The InStore Group

What The InStore Group does

The InStore Group is a national retail merchandising and execution services company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, founded in 1996 and operating across all 50 U.S. states with 5,001-10,000 employees. The company serves 129+ retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, providing in-store execution services including merchandising resets, planogram compliance, new item cut-ins, seasonal merchandising, display building, inventory management, stock rotation, electronic shelf labels, and gondola installation. Named customers span grocery (Albertsons, H-E-B, Ahold, WinCo), convenience and fuel (7-Eleven, Casey's, Murphy USA, Kwik-Trip, Pilot Flying J, Cumberland Farms, Turkey Hill), big-box (Staples, Dollar Tree, Cracker Barrel), and CPG manufacturers (P&G, Mondelez, InComm Payments, Tempur-Pedic).

The company's core technology is the proprietary InStore Reporter platform, launched in June 2025 alongside a full corporate rebrand, which provides real-time store-by-store execution visibility, before-and-after photo validation, and customizable dashboards filtered by region, task type, and retail chain. The platform supports an industry-unique "no billing until work is verified" model, backed by in-house auditing teams that inspect photos, checklists, and planogram compliance before projects are marked complete. An upcoming product called InStoreAI is announced to add stockout and backstock anomaly detection plus shelf-state reconstruction for performance comparison.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model with project-based pricing, no publicly disclosed rates, and an enterprise field sales motion targeting Senior VPs and Directors of Merchandising through consultative calls, custom planning, and RFI/RFP procurement processes. The company claims a verified 99.7% on-time execution rate in 2024 against an industry norm of approximately 85% attendance, positioning the offering as a premium accountability-driven alternative to traditional merchandising vendors. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors and is led by CEO Tom Palombo, COO Erin Poole, VP of Marketing Jenni Solla, and SVP of Business Development Dave Johnson.

Name

The InStore Group

Legal name

InStore Group

Website

https://theinstoregroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The InStore Group is a Charlotte-based national retail merchandising and execution services firm serving 129+ retailers and CPG brands across all 50 U.S. states. It combines field merchandising services with a proprietary real-time reporting platform featuring photo validation and in-house quality auditing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Merchandising Services

akta.pro primary industry

Point-of-Sale (POS) & In-Store Promotion Services (BPAFAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) & Shelf-Edge Hardware (HDACAKAJ)

Keywords

• Retail merchandising services
• In-store execution
• Planogram compliance
• Retail intelligence software
• CPG field services

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Retail Merchandising Services: Professional services revenue model providing merchandising execution including resets, planogram compliance, new item cut-ins, seasonal merchandising, display building, and inventory management. Revenue generated through project-based engagements with national retailers and CPG brands. Unique no-billing-until-verified policy indicates service-based pricing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The InStore Group provides nationwide retail merchandising execution services—including resets, planogram compliance, new item cut-ins, seasonal merchandising, display building, inventory management, and electronic shelf labels—delivered by a distributed field workforce across all 50 US states. Execution is verified and reported through InStore Reporter, a proprietary real-time platform that combines photo validation, customizable dashboards, and analytics for client visibility into store-level performance.

Product overview

InStore Group operates as a merchandising company offering both proprietary technology and field execution services. The core technology product is InStore Reporter, a real-time retail intelligence platform providing photo validation reporting and customizable dashboards for client visibility into store-level execution. Supporting this platform are three sub-products: Real-Time Data Visibility (live dashboards filtered by region, task, and chain), Photo Validation & Reporting (before-and-after field documentation), and Custom Dashboards & Analytics (performance insights tied to revenue). The service portfolio includes merchandising resets, surge projects, speed-to-shelf/new item cut-ins, inventory & ordering, seasonal merchandising, planogram merchandising, display building, stock rotation, tag placement, electronic shelf labels, gondola installation, product ordering, in-house auditing & quality assurance, and skilled merchandiser matching. The company also announced an upcoming AI product called InStoreAI for stockout detection and shelf reconstruction. The company operates nationwide across all 50 states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• InStore Reporter Proprietary real-time retail intelligence platform providing photo validation reporting and customizable dashboards that give clients store-by-store visibility into merchandising execution across all locations.
• Merchandising Resets Complete store or category resets aligned with new product strategy, backed by the company's 99.7% verified on-time execution rate across national retail chains.
• Surge Projects Large-scale restocks during peak seasons with surge capacity and rapid deployment across the national network.
• Speed-to-Shelf / New Item Cut-Ins Execution services that get new products and seasonal SKUs into coolers and stores within 5-7 day completion timeframes.
• Inventory & Ordering Real-time inventory monitoring and replenishment that prevents out-of-stocks by tracking sales volume and regional demand.
• Seasonal Merchandising Alignment of cut-ins with seasonal strategy and promotions, supporting seasonal transitions with ongoing continuity coverage.
• Planogram Merchandising Proper shelf placement and planogram compliance verification, ensuring planograms are followed exactly with photo proof.
• Display Building Launch support for products with POP displays or endcaps, including 12-foot apparel sections and fixture installations.
• Stock Rotation Product freshness maintenance and FIFO compliance through systematic stock rotation services.
• Tag Placement Addition of new, correct, or fixed price tags and product labels for accurate pricing compliance.
• Electronic Shelf Labels Digital pricing systems upgrade for store shelves with up-to-date electronic pricing labels.
• Gondola Installation Hardware and shelving setup for new product areas, including gondola installation for fixture changes.
• Product Ordering Product ordering services for closely monitoring sales volume and staying on top of regional demand.
• In-House Auditing & Quality Assurance Internal quality control specialists who review and approve every project by inspecting photos, checklists, store compliance, and planograms before a project is marked complete.
• Skilled Merchandiser Matching Proprietary merchandiser selection software assigning each project to field staff with the right experience and expertise, including reset specialists, display installers, and inventory auditors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.7% verified on-time execution rate vs. industry norm of ~85%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CROSSMARK: CROSSMARK is one of the largest retail merchandising services companies in North America, offering resets, planogram compliance, and in-store execution for retailers and CPG brands — directly competing with InStore Group for the same enterprise customers including Albertsons and Dollar Tree.
• beeline (Powerhouse Retail Services): beeline is a leading retail merchandising and sourcing solutions provider serving convenience, grocery, and mass retail channels. It is a direct competitor to InStore Group and was Dave Johnson's previous employer as North American President.
• Acosta Group: Acosta is a major sales and marketing agency providing retail merchandising, category management, and shopper marketing services to CPG brands across North America. It competes with InStore Group for CPG client budgets and overlapping retail execution mandates.
• SPAR Group: SPAR Group is a publicly traded retail merchandising and in-store services provider operating across the U.S., Canada, and internationally. It directly competes with InStore Group in national reset, remodels, and merchandising execution services.
• WIS International: WIS International provides retail inventory counting, merchandising, and store-level execution services globally. It directly overlaps with InStore Group in inventory audits and merchandising execution, and was a previous employer of InStore's SVP Dave Johnson.
• Premium Retail Services: Premium Retail Services is a retail merchandising and in-store execution provider serving retailers and CPG manufacturers across North America. It directly competes with InStore Group for national retail merchandising contracts and reset programs.

Emerging players

• Repsly: Repsly is a SaaS retail execution platform providing field activity management, photo reporting, and store visit software for CPG brands and merchandising agencies. It is comparable to InStore's InStore Reporter platform and serves as a potential technology substitute or partner.
• Premise Data: Premise operates a crowdsourced data platform for retail visibility, shelf audits, and market intelligence across global markets. It overlaps with InStore Group's photo validation and shelf intelligence capabilities, particularly as InStore launches InStoreAI.
• Trax (now part of Omnicom Commerce): Trax provides computer vision-based retail execution, shelf monitoring, and in-store analytics solutions for CPG brands and retailers. It is comparable to InStore Group's emerging InStoreAI capabilities for shelf reconstruction and stockout detection.

Broad incumbents

• Kantar Retail (now part of Kantar): Kantar provides retail measurement, shopper insights, and category consulting to CPG brands and retailers globally. It serves as a broader incumbent offering retail intelligence capabilities adjacent to InStore Group's execution analytics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-instore-group
• Xx.com/theinstoregroup
• Facebookfacebook.com/theInStoreGroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The InStore Group