10 Essential Reports for Your Retail Store Performance Dashboard

Want to know who’s winning a football game? 

Just looking at the score doesn’t tell the whole story — you need to check the full scoreboard to know how long is left in the game, who has the better time of possession, and who’s winning the turnover margin. 

Your retail store needs a similar scoreboard. If you’re only tracking your overall sales and total revenue, you won’t get the full picture of your business’ financial health. 

You need a well-rounded retail store performance dashboard. In this blog, we’ll share the basics of how to create your dashboard and 10 essential reports to include. 

Retail Sales Reporting 101

Before diving into specific reports, let’s cover the basics of retail sales reporting. 

Your point of sale (POS) system constantly collects data about your store’s performance. It monitors inventory shifts, tracks your costs and profit margins, and analyzes your sales. 

Your retail store performance dashboard breaks these metrics down into actionable insights. For example, you can see how much produce you sold on Tuesday, how many sales you made during lunch hour yesterday, or what your most popular products were during the last holiday season. 

If your current POS system only provides a basic overview of your sales, it may be time to upgrade. Here’s what to look for: 

• Cloud-based access: This lets you check your inventory and sales reports from anywhere, at any time. That way, you don’t have to be physically present in your store to dig into the data. 

• Prebuilt and customizable reports: Your POS software should give you several prebuilt reports to get started, but you should be able to tailor them to your goals. 

• Industry-specific functionality: Your reporting needs depend on what kind of store you run. For example, grocers need powerful spoilage tracking, while liquor stores need age verification reports to stay compliant with audits. 

Sales reporting isn’t something you can handle on your own — you need the right software to do the heavy-lifting. Now, let’s dive into what kind of reports to add to your POS system’s sales dashboard. 

Related Read: Cloud-Based POS System for Retail: 10 Must-Have Features + Top Options 

1. Customer Report

Want to build stronger relationships with your customers? You need to get to know them better. 

Your POS system’s customer reports should include: 

• The date of a customer’s last visit
• How much they spend on average
• Their lifetime value
• Their most frequently purchased products

Some systems even let you add custom notes to help you and your team provide personalized service and recommendations every time they come in. 

How To Use This Report

Customer reports are invaluable if you plan to launch personalized marketing campaigns. For example, you can reach out to your liquor store’s loyal tequila fans to offer a special National Margarita Day offer, or send a special storewide discount to customers who haven’t visited your boutique in a while. 

2. Shrinkage Report

Shrinkage is a retailer’s enemy — but you can’t fight it if you don’t understand it. Shrinkage reports help you spot where you’re losing inventory and money to issues like spoilage and shoplifting. 

Shrinkage reports are especially important for grocers, since perishable products like meat, dairy, and produce are at high risk of spoilage. They can also help liquor store owners track bottle breakage. 

How To Use This Report

Including shrinkage in your retail store performance dashboard helps you take action before spoilage, shoplifting, and breakage significantly impact your bottom line. 

If you’re constantly throwing away wilted organic produce while customers reach for more affordable alternatives, you should adjust your ordering approach to match demand. If your most expensive bottles are disappearing from your liquor store’s shelves, use cages and security cameras to deter thieves. 

3. Low-Stock Reports

Tired of losing sales to stockouts? You need to include low-stock reports in your performance dashboard. 

These reports provide an at-a-glance view of the products you’re running low on. They should also show: 

• Your sell-through rates for different products
• How many days of inventory you have on hand
• The value of your current inventory

This data can help you make smarter stocking decisions to protect your sales and stay on budget. 

How To Use This Report

In-depth inventory reports and automated purchase orders are two POS features that go hand in hand to prevent stockouts. 

Once inventory levels drop below a certain threshold, your POS system should automatically generate a purchase order to replace these bestsellers — saving you time and ensuring customers’ favorite products are always on the shelves. 

4. Product Performance Report

Some products fly off the shelves, while others collect dust. Adding a product performance report to your retail sales reporting dashboard can help you tell the difference. 

Look for a POS system that includes AI-powered product ranking. This unique feature gives each of your items a letter grade from A to D. 

How To Use This Report

Product performance data helps you make smarter pricing and stocking decisions. Products with an A grade are worth stocking more of, but you should order products with a D grade sparingly. 

You can also launch strategic promotions on your underselling products. For example, if your smoke shop’s least popular cigars are about to go stale, launch a special bundle deal to increase turnover. 

5. Basket Analysis

Analyzing the contents of your customers’ shopping baskets is one of the best ways to learn about them. Your POS system’s basket analysis reports reveal: 

• How many items they purchase during each visit
• How much they spend on average
• Which items are most commonly purchased together

This information gives you a well-rounded look at what shoppers are looking for in your store. 

How To Use This Report

Increasing your average basket size is one of the most effective ways to boost your store’s overall revenue. Use these insights to launch bundle deals, bulk discounts, and mix and match promotions to encourage customers to purchase more items during each shopping trip. 

For example, you might offer a 20% discount on earrings when customers purchase another piece of jewelry in your boutique. 

6. Sales by Department, Category, and Employee

Wondering which area of your store drives the most revenue? Your retail sales performance dashboard should tell you. 

These reports break down your sales by department and category. For instance, your grocery store’s deli department might drive the highest sales through high-margin, ready-to-eat foods. 

You can also analyze which of your employees makes the most sales. 

How To Use This Report

Use this data to invest more effort into your highest-earning departments — and to improve performance in your slowest ones. If your hardware store’s tool section has lower-than-expected sales, it may be time to update your displays or redesign your floor plan. 

You can also use these reports to reward your most valuable team members for providing fast, friendly customer service and driving revenue. 

7. Vendor Performance Report

Reliable, trustworthy vendors are crucial for retail success — and your POS system’s reporting feature helps you keep them honest. 

Vendor performance reports help you track:

• Which vendors provide which products
• How much you spend on inventory with each vendor
• Purchase orders and receiving information

Keeping this data in your performance dashboard makes it easy to monitor inventory accuracy, track inventory costs, and maintain quality control. 

How To Use This Report

Maintaining careful vendor, purchase order, and receiving records can help you spot discrepancies and prevent operational disasters. For example, if you’re missing a pallet of produce, you know which vendor to reach out to and how much money you should get back. 

You can also review this data quarterly to negotiate more favorable contracts, keeping your expenses as low as possible. 

8. Peak Sales Time Report

How many employees do you need to cover each shift? Should you open early on Saturday mornings? How late should you stay open on Friday nights? 

Your dashboard should help you answer these questions with confidence. These reports reveal how many sales you make during specific time blocks, helping you identify your busiest and slowest hours. 

How To Use This Report

This data helps you narrow down the perfect operating hours, ensure adequate staffing during peak sales times, and save money on labor during slow periods. 

For instance, if sales are slow on Monday nights, you can limit your operating hours or schedule fewer employees to work the register.

9. Seasonal Sales Analysis

Your customers’ wants, needs, and shopping habits change with the weather — and your performance dashboard’s seasonal reports can help you keep up with these shifts. 

Seasonal reports show how your sales volume and product demand change over time. You can learn which champagnes sell out around New Year’s, whether customers prefer hot dogs or hamburgers for their Memorial Day celebration, or when shoppers start buying coats and scarves to prepare for winter. 

How To Use This Report

As a new season approaches, look back at last year’s historical sales data. Identify which products were most popular around the holidays, and make sure to order those in the right amounts. 

Don’t forget to review these reports again after the season ends! Having a seasonal purchasing calendar eliminates stress during seasonal changes and makes it easier to stay prepared. 

10. Compliance Reports

Did you know that your retail store performance dashboard can keep your business on the right side of the law? 

All retailers are required to collect sales tax on every purchase. Your POS system’s reporting suite should make it easy to input your state and local tax rates and maintain accurate collection records. 

Stores that sell age-restricted items like alcohol and tobacco also need age verification audit reports. These show that your cashiers manually entered customers’ birthdates or scanned a valid ID for every purchase. 

How To Use This Report

Easy access to your sales tax data makes it much easier to file returns and prove your store’s compliance with state and local tax laws. 

Compliance reports can also help tobacco and liquor retailers protect their retail licenses in the case of audits or legal issues. 

Build Your Retail Store Performance Dashboard With POS Nation

Ready to start building your retail store performance dashboard? You need the right tools. 

Whether you run a grocery store, smoke shop, liquor store, convenience store, or boutique, our team of experts will pair your small business with POS software that’s the perfect fit. 

Learn more by scheduling your live, personalized demo today!