspected within the date on the tag and unobstructed? — Yes, No, N/A
Fire alarm tests and evacuation drills recorded as required? — Yes, No, N/A
First aid kit stocked, and the team knows who is trained and where the kit is? — Yes, No, N/A
Accident and incident log kept up to date? — Yes, No, N/A
Floors free of trip hazards — loose mats, cables, cartons, spills? — Yes, No, N/A
Step stools and ladders sound and used for reaching high stock? — Yes, No, N/A
Outlets, cords and extension leads undamaged and not overloaded? — Yes, No, N/A
Required workplace safety notices displayed where staff can read them? — Yes, No, N/A
Hazards found and what was done on the spot
Photos — safety findings
Security and Loss Prevention
Protecting stock, cash and people.
High-value items locked in cases, cabled or tagged as the company requires? — Yes, No, N/A
Exit detection gates working when tested? — Yes, No, N/A
Cameras recording, with the correct date and time, and covering registers and exits? — Yes, No, N/A
Store keys and alarm codes controlled, with a current list of holders? — Yes, No, N/A
Back and delivery doors kept closed and secured when not in use? — Yes, No, N/A
Staff bag and purchase procedures followed? — Yes, No, N/A
Theft and loss incidents logged and reported as policy requires? — Yes, No, N/A
Loss prevention notes
Back of House and Stockroom
The stockroom, office and staff areas.
Stockroom tidy, with clear walkways and the route to the exit open? — Yes, No, N/A
Heavy items stored low and shelving not overloaded or damaged? — Yes, No, N/A
Old fixtures, props and surplus signage cleared out? — Yes, No, N/A
Cardboard and trash broken down and removed, with compactors or balers used safely? — Yes, No, N/A
Office paperwork filed and confidential records locked away? — Yes, No, N/A
Break room, kitchen and staff restroom clean and stocked? — Yes, No, N/A
Personal belongings kept in lockers or the designated area, not in the stockroom? — Yes, No, N/A
Team notice board current — schedule, targets, safety information? — Yes, No, N/A
Photos — back of house
Actions and Overall
Every No becomes an action with an owner and a date.
Actions
What needs doing
Owner
Due date
Priority — Safety — today, High — this week, Normal — before the next audit
What the store does well
Overall comments
Next audit due
Auditor — signature
Store manager — signature
Facilities Management
Retail Store Audit
A scored retail store audit for area and district managers: storefront and window displays, signs and lighting, sales floor layout and merchandising, price and promotion accuracy with a counted spot check, stock levels and backstock, fitting rooms, register and cash-handling procedures, customer service observed, team presentation and training records, health and safety, security and loss prevention, and the stockroom — ending in actions with an owner and a due date, and two signatures.
✓Free — no account, no trial, no card.
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Need the daily walk the store team does before the doors open, rather than the manager's audit? Use the opening checklist: Retail store opening checklist
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A retail store audit is the standards visit an area or district manager makes to each store: walk in the way a customer does, judge the windows, the floor, the prices and the service, then go behind the scenes to the registers, the training file, the safety equipment and the stockroom. This one runs in that order, scores every standard as met or not, counts the price errors and stock gaps instead of guessing at them, and finishes with an action list the store manager signs. Fill it in here and download the PDF without creating an account.
Walk it as a customer first
Start outside, across the street if you can. A dirty window, a dead letter in the sign or last month's promotion still in the display is what a passer-by sees before anyone inside has a chance. Then come in through the front door, not the staff entrance, and walk the floor before you introduce yourself to the team — the first ten minutes are the closest you will get to what a customer experiences.
Speak while you walk, and the document writes itself: say what you see at each stop and the audit fills in as you go, with photos where they help.
Count, don't estimate
Two numbers tell you more than a dozen ticks. Scan a sample of items at the register against their shelf labels and record how many you checked and how many were wrong. Walk the main aisles and count the empty facings. Recorded on every visit, those counts show whether a store is improving, and they stop the "it's usually fine" conversation.
Cash handling works the same way. The form records whether the procedures were followed — pickups, safe, keys, refunds and voids — and the variance on the last register count as the store logged it. It does not record float or takings figures; a store audit is not the place for them.
The back of the store matters as much as the front
Most serious findings are out of customer sight: a fire exit blocked by cartons, an extinguisher missing from its bracket, heavy boxes stacked high in the stockroom, an incident log that stops three months ago, training that has lapsed for half the team. The audit gives health and safety, loss prevention and back of house their own sections so they cannot be squeezed out by a long conversation about displays.
Leave with actions, not just a score
Every No should become a line in the actions list before you leave: what needs doing, who owns it and the date it will be done. Go through the list with the store manager, have them sign it, and start the next visit by checking those lines first. That loop is what turns an audit from a grade into a habit.
Common questions
What should a retail store audit cover?
The exterior and windows, signs and lighting, the sales floor and merchandising, price and promotion accuracy, stock and backstock, fitting rooms where there are any, register and cash-handling procedures, customer service, team presentation and training, health and safety, security and loss prevention, and the stockroom and staff areas, with an action list at the end.
How often should stores be audited?
Many retailers audit each store monthly or quarterly, with an unannounced visit in between, and more often for a new store, a new manager or a store with a poor last score.
How is the score calculated?
Each standard that applies scores one point when met. The score is the points earned out of the points possible, so N/A answers and the fitting room section in a store without fitting rooms do not count against it.
Should the store manager sign the audit?
Yes. The manager's signature confirms they have been walked through the findings and own the actions, not that they agree with every point. Disagreements belong in the comments.
Is this the same as a mystery shop?
No. A mystery shopper sees the store only as a customer and is not known to the team. This audit is done openly by a manager who also checks the registers, records, safety equipment and stockroom.