Audits & Compliance
One W-2 field team that checks your stores against your standards, corrects what it can on the spot, and reports every finding in real time.
LET'S TALK AUDITS
Tell us about your stores and we'll reach out within one business day.
YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS.
A Channel Partners audit specialist will be in touch shortly.
52% OF CONSUMERS HAVE STOPPED BUYING FROM A BRAND AFTER A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH ITS PRODUCTS OR SERVICE. THE STORE THAT CAUSED IT RARELY REPORTS WHAT WENT WRONG.
PwC 2025 Customer Experience Survey
YOUR STORES CHANGE BY THE SHIFT. YOUR AUDITS SHOULDN'T REPORT BY THE WEEK.
We run retail audits as part of field execution, not as a panel survey or a separate engagement that lands after the moment to act has passed. Every audit is conducted in-store by trained W-2 representatives, captured digitally with photo documentation at every relevant touchpoint, and delivered through OpenSky™ (our proprietary field intelligence platform) in real time. Our programs run on two tracks, each built to answer a different question.
TWO AUDIT TRACKS
Merchandising Compliance Audit
A CHECKLIST CONFIRMS THE DISPLAY EXISTS. WE CONFIRM IT WORKS.
This is the physical-execution track. We verify component functionality (interactive elements, speakers, headphones, screens), full component presence against planogram, POP and signage compliance, pricing and promotional accuracy, on-shelf availability, new product placement, and brand-standards compliance. Findings are scored before and after, so you see the lift from a single visit. Where an issue can be corrected on-site, we correct it during the visit and include it in the report. Delivered as structured data with photo documentation.
Customer Experience Audit
YOUR BRAND LIVES OR DIES ON THE FLOOR. YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO GUESS WHAT HAPPENS THERE.
This is the associate-behavior track, sometimes called a secret shopper program. Auditors enter as ordinary consumers and score conduct against a defined model of your expectations: greeting and approach, key why-to-buy messaging, competitive positioning, dress code and presentation, and register and close-out behavior. Every interaction is documented and scored, then delivered as a presentation walkthrough with charts and findings. It captures and scores what happens. It does not coach in the field, by design.
WHY CHANNEL PARTNERS
Anyone can hand you a report. We hand you a fixed store and the data to prove it. The difference is integration and accountability, in four specifics:
WE FIX WHAT WE FIND
On break fix programs, roughly half of the display issues identified during a Merchandising Compliance Audit are remediated on the same visit, with before and after functionality documented. Most providers log the issue and leave. We close it.
AUDITS RUN INSIDE YOUR EXISTING PROGRAM
Compliance verification happens during the same field visits as your merchandising, reset, or continuity work, captured by the same W-2 team and reported through the same platform. No separate vendor, no separate visit, no separate reporting silo.
THE DATA IS RELIABLE BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ARE ACCOUNTABLE
Every auditor is a trained W-2 employee certified on your standards before deployment, part of a network of 7,500+ W-2 field employees with not one gig worker among them. An audit is only as accurate as the person holding the checklist.
IT IS ACTIONABLE, NOT JUST REPORTABLE
Real-time visibility through OpenSky™ means a compliance gap surfaces while there is still time to act on it, not in a summary that confirms the loss after it has already landed.
H.U.M.A.N. TECHNOLOGY
H.U.M.A.N. DOESN'T ADD AN AUDIT TO THE VISIT. IT TURNS THE WHOLE SHIFT INTO ONE.
For brands that want full-store coverage instead of a point-in-time snapshot, H.U.M.A.N. (Human-Unified Merchandising & Audit Navigator) pairs the rep with wearable hardware and OpenSky™ to record and analyze an entire shift against your brand standards in real time.
The compliance record becomes a byproduct of a visit that was already happening, with no new store hardware required.
- Associate placement and traffic flow compliance
- ADA and safety compliance verification
- Seasonal execution tracking across the full floor
- GPS-verified visits with real-time OpenSky™ dashboards
- Full-shift record, not a point-in-time snapshot
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What is the difference between a merchandising compliance audit and a customer experience audit?A Merchandising Compliance Audit verifies physical execution: planogram accuracy, display and component functionality, pricing, signage, and on-shelf availability against your standards. A Customer Experience Audit, sometimes called a secret shopper program, evaluates associate behavior: greeting, product knowledge, competitive positioning, and close-out. The first checks the store. The second checks the people in it. Many brands run both together.
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Do you fix problems you find during the audit, or just report them?On a Merchandising Compliance Audit, we fix what we can during the same visit. On break fix programs, roughly half of the display issues we identify are remediated on the spot, with before and after functionality documented in the report. Customer Experience Audits are observation only by design: we score what happens without coaching associates in the moment.
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Are your auditors employees or contractors?Every auditor is a trained W-2 Channel Partners employee, not a gig or 1099 worker, part of a network of 7,500+ W-2 field staff. They are certified on your brand standards and retailer requirements before they set foot in a store. Audit data is only as reliable as the person capturing it, and a worker with no stake in the outcome has no reason to get it right.
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How do we get the audit results, and how fast?Merchandising Compliance Audit data is delivered through OpenSky (our proprietary field intelligence platform) in real time, with photo documentation at every touchpoint and dashboards configured to your program. Customer Experience Audit results come as a presentation walkthrough with scoring, charts, and findings. You see what is happening across your stores as it happens, not in an end-of-week summary.
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Can you run audits across stores nationwide?Yes. Our W-2 field network covers retail locations nationwide, from single-market programs to full-chain coverage across thousands of stores. Auditors are assigned by geography and category, so the person walking your store already knows the retail environment and your standards. Coverage scales to your footprint without handing the work to a different vendor in every market.
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Can an audit run alongside our existing merchandising or break fix program?That is the model we are built for. Audits run inside the same field visits as your merchandising, reset, or continuity program, captured by the same W-2 team and reported through the same platform. There is no separate vendor, no separate visit, and no separate reporting silo. Compliance data informs field action in real time instead of sitting in a report nobody acts on.
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What is a customer experience audit, and how is it structured?A Customer Experience Audit, also known as a secret shopper program, sends trained auditors into your stores as ordinary consumers. They score associate behavior against a defined model: greeting and approach, key why-to-buy messaging, competitive positioning conduct, dress code, and close-out. Every interaction is documented and scored, then delivered as a presentation walkthrough with charts. It captures and scores; it does not coach.
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Can you verify whether a retailer installed our display correctly?Yes. Retailer compliance audits are conducted on your behalf to confirm a retailer executed a display, reset, or launch against spec. Auditors verify the installation, document it with photos at every relevant touchpoint, and score it against the agreed standard. If the retailer's team set it wrong, you get a record of exactly what is off and where, not a vague flag.
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Do customer experience audits include training or coaching for associates?No. Customer Experience Audits capture and score associate behavior; they do not deliver coaching or feedback in the field. Training is a separate engagement under our Assisted Sales & Training solution. The two work well together: audit scores pinpoint exactly where associate knowledge and behavior gaps are, and those findings inform the training priorities under that program.
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What technology is behind your audit programs?Audit programs run on OpenSky (our proprietary field intelligence platform), which captures GPS-verified visits, validates photos, and surfaces findings in real-time dashboards. For brands that want full-store coverage, H.U.M.A.N. (Human-Unified Merchandising & Audit Navigator) uses wearable hardware to record and analyze an entire rep shift against your standards, turning the audit into a byproduct of a visit that was already happening.
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What kinds of brands run audit programs with Channel Partners?We run audits for consumer electronics, mobile, technology, health and beauty, and other brands where the gap between brand standards and store-level reality is costing sales. The common thread is a brand that already has products or displays in stores and needs to know, with evidence, whether execution and associate behavior match what was promised.
YOU CAN'T FIX WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE. SO WE'LL GO SEE IT.
You don't need a scope or a checklist. Point us at a few stores and tell us the standard they're supposed to hold, and you'll talk to the person who would actually run your program, not a sales desk.
LET'S TALK