Why velocity benchmarks matter
Sales velocity, the number of units sold per store per week or month, is the foundational metric for evaluating whether a modern trade listing is performing and whether it is worth the cost of maintaining. Without a realistic benchmark for your category, you cannot distinguish between a product that is genuinely underperforming and a product that is performing at the upper end of what the category realistically achieves in modern trade.
Many brands build financial models for modern trade listings based on aspirational velocity numbers derived from their best few accounts rather than from category averages. This leads to financial projections that are not met, commercial decisions based on incorrect baselines, and frustration when the distribution channel fails to deliver against unrealistic targets.
Velocity benchmarks by category and store type
| Category / SKU Type | Flagship (monthly units) | Mid-size (monthly units) | Neighbourhood (monthly units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbonated drink (330ml can) | 180–420 | 80–180 | 30–80 |
| Packaged biscuit / snack (mid-price) | 120–280 | 60–140 | 20–60 |
| Laundry detergent (sachet/pouch) | 80–200 | 40–100 | 20–50 |
| Personal care (shampoo / lotion) | 40–100 | 20–50 | 8–25 |
| Cooking oil (500ml–1L) | 60–140 | 30–80 | 15–40 |
| Health / wellness supplement | 20–60 | 10–30 | 4–15 |
Source: DALA field data, Lagos modern trade 2024–2025. Ranges reflect typical well-managed accounts at 88%+ OSA.
What drives variation within the ranges
The velocity ranges are wide because they reflect genuine variation across accounts of the same nominal type. A "flagship" supermarket in a high-traffic Lagos Island location may generate 3x the velocity of a flagship supermarket in a lower-footfall area classified in the same tier. Within the ranges, the primary drivers of variation are: store footfall, price positioning relative to competitor products in the category, shelf position quality, and the consistency of stock availability.
A well-managed account with strong shelf position and high OSA will perform at the upper end of the range for its category. The same account with poor shelf position, inconsistent availability, and a pricing deviation will perform at the lower end. The operational variables are often more important than the structural ones in determining where within the range a specific account performs.
Using benchmarks to evaluate account performance
The practical use of velocity benchmarks is to evaluate whether a specific account is performing at category-appropriate levels or is underperforming relative to its potential. An account in a flagship location selling 60 units per month of a packaged snack that benchmarks at 120–280 units for that store type is performing at 25–50% of benchmark, which is a strong signal that there is an OSA, shelf position, or pricing problem worth investigating.
This account-level benchmarking requires actual velocity data from each store, which is why weekly field visit reporting is a prerequisite for serious account performance management. Brands that receive only aggregate monthly sales data from their distributor cannot perform this analysis and are effectively managing their account portfolio blind. DALA's store-level reporting provides exactly this visibility.
