Monthly VM audit scoring window, floor, mannequins, fixtures, pricing and docket compliance.
A visual merchandising audit checklist is a scored, monthly inspection of how closely a store's window, floor, mannequins, fixtures, signage and pricing match the brand's current docket and display standard. The VM executive fills it in person, walking the store in the order a customer would, and takes live photos with GPS and time stamp as proof. The VM manager reviews the scored audit and compares stores across the region. The audit is scored out of 100 with a pass mark of 85, and four items are fatal: the wrong campaign live, a displayed product without MRP, an unsafe fixture and a fire exit blocked by VM. A fatal fail caps the audit at zero, and every failed item raises a ticket with an owner and a deadline.
Free. No form. The workbook has the same columns as the table below, with the score formula and a fatal-item check in place.
Score = weight of items answered Yes ÷ weight of items not marked N/A, out of 100. Pass mark 85. A failed fatal item caps the score at zero and raises a ticket to the vm manager.
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Window to docket | Does the window match the current docket photo in products, props, mannequin looks and layout? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 4 | Side by side with the docket, every product, prop and look sits where it should. |
| 2 | Window glass and bed | Is the window glass clean inside and out, and the window bed free of dust and fallen tags? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 3 | No smears or fingerprints, bed dusted, no dead insects, pins or fallen price tags. |
| 3 | Window lamps | Are all window lights working and focused on the hero products and campaign graphic? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 3 | Every spot lit and aimed, hero products brightest, no light spilling onto the glass. |
| 4 | Window impact | How strongly does the window stop someone walking past, on a scale of 1 to 5? | 1 to 5 | Required | 3 | A 5 tells one clear story, with a hero product readable from across the road. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Entrance table styling | Is the entrance table styled to the docket with the hero product at the front and stacks even? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 4 | Hero product leads, stacks level, talker upright, props exactly as the docket drawing shows. |
| 6 | Entrance zone clear | Is the first three metres inside the door clear of cartons, trolleys and stray fixtures? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 3 | Entry zone open, nothing blocking the view from the door to the focal wall. |
| 7 | Campaign standee placed | Is the campaign standee current, undamaged and placed where the docket specifies? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 2 | Live campaign standee, clean and upright, placed at the docket spot, not in the walkway. |
| 8 | Door and threshold | Are the entrance mat, threshold and door hardware clean and in good repair? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 2 | Mat flat and clean, threshold dust free, door handles polished and firm. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Zone layout to map | Are category zones laid out as per the brand's current floor plan and zone map? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 3 | Every category in its mapped zone, adjacencies as per plan, no orphan tables. |
| 10 | Colour blocking | Are rails and wall bays colour blocked light to dark, left to right, as per the display standard? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 3 | Colours flow light to dark in every bay, prints and solids grouped as the standard shows. |
| 11 | Size run sequence | Does every displayed style show a complete core size run in the right sequence? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 3 | Core sizes present for every style, sequenced small to large, size strips in place. |
| 12 | Folded stacks | Are folded stacks at the brand fold width, equal in height and aligned at the edges? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 3 | Every stack the same width and height, edges squared, logos to the front. |
| 13 | Hanging rails | Are hangers matched, hooks turned one way and garments evenly spaced on every rail? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 3 | One hanger type, hooks all one way, even gaps, no garments slipping off shoulders. |
| 14 | Back wall to docket | Is the back wall dressed to the docket, full, lit and visible from the entrance? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 4 | Back wall full and lit, matches the docket and pulls the eye from the door. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Mannequin looks | Is each mannequin dressed in the exact look the docket specifies, including accessories? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 4 | Every look matches the docket head to toe, garments steamed, no tags or pins showing. |
| 16 | Mannequin condition | Are mannequins free of chips, loose limbs, visible tags and exposed fittings? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 2 | No chipped paint, limbs firm, rods and base plates clean and hidden where possible. |
| 17 | Focal point per zone | Does every zone have a dressed focal point with a single clear hero product? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 3 | One hero per zone, lit and raised, visible from the main walkway. |
| 18 | Props from docket | Are props and risers from the current docket only, clean and undamaged? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 2 | Only current docket props on the floor, dusted, unbroken and placed as drawn. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Fixture safetyFatal | Are all fixtures, wall bays and plinths stable, with no sharp edges, loose glass or overloaded arms? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 5 | No wobble when pushed, glass fixed, brackets complete, nothing overhangs a walkway at head height. |
| 20 | Fixture condition | Are fixtures clean, unchipped and complete, with no missing brackets or covers? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 2 | Surfaces clean, no chips or scratches, every bracket and cover fitted. |
| 21 | Track lighting | Are all track and display lights working, with no fused lamps over product zones? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 3 | Every lamp lit over product, no flicker, spare lamps logged in the store stock. |
| 22 | Light focus and tone | Are lights angled onto product rather than walkways, in the brand's colour temperature? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 2 | Beams land on product, not on customers' faces, one consistent tone across the floor. |
| 23 | Fire exits clear of VMFatal | Are fire exits, extinguishers and electrical panels free of props, fixtures, standees and stock? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 5 | Exit path open to full width, extinguishers visible, no standee or carton in front of any panel. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | MRP on displayed productFatal | Does every displayed product carry an MRP tag inclusive of all taxes, as Legal Metrology requires? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 5 | Every displayed piece shows MRP, readable without handling, none handwritten or covered by a sale sticker. |
| 25 | Talker price accuracy | Do price talkers and offer cards match the price billed at the counter for three sampled products? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 4 | Three products checked at billing, talker price and invoice price identical. |
| 26 | Offer signage current | Is all offer and sale signage current, with no expired offer anywhere on the floor? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 4 | Only live offers displayed, validity dates correct, nothing from a finished promotion. |
| 27 | Category headers | Are category headers and wayfinding signs present, straight and matching the zone layout? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 2 | Headers above every zone, level and matching what is actually below them. |
| 28 | Signage condition | Is all in-store signage clean, untorn and free of tape marks or handwritten additions? | Yes / No / N/A | Optional | 2 | Printed signage only, clean and flat, no tape, no marker pen notes. |
| # | Item | Audit question | Answer | Photo | Weight | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Correct campaign liveFatal | Is the campaign on the window and floor the one currently live as per the latest docket? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 5 | Graphics, standees and window all show the live campaign, nothing from the previous one. |
| 30 | Old campaign removed | Have all graphics, props and talkers from the previous campaign been removed and stored or disposed of? | Yes / No / N/A | Required | 4 | No old graphics anywhere, including the back room door and billing counter. |
| 31 | Docket photos submitted | Has the store submitted the docket photo set for every zone within the docket deadline? | Yes / No / N/A | No | 3 | A photo per zone in the app before the deadline, time stamps visible. |
| 32 | Drishti window score | What score out of 100 did Drishti give the window photo against the docket? | Number | Required | 3 | Score entered from the app, with the gaps Drishti flagged listed in the comment. |
Loaded into BorentisOps, each required photo is live, GPS and time-stamped, so a photo from yesterday or another store does not pass. Where the brand has a docket or display standard, Drishti scores the photo against it and marks the misses. Every fail raises a ticket with an owner and a deadline, and the vm manager sees the store on a heat map before the next visit.
The checklist runs offline and syncs when signal returns, in Hindi, English and Hinglish, and the operations score sits next to the store's selling score from Borentis Floor on one store card. Pricing is per store, so every vm executive and staff member in the store is on the app.
The daily checklist is filled by the store manager every morning and catches everyday slips. The VM audit is a monthly, scored inspection by the VM executive, who is trained to judge the docket, colour blocking and lighting. It carries fatal items and a pass mark, so it tells the VM manager which stores are drifting from the brand standard and which store managers need coaching.
Four items are fatal: the wrong campaign live, a displayed product without MRP, an unsafe fixture and a fire exit blocked by VM. Each one either breaks a rule, creates a safety risk or confuses customers about price and offer. A fatal fail caps the audit at zero and raises a ticket at once, so it cannot be hidden inside a good average score.
The VM executive takes a live photo of the window from the pavement. Drishti, the visual AI in BorentisOps, compares it with the docket image the brand uploaded and returns a score with the gaps it found, such as a missing prop or a mannequin in the wrong look. The auditor records the score and can overrule it with a comment if the photo angle misled it.
Yes. The Excel download keeps the same columns you see on this page: section, item, audit question, answer type, photo rule, weight, fatal flag and what good looks like. BorentisOps imports it as a checklist, and you can edit any item before it goes live. A Borentis onboarding person maps the VM executive and VM manager roles to your people and assigns the VM audit to the right stores, so the first run happens on the store phone.