business plan for retail store manager

Here is the first retail business plan example. Fuel & Fire is a typical convenience store and gas station business.

Introduction

In today’s fast-paced world, the convenience store and gas station industry plays a pivotal role for daily commuters, weekend travelers, and community residents. “Fuel & Flee” is poised to redefine this sector by delivering top-notch vehicle fuels and a diverse array of essential items for on-the-go consumers. By harnessing Solink’s potent tools, we anticipate an enhanced security atmosphere and precise, actionable business insights.

• Name and nature: “Fuel & Flee” is designed to be a dual-function entity, melding a state-of-the-art gas station with a fully-stocked convenience store.
• Prime location: The business will reside at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 101, capturing both the local and highway traffic.
• Vision statement: Our aim is to emerge as the number one pit-stop choice for every traveler and local resident within a 10-mile radius.
• Holistic offerings: Apart from standard fuel services, a variety of convenience products such as fresh food, beverages, and daily essentials will be available.
• Legal backbone: Registered as a Limited Liability Company (LLC), ensuring protection and flexibility.
• Location details: A spacious location with 4 fuel pumps, 12 parking spots, and a 2,500 sqft store, all primed for quick and easy access.
• Industry insight: A 5% annual growth has been noted in the convenience store and gas station sector, especially in highway-adjacent areas.
• Target audience: Segment 1: Daily commuters (40%); Segment 2: Long-distance travelers (35%); Segment 3: Local families (25%).
• Competition analysis: Within a 15-mile radius, there are three major competitors—two national chains and one local establishment.
• Fuel varieties: Regular, mid-grade, premium, and diesel options for diverse vehicle needs.
• Store inventory: Over 1,000 unique items including snacks, drinks, automotive products, and a dedicated section for organic and local produce.
• Added amenities: A 24-hour ATM, a self-service air pump, and a mini cafe offering fresh coffee and pastries.
• Technological boost: The Solink system will provide unparalleled management insights, monitoring transaction data to understand optimal restocking times.
• Visual branding: Vibrant signboards and in-store displays to attract and retain customer attention.
• Promotional moves: Monthly deals such as “Fill & Feast” offering discounts on combined fuel and store purchases, aiming to increase average ticket size by 15%.
• Financial forecast: Anticipated revenue growth of 20% in the first year, scaling to 30% by the third year due to strategic promotions and customer loyalty initiatives.
• Supplier ties: Established contracts with top-tier fuel suppliers and local product distributors, ensuring consistent quality and timely deliveries.
• Inventory tactics: Bi-weekly stock checks and data-driven restocking decisions supported by Solink’s analytical prowess.
• Safety and surveillance: Continuous monitoring with Solink’s cloud-based video surveillance , ensuring a secure shopping environment and deterring potential thefts.
• Key staff: A seasoned store manager with 10 years in the retail and fuel sectors, supported by four cashiers, six fuel attendants, and three part-time staff members for restocking and cleaning.
• Employee growth: A commitment to staff development through quarterly training sessions focusing on safety protocols, customer service enhancements, and product knowledge.
• Startup costs: An initial outlay of $500,000 covering land lease, construction, and the first stock of inventory.
• Recurring expenditures: Estimated monthly expenses of $50,000 including salaries, utilities, and replenishing stock.
• Revenue breakdown: Anticipated monthly earnings from fuel sales ($120,000), convenience store sales ($80,000), and additional services ($10,000) totaling $210,000.
• Profit milestone: Predicted to hit the break-even point by the eighth month, with steady profit growth thereafter.

With its strategic offerings and location, “Fuel & Flee” stands on the precipice of becoming a dominant force in the convenience store and gas station domain. Tools like Solink can drastically amplify its operational capabilities and security levels, ensuring the venture is both profitable and remains a top pick for its diverse clientele.

Business plan example 2: "Buy Right", a grocery store

Here is the second business plan example. In this case, we are looking at opening a franchised grocery store. The overall size of the property is much higher, as are the startup costs.

In an era where consumer preferences lean towards vast selections and one-stop shopping experiences, grocery stores have an immense role. “Buy Right” seeks to harness this demand by inaugurating a large franchised grocery outlet, ensuring customers have access to a diverse range of products under one roof. 

Partnering with Solink, the store aims to guarantee safety, loss prevention, and deep business insights for continual improvement.

• Business essence: “Buy Right” will function as a large-scale franchised grocery store, offering everything from daily essentials to gourmet items.
• Strategic location: Situated in the bustling commercial hub of Maple Street, ensuring easy access for a large population.
• Mission: Delivering quality products at competitive prices while ensuring an unmatched shopping experience.
• Store blueprint: A sprawling 20,000 sqft store with dedicated sections for fresh produce, dairy, bakery, meats, international goods, and more.
• Legal design: Operating as a franchise under a well-renowned grocery chain ensures brand recognition and trust.
• Facility features: Equipped with 15 checkout counters (including 6 self-checkouts ), a deli, a bakery, and ample parking for over 100 vehicles.
• Industry dynamics: A consistent 4% annual growth in the large grocery store sector, particularly in urban areas.
• Target demographic: Segment 1: Families (50%); Segment 2: Young working professionals (30%); Segment 3: Seniors (20%).
• Competitive landscape: Three direct competitors within a 10-mile radius, including another franchised store and two local grocery chains.
• Comprehensive offerings: Over 15,000 unique SKUs from local, national, and international brands.
• Value-added services: A bakery producing fresh items daily, a deli offering cold cuts, and a pharmacy section.
• Tech enhancement: Implementation of Solink to monitor customer shopping patterns, ensuring inventory is aligned with demand and improving store layout based on customer heatmaps .
• Promotion: Weekly flyers highlighting discounts, in-store product sampling, and seasonal sales to boost footfall.
• Loyalty programs: “Buy More, Save More” program, aiming to increase average customer spending by 10% within the first year.
• Sales projections: Expected to serve over 500 customers daily, with an average spending of $50 per customer.
• Supply chain dynamics: Tie-ups with established distributors, ensuring regular stock replenishment and fresh produce every alternate day.
• Inventory management: Use of Solink to prevent POS employee theft , audit shelves for stock levels, and detect any irregular activities in real time.
• Security measures: Enhanced surveillance with Solink Video Alarms Monitoring Service .
• Management team: A store manager backed by a decade of retail experience, along with two assistant managers.
• Staff structure: A team of 40 which includes cashiers, stockers, bakery and deli staff, and customer service representatives.
• Training paradigm: Monthly training on product knowledge, customer service etiquette, and safety measures.
• Initial investment: Estimated at $1.5 million, covering franchising fees, store setup, and initial inventory.
• Ongoing expenses: Monthly costs projected at $200,000, which includes salaries, utilities, rent, and inventory purchases.
• Revenue estimates: Anticipated monthly revenue of $750,000, with the goal of achieving a break-even point by the seventh month.

“Buy Right” holds the potential to redefine grocery shopping in the Maple Street area by offering a comprehensive selection in a customer-friendly environment. The added advantage of Solink ensures security, streamlined operations , and valuable insights. With this robust plan, “Buy Right” is geared to flourish in the competitive grocery market.

Business plan example 3: "Green Groves", an eco-friendly store

This is the third retail business plan example. It is a unique concept store focusing on the green market. The business operates as an eco-friendly, zero waste store catering to environmentally conscious consumers.

In a world grappling with environmental issues, sustainable solutions are at the forefront of consumer choices. “Green Groves” aspires to be a game-changer in retail by offering an eco-friendly zero waste shopping experience. With the integration of Solink’s capabilities, security and insightful business analysis will be assured.

• Business ethos: “Green Groves” will pioneer a zero waste, packaging-free retail environment.
• Strategic spot: Positioned in the heart of EcoVille, a community known for its green initiatives.
• Objective: To nurture a sustainable shopping culture and diminish the carbon footprint of retail.
• Store design: A 5,000 sqft open-plan store, equipped with bulk bins, refill stations, and reusable container displays.
• Business form: Operates as a sole proprietorship, with strong ties to local organic farmers and ethical suppliers.
• Store features: Apart from bulk goods, there’s a section for sustainable living products like bamboo toothbrushes, metal straws, and cloth bags.
• Eco trend: A 7% yearly increase in consumers seeking sustainable shopping options.
• Target demographic: Segment 1: Eco-conscious families (45%); Segment 2: Millennials and Gen-Z (40%); Segment 3: Sustainable lifestyle adopters (15%).
• Rivals: Two health stores in the vicinity, but none offer a complete zero waste experience.
• Goods galore: A range of organic foods, personal care items, household cleaning products, all sold without packaging.
• Eco tools: Reusable containers for sale and rent, ensuring customers can shop even if they forget theirs.
• Tech integration: Solink will monitor the POS , preventing operational shrink, and will provide insights on consumer purchase patterns.
• Eco-campaigns: Monthly workshops on sustainable living, zero waste challenges, and rewards for consistent zero waste shoppers.
• Loyalty perks: “Sustain & Save” program, targeting a 12% hike in repeat customers within the initial year.
• Revenue forecast: Expecting an average daily footfall of 200 customers, with an average spend of $30.
• Supply chain: Direct collaborations with organic farmers and ethical product makers, ensuring fresh stock and product authenticity.
• Stock management: Remote video monitoring of the store and stockroom will help keep the right amount of inventory available for purchase.
• Safety and security: Enhanced by Solink’s surveillance capabilities, ensuring a safe and theft-free shopping environment.
• Lead team: Store manager with a passion for sustainable living, backed by a degree in environmental studies.
• Crew composition: A mix of 10 full-time and part-time staff members, including stockers, cashiers, and a dedicated person for customer education on zero waste.
• Kick-off capital: An estimated $250,000, which includes store setup, initial inventory, and marketing efforts.
• Recurring costs: Monthly operational expenses estimated at $30,000, covering salaries, rent, utilities, and stock replenishments.

“Green Groves” stands out as a beacon for sustainable shopping in EcoVille. With Solink in its arsenal, the store is not only set to offer a secure and streamlined shopping experience but also a data-driven approach to meet consumer demands effectively. This venture promises not just profitability but also a positive impact on the planet.

Add Solink to your retail business plan

In the evolving retail landscape, having a robust business plan is only the beginning. The real differentiator lies in harnessing cutting-edge tools that optimize operations, enhance security, and provide actionable insights. Solink stands out as a transformative solution in this realm. 

By integrating Solink into your retail strategy, businesses are not merely investing in surveillance but in a comprehensive tool that brings loss prevention, advanced security, and invaluable business insights to the fore. 

As demonstrated with “Green Groves”, a store with a vision, the marriage of sustainability and technology can create a retail environment that’s both profitable and in tune with modern needs. For any retailer crafting or refining their business plan, Solink isn’t just an option; it’s a forward-thinking imperative.

To see why Solink should be part of every retail business plan, sign up for a demo today.

110-390 March Rd. Ottawa, Ontario K2K 0G7 Canada 1-844-635-7305

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized Ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking "Accept", you consent to our use of cookies.  Cookie Policy

Request co-branded marketing documents

[gravityform id=”5″ title=”false”]

Retail | How To

Store Management: Managing a Retail Shop for Success

Published March 9, 2023

Published Mar 9, 2023

REVIEWED BY: Meaghan Brophy

WRITTEN BY: Brigitte Korte

This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management .

• 1 Build & Maintain a Great Team
• 2 Manage Your Inventory
• 3 Create Data-driven Sales Goals
• 4 Establish Procedures for a Clean & Organized Store
• 5 Lead Your Team
• 6 Initiate Marketing & Outreach Campaigns
• 7 Consider Expansion
• 8 Bottom Line

Store management is all the processes involved in running your store, including building your team, sourcing and managing inventory, driving sales, creating store policies and procedures, leading by example, and marketing your business. Effective retail shop management is one of the most important parts of ensuring your business’s success.

Here, we will look at all the hats an owner must wear to manage their store, keep everything running smoothly, and position their business for growth and expansion.

A point-of-sale system is one of the best ways to streamline your store management operations and keep everything running smoothly. Square for Retail is free for a single location and offers all the tools you need to run a retail store. Visit Square for Retail to learn more and open a free account.

Build & Maintain a Great Team

Retail shop management starts with building and maintaining a great team that can support you on the sales floor and help your business flourish. As a retailer, you will likely see high turnover among your employees. While this is a natural part of the industry, losing a staff member is costly for your business, so your objective is twofold:

• Recruit a large team that will be a good fit for your business and the available roles.
• Create a work environment that will help retain employees and maximize their potential.

Recruit a Team That Fits Your Brand

When recruiting your retail team , you should hire people who can represent your business well. Often, this means the ideal employee has interests that align with what your store is selling—they will be able to sell your products better and genuinely connect with customers on their interests.

The staff at my boutique was full of individuals interested in fashion. I can think of a few examples of where you may have seen this:

• Christy’s Sports: Its staff is made up of winter athletes with tons of knowledge about equipment for anyone from beginner to expert.
• Sephora: Every employee is interested in makeup and beauty and uses cosmetic products in their personal lives.

As you conduct job interviews and hunt for the perfect employees to work at your store, I suggest having a list of attributes that a perfect candidate possesses. This does not mean that you can only hire people with all these qualities, but having a list of ideals can be a great way to guide your interview process and help you find candidates that will represent your brand well. You might want to include these categories in your list:

• Product knowledge: You want someone who knows about your products or industry so that they act as an expert when selling and answering questions.
• Enthusiasm: You want someone who cares and is genuinely interested in your brand and the products you sell.
• Experience: If you own a higher-end retail location, you will want someone with sales experience, preferably within your industry.
• Customer interactions: You want a salesperson who can talk to shoppers, assist them, and treat them with care. People skills will play a huge role, so I suggest using a floor interview to see how prospective hires work with your customers .

A floor interview is an interview stage that typically comes after a spoken interview. It is when a candidate gets the opportunity to work with customers during a mock shift. This allows you to observe how they might be on the job and how they interact with customers.

• Personal interest: Ideally, the people you hire will be interested in your products or industry in their personal lives. This will show in their passion for the work, improving the customer experience and employee retention.

Consider Scheduling

Another key thing that you will want to account for when hiring your team is availability. Unlike the typical nine-to-five corporate role, retail stores are open later in the evening, weekends, and many holidays. Before bringing anyone on, you need to be clear about your availability expectations and ensure that you will have enough staff to cover your store at all times.

Not sure what your store hours should be? Check out our article How to Determine Retail Store Hours to learn more. Also, consider offering holiday pay to ensure coverage during hard-to-fill shifts.

My suggestion here would be to draw out a weekly schedule so you can see how many people you need in your store for any given shift. For example, you might want only one person on staff for the Friday morning shift, but for the evening shift, you expect your store traffic to pick up, so you need three people on the schedule. For holidays, sketch out your staffing needs months in advance and nail down staff members as soon as possible.

With Square, you can create schedules straight from your POS account, assign roles for each shift, and see how much each person is set to make throughout the week. (Source: Square)

You will get a better idea of when you need more and less staff as time goes on, and your needs will change seasonally. When starting out, you can use the standard formula of 2.5 employees for every 1,000 square feet. However, this can vary based on the type of shop you have. Use store traffic as a cue for scheduling and ongoing hiring initiatives.

Square for Retail has built-in scheduling and team management, so you can set access permissions, build schedules, create staff roles, and delegate tasks. Plus, if you upgrade to Teams Plus for $35/month, you get shift management and an employee app where they can manage their own time.

Onboard and Train Your Staff

Once you have selected the people you want for your team, you want to set them up for success with strong onboarding and training. To do your training well and reach a point of trust with your staff, you must approach onboarding in an organized manner. I suggest making an onboarding training plan with checklists for everything you need to teach your new hire each week.

For example, at my store, I covered all computer operations in week one. This was the most technical part of the associate role, so I wanted to give lots of time for that particular task. From there, I would train on store organization and processes in week two, and use week three as a chance for the new employee to practice everything with me in-store. At the end of week three, we would do a check-in to review anything and assess whether the new employees are ready to work solo shifts.

Keeping an organized checklist not only ensured I didn’t miss any training topics but also offered a point of reference for associates as they were going through onboarding. Areas you should include in your checklist are:

• Customer service: Return policies, complaint policies, how to speak to customers, etc.
• Store operations: Opening and closing duties, new merchandise procedures, contact references, how everything is organized, etc.
• Sales: Making suggestions, upselling and cross-selling, best-selling products, product knowledge, etc.
• Computer/POS operations: Ringing up customers, conducting returns, printing tags, running reports, pulling daily numbers, etc.
• Loyalty program : Acquisition of new members, what the program includes, signing people up, etc.
• Perks: Parking, overtime rate, employee discounts, commission structure, events or odd hours, etc.

Typically, onboarding training will take between two to three weeks for retail jobs; by that time, you should have reviewed all the topics in your training plan, and associates should feel ready to work solo. Obviously, you should still be available to your staff for questions at any point, but they should have baseline confidence by the end of their initial onboarding to handle the store on their own.

The most successful retail operations incorporate ongoing training well after employees are onboarded. Regular staff meetings to train on new products and initiatives, on-the-floor coaching and feedback around customer interactions and sales opportunities, and role-playing customer service scenarios are all part of growing a stellar and cohesive retail team.

For example, at my store, we would have a monthly, company-wide training session an hour before opening to review an area of training with our managers. This was great because it allowed shop managers to review areas that were lapsing, go over key customer service initiatives before big events, and keep staff fresh and on their toes.

Manage Your Inventory

In addition to building a team, managing a retail store also includes responsibility for inventory. Inventory management includes all the processes that keep the right amount of product on your shelves at all times. This means spotting stockouts before they happen, placing reorders in a timely manner, and budgeting accordingly.

I would suggest adopting an integrated POS system, like Square for Retail, to track your inventory levels in real time, run reports, and send low-stock alerts.

Otherwise, you can track your inventory levels manually using a spreadsheet. Below, we offer a free inventory management workbook you can use to track stock levels.

Download Free Inventory Management Workbook

Conduct Regular Inventory Counts

A major part of inventory management is conducting regular inventory counts. Inventory counts help you spot shrinkage problems and provide an accurate look at the inventory you actually have on hand at that time—not just what the computer says you have. Typically, you will use a barcode scanner to do inventory counts. For this, you will either need to purchase a standalone scanner that is compatible with your POS or, if you are using the Square app on a mobile device, the camera becomes a barcode scanner.

Scan and log your inventory counts straight onto your POS system with Square for Retail. (Source: Square)

In general, there are two major kinds of inventory counts:

• Cycle Counts: This involves counting a small portion of your inventory each day, week, or month to make the counting process more manageable. This method also allows you to count products with a high sell-through rate or value more frequently.
• Annual Counts: This is when you do a yearly count of all of your inventory, typically for tax purposes.

The first step in an inventory count is figuring out how much of a product you should have. This will be based on how many items you originally ordered minus what you have sold. If you use a POS system, inventory levels are tracked live with each sale, so your expected quantity is calculated for you. Otherwise, you will have to do the math yourself.

From there, all you do is count the number of products you actually have in stock and determine if there are any discrepancies between your projected and actual quantities. This discrepancy is known as shrink, and you should seek to find its source as soon as it is identified.

If you need more guidance on establishing a full process, read our guide to retail inventory management .

Source Your Shrinkage

As mentioned above, inventory shrinkage refers to any discrepancies in the number of products you thought you had and the number you actually have, based on your inventory counts. Any time you detect shrinkage, you should determine where it is coming from so you can take steps to prevent it in the future.

Typically, you will investigate three potential shrinkage sources:

• Employee theft: To uncover this, you would look at your transaction history for any faulty sales or your security footage for any evidence of employee shoplifting. Employee theft typically results in immediate job termination, setting a precedent for your staff.
• Customer theft: To uncover this, you should look for any signs of theft in your fitting rooms or around your store (removed security or price tags, empty hangers, out-of-place merchandise), as well as security footage. If you find the person who stole from you, be sure to provide a visual of them for your staff, so they know who to keep an eye on. Typically, it is not worth it to press charges for shoplifting offenses.
• Clerical errors: This is when there is something wrong in your inventory records, so you don’t have an accurate image of what your inventory levels should be. To uncover this, you should look at all your receiving counts and transaction history to determine where there was a miscount and what that miscount is.

Once you identify where your shrinkage is coming from, you should either take steps to create a more accurate inventory management system or take security measures to reduce retail theft .

Organize Your Stock Room

Another important part of inventory management is organizing your stock rooms so products are easy to find and nothing gets lost in confusion. This will also make it easier for your employees to find things and let you store more merchandise in less space.

Organized stockrooms will prevent loss and make your employees’ lives easier. (Source: EZR Storage)

The first thing you will want to do is purchase fixtures for storing merchandise. Once you choose your fixtures, it is time to choose an organizational system. This can look many different ways, and no two stores will have the same system—it really depends on your store operations and what system makes sense to you. My biggest pieces of advice for organizing your stockroom are to:

• Label everything.
• Create a system flexible enough to work as your inventory changes.
• Create a system that is intuitive so that you can teach it to your staff.

For example, at my boutique, we used floor bins with removable labels for any foldable pieces and pants. We had a hanging system for the rest of our stock based on color, sleeve length, and type of garment. Removable labels and broad organizational categories made this system easy to update and adaptable to all kinds of merchandise. Additionally, the system was pretty simple and well-marked, so my associates could maintain it perfectly!

For more on how you can make your inventory management more efficient, check out our article on inventory management software .

Maintain a Strong Product Sourcing Network

When it comes to good inventory management, another component you should consider is your network of product suppliers. Having a directory of dependable suppliers will ensure that you can get the products you need when you need them. This means finding online marketplaces and attending trade shows.

For sourcing online, I would suggest using Faire or Tundra (both among our recommended wholesale suppliers). They offer a wide host of products and easily navigated websites for retailers.

If you are looking for other great wholesale suppliers, check out our guide to the Best Wholesale Suppliers for 2023 .

Tundra lets you shop from thousands of wholesale suppliers. (Source: Tundra)

Faire offers a host of artisan brands and one-of-a-kind goods for your store. (Source: Faire)

Tradeshows are another great way to source products and they let you see items in-person before you buy. (Source: Displays2Go)

While online sourcing is a convenient and easy way to source products, you should also attend trade shows. This is where a group of wholesalers, typically related in the type of products they sell, gather so retailers can shop their merchandise. This is a great opportunity to see products in person and form relationships with your suppliers.

If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that the supply chain is unreliable. The best way to ensure you always have suppliers to stock your shelves is to connect with as many as possible. Numbers will ensure that you have backup plans and aren’t reliant on any one source. This is especially true for your best-selling and staple items.

You can use this trade show website to find relevant trade shows near you or use our guide to the Best Retail Trade Shows in 2023 (+ Calendar Download) .

Create Data-driven Sales Goals

The best way to keep your store on track and ensure that you are managing it well is to set sales goals. I would recommend making your goals granular , providing daily, weekly, monthly, and annual goals that you and your staff can aim to achieve. Keep these goals visible to all and make sure you emphasize them daily. This is a great way to motivate your staff and keep everyone on the same page.

If you are just starting and have no sales data to base your goals on, I recommend using your annual retail budget as a guide. Your budget should include all of your outgoing expenses, giving you a picture of just how much you need to sell to yield a profit.

Otherwise, you will want to use past sales reports to set your sales goals. You can set your goals however you like, but you generally want to see growth year over year, so setting your sales goals 5%–10% higher than your previous year’s sales number will help you see if you are hitting that growth.

You can access and run reports about past sales data using Square for Retail’s reporting tools, including day-of-week reports, time of day, and daily, monthly, and annual views. (Source: Square)

Another important factor to consider when setting daily goals is the day of the week. Typically, you can expect Thursday-Sunday to yield higher traffic and sales versus the beginning of the week. Be sure to set daily goals that are attainable and match traffic patterns and sales opportunities.

We recommend using a 4-5-4 or 4-4-5 retail calendar to help you make accurate and attainable sales comparisons and goals year over year.

Write Weekly Sales Reports

A key part of creating and monitoring sales goals is keeping weekly sales reports. It is a great practice to take a detailed look at every week and address problems as they arise. Weekly sales reports are also useful if, as a store owner, you decide to take a step back and hire a manager.

At my store, for example, the manager of each location would send weekly status reports to the business owners. This would help them keep tabs on their stores even when they weren’t there and gave managers the opportunity to give more insights into individual stats and figures.

As your business grows, you may find that you have enough revenue to hire a manager and need more time to focus on your role as the owner. Weekly sales reports from your acting manager will allow you to maintain oversight over your storefront and keep your store on track.

The types of things you should include in your reports are:

• Sales targets: Take a look at where you stand in terms of your daily, weekly, monthly, and annual sales goals.
• Inventory feedback: Note any low-stock items or pieces that have been remarkably popular or unpopular.
• Staffing feedback: Note any scheduling problems you might have had, if a staff member was exceptional, or any problem areas.
• Supply needs: Note any store supplies that you went through that week or anything that might be running low (cleaning supplies, employee snacks, hangers, tags, etc.).
• Event reports: Analyze the success of past events and look forward to how you will prepare for others in the future.
• HR notes : Leave a place where employees can leave anonymous feedback for store management and/or ownership.
• Ideas : Leave room for your managers to pitch event, promotional, or partnership ideas. Your managers work in-store every day, so they will have a pulse on their buyers and the surrounding community.

Establish Procedures for a Clean & Organized Store

While maybe not the most glamorous part of your job, one of the biggest aspects of retail shop management is keeping your store tidy and organized. This means properly maintaining any merchandise and store design elements, putting products away as they get used, and implementing a cleaning routine so that everything stays sanitary.

Keeping your storefront clean and tidy will make it more inviting to customers and easier to shop. (Source: Pinterest)

Daily Task Lists

The best way to ensure that your store stays clean is to create daily task lists. For example, at my boutique, we had two to four cleaning and organizational tasks each day of the week. Mondays would include cleaning mirrors, dusting tables, and restocking our shopping bags and other checkout supplies. On Tuesdays, we would sweep the floors and clean the glass exterior of the store.

This system made it so we never had more than 45 minutes of cleaning each day and accomplished everything we needed to stay on top of the space each week. As you look at your store, think about all the things you would do to give your space a deep clean. List everything and then divide those tasks among the days of the week.

Depending on your space and traffic volume, you may need to perform some tasks, like sweeping the entrance or wiping the checkout counter, at least daily.

Remember, Fridays and Saturdays are going to be your busiest days in terms of foot traffic. You will likely want to limit or completely omit deep cleaning tasks on those days. The days following your busy days, Sundays and Mondays, will likely need more elbow grease.

FILE TO DOWNLOAD OR INTEGRATE

Daily Task List

Thank you for downloading!

Opening and closing procedures lists.

Opening and closing procedures are also part of good store management. These are essentially lists of everything you or your associates should do before opening each day and closing each night. These tasks should prepare your store for customers each morning and then offer a reset at night.

You can also download our free opening and closing procedures checklists below. We recommend printing these lists and laminating them for your store binder. Then associates can use expo markers to check things off each day, and then erase the list at the end of the week for a fresh start.

Opening Procedures

For opening procedures, you are waking up your space and readying it for customers before the door opens. Opening duties should take about 30 minutes, so staff should arrive early to complete them. These are the areas you should focus on for opening procedures:

• Start all systems: Open your register, start your computer, get the music going, open your POS software (if applicable), and turn on all lights and heat/AC.
• Cash logs: Count all the money in your register and spare change bag. Record your cash amounts daily so that you can spot and source any discrepancies.
• Entryway cleaning: Sweep and clean the entrance of your store and wipe down the checkout counter. This area gets the most foot traffic and brings in the most outside dirt, so it will need daily maintenance before opening.
• Goal check: As you know, you should be displaying your daily goal. When opening, be sure to swap out your daily goal from the day before and display the new one.
• Big sweep: Walk through the entire store once and look for anything that might be out of place before you open the doors.

Closing Procedures

Closing procedures reset your store for the following day, undoing any messes that may have arisen, and recording your sales activity. As with opening duties, closing duties will take about 30 minutes and should be done after store hours. Here is a list of the areas you should focus on for closing procedures:

• Restock sold merchandise: You can do this during the day as well, but at closing, you should check your sales floor and ensure that any sold merchandise has been replaced.
• Theft check: Be sure to check fitting rooms and other concealed areas for signs of theft, such as removed tags or security vessels, or swapped packaging.
• Record daily sales: Record your daily sales number and compare it to your daily goal. If an employee is closing, they should report these numbers to the manager and/or owner. If you use a POS system, you can schedule automated emails to be sent at the close of business. This is also when you will reconcile your POS system and transactions.
• Cash logs: Count all the money in your register and spare change bag. Remove any money from cash purchases, so all that remains is your cash float. Record your cash sales amount daily (and recount the float cash every morning) so that you can spot and source any issues.

Cash float (also known as cash register float or cash drawer float): The amount of cash kept in the register for making change. It’s common for retailers to keep $50–$200 in small bills and change in each register. It’s important that this number stays consistent and is tracked diligently, at least at every closing and opening, to spot any potential theft. Learn more about cash float .

• Big sweep: Walk through the store once before you leave for the night and look for anything that might be out of place.

Lead Your Team

Part of managing your retail store is setting the work environment and ethics for your space. How you interact with your customers, take care of your store, and present yourself each day will massively impact your staff and their performance.

Additionally, leadership in retail store management includes making your staff excited to be a part of the team and ensuring they feel heard and respected. A good leader inspires by setting a strong example and creating a positive environment. This will make things more pleasant for everyone and motivate your associates to perform better for your brand.

Motivate Your Staff With Rewards

You can create a positive work environment and motivate your staff by creating a rewards or commission structure . From my experience, using a blended approach that rewards both team and individual performance works best. For example, individuals could earn a sales commission, while there is also a team bonus for meeting a monthly sales goal.

Less formal rewards like gift cards, small treats for your highest-performing associate of the week, or a dinner or get-together after a big sales day can also be effective. Whatever you can do to motivate your employees and demonstrate your appreciation for their efforts will pay off and make working for your store all the more fun.

You can use Square for Retail’s team management tools to track individual performances and see which employees are excelling and deserve recognition.

Proactively Listen to Your Staff

Advocate for your staff and be open to any discussions, questions, and even complaints. As the owner of a small business, you will also likely play the role of an HR person for your staff. Be sure that you create an inviting environment where employees feel like they can talk to you and expect their feedback to be addressed. You might even consider incorporating a place where employees can leave anonymous feedback or sending out employee surveys to get a pulse of your employees’ workplace satisfaction.

Check out our rundown of Company Culture Ideas To Engage Employees & Drive Results to help you foster a happy and productive workplace.

Creating this space where employees feel safe is a huge part of retaining your staff. Treat your staff with compassion, respect their needs, and offer an open discourse about store policies and job satisfaction.

Did you know?

Replacing your employees is expensive. Studies show that replacing an employee can cost from half to twice their annual pay. Read more employee retention stats .

Lead By Example

Show your employees what you want from them through your actions. As part of managing your store, you set the overall tone for everything that happens. How you lead makes a significant impact on how your staff performs and understands their job expectations. You should be the best salesperson, the most helpful customer service agent, the most meticulous cleaner and organizer, and the most motivated person on the floor.

Initiate Marketing & Outreach Campaigns

An essential part of growing your business and revenue is to retain your existing customers and expand your customer base. Both of these objectives depend on good marketing and customer outreach. Retail marketing can help you to foster customer loyalty, reach new audiences, and drive your bottom line.

Plan for the year ahead and stay on top of all your goals with a retail marketing calendar. Check out our retail marketing calendar guide to download our free calendar to get started.

Here are a few ways to incorporate retail marketing strategies into your day-to-day store management tasks:

Get Involved in Your Neighborhood

Get out and get to know your neighbors. If you can build relationships with your neighboring businesses, there is a great opportunity to share your customer bases and mutually benefit. Do partnered events, host pop-ups in each other’s spaces, share marketing materials, and work together to refer and help each other grow.

At my store, each month, I would schedule someone (or myself) to go to all the neighboring businesses around our store and deliver $10 coupons. My storefront was in a busy outdoor shopping center, so these coupons helped drive foot traffic to our store and build relationships with our neighbors.

Try a Loyalty Program

Another thing that you can do is introduce a loyalty program . You can customize your loyalty program with different features and structures, but these programs generally have the same basic system: For access to exclusive discounts and information, customers offer their contact information, typically both phone and email. This allows you to reach out to your loyal customers with these exclusive offers, fostering their loyalty and incentivizing them to spend with you.

Two-thirds of consumers say that offering a loyalty program is critically important to winning their lasting loyalty .

The best way to get people to sign up for a loyalty program is to engage with them at checkout. At this stage, customers are already engaged and ready to purchase from your store, so they are the best candidates to become loyalty members.

Train your staff to tell every customer checking out about your loyalty program and what it offers. To ensure they include all relevant information, create a loyalty program spiel checklist. It should include items like:

• Your sign-up offer
• The exclusive deals for loyalty members
• What members can expect from your communications
• Sign-up process

To get started with a loyalty program , you have a few options. Either, you can integrate a loyalty program software into your existing POS system, create and run a loyalty program manually, or you can use the loyalty program already integrated into your POS.

Square for Retail, for example, has a loyalty program you can customize and manage for all of your members straight from your POS account.

SMS & Email Marketing

Even if you do not have a loyalty program to help you collect customer information, you should still work to gather emails and phone numbers to utilize SMS and email marketing strategies .

Create acquisition procedures similar to those used for loyalty members:

• Train your staff to ask for contact information in a way that lets customers know what benefits they will reap for sharing.
• Keep a sign-up sheet by your register where people can leave their information.
• Create an email portal on your website where people can register their emails.

From there, you will want to either adopt an SMS/email marketing software or send out messages manually. When starting, sending weekly emails to your subscribers is a safe cadence. You can experiment with more or less frequent sends to see what will work best for your business. Even better, you can segment your lists to email your VIP customers and those most engaged with your content more frequently, while maintaining a more moderate cadence for your occasional shoppers.

Square for Retail offers SMS and email marketing add-on that allows you to store contact information and then send and manage messages straight from your POS accounts.

In terms of what your messages should include, the goal here is to keep people up to date and maintain your brand’s top-of-mind recognition. Let shoppers know about events, sales, new arrivals, discounts, partnerships, or other exciting things going on at your store. Anything that you think might spark interest and drive traffic is worth sharing—just don’t flood your customers with too many messages! One to two texts or emails per event and no more than two messages a week are good rules of thumb.

Your Social Media Presence

Times are changing, and, more and more, social media is how people discover new brands and shop for products. To compete in this market, your brand needs to have a social media presence, as well as shoppable storefronts, on Instagram , Facebook , and even TikTok . This will not only give you additional sales channels for customers to shop but will expand your reach and help new customers find your store.

US social commerce sales are set to grow 34.4% this year, rising to $53.1 billion. You definitely don’t want to miss this revenue opportunity.

This brand uses social media to showcase its products and advertise its sales. (Source: Rustic Thread via Instagram)

The Doggy Deli showcases its products with content from real users. (Source: The Doggy Deli via Instagram)

A home workout equipment brand uses its social media to show how its products can be used and to showcase inspiring content. (Source: Bowflex vis Instagram)

Consider Expansion

As part of managing your store, your eyes should always be on the horizon for new opportunities. As the business grows under your leadership, you should look to expand. At first, this might look like holding more inventory and investing in marketing to grow your customer base. There is even the possibility that, as time goes on, you outgrow your original storefront and are ready to open a new location.

Read more with our guide to opening a second location .

Bottom Line

Ongoing management of a retail store is a massive undertaking with tons of ground to cover. It includes everything from daily operations to staffing to product sourcing, and even expansion. Effective management keeps your store marching forward and aligned with business goals. To make your life easier, we recommend using a POS system like Square for Retail to help streamline all your management operations and stay on top of everything you need to manage.

Visit Square for Retail

About the Author

Find Brigitte On LinkedIn

Brigitte Korte

Brigitte is a retail specialist and staff writer with brick-and-mortar management experience. Before joining FSB, she managed a storefront for several years, working in everything from merchandising, to buying, to sales analysis. Brigitte also has a background in writing, research, and publishing, with an undergraduate degree in writing.

By downloading, you’ll automatically subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

Join Fit Small Business

Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Select the newsletters you’re interested in below.

ZenBusinessPlans

Home » Sample Business Plans » Wholesale & Retail

How to Write a Retail Store Business Plan [Sample Template]

Are you about starting a retail business? If YES, here’s a complete sample online retail store business plan template & feasibility report to help you get started. Okay, so we have considered all the requirements for starting a retail store. We also took it further by analyzing and drafting a sample retail store marketing plan template backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing ideas for retail stores. So let’s proceed to the business planning section.

Why Start a Retail Store?

There are times when one might not be disposed to buy stuff in bulk. This might be due to financial constraint or other contingencies. This is one of the reasons why retail outlets are scattered all over the world. They know the importance of reaching all and sundry, and that is why they want to provide services that can reach all classes of people.

Those who are already in the trade know the huge profit levels which they attain always. If you have decided to start a retail business, then good news is that you are in a profitable trade, as nearly all the type of goods that are being dealt in is such that is important to all

A Sample Retail Store Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

When we talk about retailing, we talk about a business that deals in loads of consumer goods; which can be categorized into three major areas. These categories are: general merchandise, apparel, and furniture. In other words, retailers are engaged in the selling of finished goods; they get the goods from the manufacturers and they sell to the end users (consumers).

Retail goods can also be categorized into durable goods and non – durable goods. Durable goods are goods such electronics, computers and accessories, furniture, and other large appliances et al and non – durable goods are good such as food, toiletries, drinks, beauty products, jewelry, clothing and shoes et al.

The retail industry is a major sector of the economy of the united states which generates a whooping sum of well over trillion annually from more than a million retail outlets scattered all around the United States of America.

The industry is responsible for the employment of well over 15 million people which is about 12% of the workforce of the U.S. eMarketer.com published that in 2014 alone, the retailing industry on a global scale generated a revenue of well over $22 trillion; it goes to show that the industry is indeed a very large industry.

It is a fact that an estimated two-thirds of the United States’ gross domestic product (GDP) comes from retail consumption. This is why the United States of America’s economy is measured with the yardstick of how well the retailing business is fairing in the U.S. In essence, when there is an unstable economy, purchasing power drops and it impacts the retailing industry negatively which may result in the closure of some retail stores.

In recent time, the retail landscape has seen tremendous changes in the last 20 years; it has grown from the usual mom and pop outlets to a more organized and far reaching venture. The introduction of franchise and online store makes it easier for a retailer to reach out to a larger market far beyond the areas where his physical store is located.

It is interesting to note that more retail shops; especially lager retail outlets have started to include self-serve checkout lanes in their stores. It creates shorter lines that appeal to consumers; the average customer would not want to stay longer on queue.

Over and above, the retail industry is a profitable industry and it is open to any aspiring entrepreneur to come in and establish his or her business; you can chose to start on a small scale in a street corner like the average mom and pop business or you can chose to start on a large scale with several outlets in key cities.

2. Executive Summary

People’s Choice Retail Shop is a retail shop that will be located in one of the busiest streets in Columbus, Ohio. We have been able to lease a facility that is big enough to fit into the design of the retail shop that we intend launching and the facility is located in a corner piece directly opposite the largest residential estate in Columbus, Ohio.

Our retail shop will retail a wide range of durable goods and non – durable goods at affordable prices from different brands. We retail goods such as groceries, clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, jewelry, baby stuffs, children’s toys, home furnishings and home appliances et al.

We are aware that there are several large and small retail outlets all around Columbus, which is why we spent time and resources to conduct our feasibility studies and market survey, so as to offer much more than our competitors will be offering. We have sell service options for our customers, and our outlet is well secured with the various payment options.

Much more than selling the goods and products of top brands in the manufacturing industry, our customer care is second to none in the whole of Columbus, Ohio. We know that our customers are the reason why we are in business, and that is why we will go the extra mile to get them satisfied when they visit our retail shop and also to become our loyal customers and ambassadors.

People’s Choice Retail Shop will ensure that all our customers are given first class treatment whenever they visit our shop. We have a CRM software that will enable us manage a one on one relationship with our customers, no matter how large the numbers of our customers base. We will ensure that we get our customers involved in the selection of brands that will be on our racks and also when make some business decisions.

We are aware of the trend in the retail industry and we are not only going to operate a system where our customers would have to come to our shop to make purchase or whatever they want but we will also operate an online store and our customers can order goods online and they will get it delivered to their houses or any location they want us to deliver the goods to within Ohio.

People’s Choice Retail Shop is a family business that is owned by Bob Wesley and Family. Although the business is launching out with just one outlet in Columbus, Ohio, but there is a plan to open other outlets all around Ohio.

3. Our Products and Services

People’s Choice Retail Shop is in the retailing industry and we will ensure we go all the way to make available a wide range of goods and products from top manufacturing brands in the United States and other countries of the world.

We will have available in our store a wide range of durable goods and non – durable goods at affordable prices. We retail goods such as groceries, clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, jewelry, children’s toys, baby stuffs, home furnishings and home appliances et al.

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to establish a one stop retail shop in Columbus, Ohio and in other cities in Ohio.
• Our mission is to establish a retail business that will make available a wide range of goods and products from top manufacturing brands at affordable prices to the residence of Columbus, Ohio and other cities in Ohio.

Our Business Structure

People’s Choice Retail Shop do not intend to start a retail business like the usual mom and pop business around the street corner; our intention of starting a retail business is to build a standard retail outlet in Columbus, Ohio. Although our retail business might not be as big as Wal-Mart or Marcy, but will ensure that we put the right structure in place that will support the kind of growth that we have in mind while setting up the business.

We will ensure that we hire people that are qualified, honest, customer centric and are ready to work to help us build a prosperous business that will benefit all the stake holders (the owners, workforce, and customers).

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more. In view of that, we have decided to hire qualified and competent hands to occupy the following positions;

• Chief Executive Officer (Owner)
• Store Manager

Merchandize Manager

Sales and Marketing Manager

Information Technologist

• Accountants / Cashiers

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Officer – CEO:

• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for recruitment
• Responsible for payment of salaries
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization

Store Manager:

• Responsible for managing the daily activities in the restaurant
• Ensures that the store facility is in tip top shape and conducive enough to welcome customers
• Interfaces with third – party providers (vendors)
• Controls the sales floor inventory
• Ensures that goods and products are properly arranged
• Supervises the entire sales staff and workforce
• Any other duty as assigned by the CEO
• Manages vendor relations, market visits, and the ongoing education and development of the organizations’ buying teams
• Helps to ensure consistent quality of goods and products on our rack
• Responsible for the purchase of goods and products for the organizations
• Responsible for planning sales, monitoring inventory, selecting the merchandise, and writing and pricing orders to vendors
• Ensures that the organization operates within stipulated budget.
• Manages external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Models demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
• Manages the organization website
• Handles ecommerce aspect of the business
• Responsible for installing and maintenance of computer software and hardware for the organization
• Manage logistics and supply chain software, Web servers, e-commerce software and POS (point of sale) systems
• Manages the organization’s CCTV
• Handles any other technological and IT related duties.

Accountant / Cashier:

• Receives payments on behalf of the organization
• Issues receipt to customers
• Prepares financial report at the end of every working week
• Handles all financial transaction on behalf of the company
• Interfaces with our bankers
• Responsible for payment of tax, levies and utility bills
• Any other duty as assigned by the CEO / store manager
• Responsible for cleaning the store facility at all times
• Ensures that toiletries and supplies don’t run out of stock
• Cleans both the interior and exterior of the store facility
• Any other duty as assigned by the restaurant manager,

6. SWOT Analysis

Our intention of starting just one outlet of our retail store in Columbus, Ohio is to test run the business for a period of 2 to 5 years to know if we will invest more money, expand the business and then open other outlets all over Ohio. We are quite aware that there are several retail stores all over Columbus and even in the same location where we intend locating ours, which is why we are following the due process of establishing a business.

We know that if a proper SWOT analysis is conducted for our business, we will be able to position our business to maximize our strength, leverage on the opportunities that will be available to us, mitigate our risks and be welled equipped to confront our threats.

People’s Choice Retail Store employed the services of an expert HR and Business Analyst with bias in retailing to help us conduct a thorough SWOT analysis and to help us create a Business model that will help us achieve our business goals and objectives. This is the summary of the SWOT analysis that was conducted for People’s Choice Retail Store;

Our location, the business model we will be operating on (physical store and online store), varieties of payment options, wide range of products and our excellent customer service culture will definitely count as a strong strength for People’s Choice Retail Store.

A major weakness that may count against us is the fact that we are a new retail outlet and we don’t have the financial capacity to compete with multi – billion dollars retail outlets like Wal-Mart and co when it comes to retailing at a rock bottom prices for all their goods.

• Opportunities:

The fact that we are going to be operating our retail store in one of the busiest streets in Columbus, Ohio, provides us with unlimited opportunities to sell our goods to a large number of people. We have been able to conduct thorough feasibility studies and market survey and we know what our potential clients will be looking for when they visit our retail outlets; we are well positioned to take on the opportunities that will come our way.

Just like any other business, one of the major threats that we are likely going to face is economic downturn. It is a fact that economic downturn affects purchasing power. Another threat that may likely confront us is the arrival of a new retail outlet in same location where ours is located.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

Retailing business has been in existence for as long as humans started trading goods, but one thing is certain, the retailing industry is still evolving. The introduction of technology and subsequently online retail store has indeed helped in reshaping the industry.

It is now a common phenomenon for retail outlets to leverage on technology to effectively predict consumer demand patterns and to strategically position their shop to meet their needs; in essence, the use of technology help retailers to maximize supply chain efficiencies. No doubt data collected from customers goes a long way to help retail shops serve them better.

Another common trend in the retailing industry is the pricing system. Aside from having varieties of products in a store, one of the easiest ways for retail stores to sell the goods on their racks as fast as they can and keep re – stocking is to ensure that the prices of their goods are a bit lower than what is obtainable elsewhere. For example; it is common to see items with prices in this format; $3.99, $99 and $199 et al as against $4, $100 and $200.

Retailers also engage in massive clearance sales and discount sales to attract customers. It is a strategy that helps them welcome new customers and also reinforce the loyalty of old customers.

8. Our Target Market

Perhaps the retailing industry has the widest range of customers; everybody on planet earth has one or more things that they would need in a retail shop. It is difficult to find people around who don’t patronize retail shops.

In view of that, we have positioned our retail store to service the residence of Columbus, Ohio and every other location our retail stores will be located all over Ohio. We have conducted our market research and we have ideas of what our target market would be expecting from us. We are in business to retail a wide range of products to the following groups of people;

• Corporate Executives
• Business People
• About to wed couples
• Expectant Mothers
• Sports Men and Women

Our Competitive Advantage

People’s Choice Retail Store is launching a standard retail shop that will indeed become the preferred choice of residence of Columbus, Ohio. Our retail store is located in a corner piece property on a busy road directly opposite one of the largest residential estates in Columbus, Ohio. We have enough parking space that can accommodate well over 100 cars per time.

One thing is certain; we will ensure that we have a wide range of products available in our store at all times. It will be difficult for customers to visit our store and not see the product that they are looking for. One of our business goal is to make People’s Choice Retail Store a one stop shop. Our excellent customer service culture, online store, various payment options and highly secured facility will serve as a competitive advantage for us.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

People’s Choice Retail Shop is in business to retail a wide range of products to the residence of Columbus, Ohio. In essence, our source of income will be the retailing of a wide range of durable goods and non – durable goods at affordable prices. We will retail goods such as groceries, clothes, sports equipment, beauty products, jewelry, children’s toys, baby stuff, home furnishings and home appliances et al.

10. Sales Forecast

It is important to state that our sales forecast is based on the data gathered during our feasibility studies, market survey and also some of the assumptions readily available on the field. One thing is common with retailing business, the larger a retail store the larger the numbers of customers that will patronize them.

Although we may not be as large as Wal-Mart, but we will ensure that within our capacity we make available a wide range of goods from different manufacturing brands in our retail outlet. Below are the sales projections that we were able to come up with for the first three years of operations;

• First Year-: $200,000
• Second Year-: $450,000
• Third Year-: $700,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and natural disasters within the period stated above. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

Before choosing a location for People’s Choice Retail Store, we conducted a thorough market survey and feasibility studies in order for us to be able to be able to penetrate the available market and become the preferred choice for residence of Columbus, Ohio. We have a detailed information and data that we were able to utilize to structure our business to attract the numbers of customers we want to attract per time.

We hired experts who have good understanding of the retail industry to help us develop marketing strategies that will help us achieve our business goal of winning a larger percentage of the available market in Columbus, Ohio. In order to continue to be in business and grow, we must continue to sell the products that are available in our store which is why we will go all out to empower or sales and marketing team to deliver.

In summary, People’s Choice Retail Store will adopt the following sales and marketing approach to win customers over;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters to residence, business owners and organizations
• Promptness in bidding for contracts
• Advertise our business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
• List our business on yellow pages ads
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Direct marketing
• Word of mouth marketing (referrals)

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

Despite the fact that our retail store is well located, we will still go ahead to intensify publicity for the business. We are going to explore all available means to promote our retail store. People’s Choice Retail Store has a long term plan of opening outlets in various locations all around Ohio which is why we will deliberately build our brand to be well accepted in Columbus before venturing out.

As a matter of fact, our publicity and advertising strategy is not solely for winning customers over but to effectively communicate our brand. Here are the platforms we intend leveraging on to promote and advertise People’s Choice Retail Store;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Columbus, Ohio
• Engage in road show from time to time
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where our retail store is located.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Pricing is one of the key factors that give leverage to retail stores, it is normal for consumers to go to places (retail outlets) where they can goods at cheaper price which is why big player in the retail industry like Wal-Mart will attract loads of consumers. Products in their store are tagged with the cheapest price you can get anywhere in the United States.

We know we don’t have the capacity to compete with Wal-Mart or any other big retail store, but we will ensure that the prices of all the products that are available in our store are competitive with what is obtainable amongst retail stores within our level.

• Payment Options

Our payment policy is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that will be available in every of our outlets;

• Payment by cash
• Payment via Point of Sale (POS) Machine
• Payment via online bank transfer (online payment portal)
• Payment via Mobile money

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our payment plans without any itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

This is the key areas where we will spend our start – up capital;

• The Total Fee for Registering the Business in Ohio – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $1,300.
• Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of People’s Choice Retail Store in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
• Cost for hiring Consultant – $2,500 .
• Insurance (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $2,400.
• Cost for payment of rent for 12 month at $1.76 per square feet in the total amount of $105,600.
• Cost for Shop remodeling (construction of racks and shelves) – $20,000.
• Other start-up expenses including stationery ($500) and phone and utility deposits ($2,500).
• Operational cost for the first 3 months (salaries of employees, payments of bills et al) – $60,000
• The cost for Start-up inventory (stocking with a wide range of products) – $100,000
• Storage hardware (bins, rack, shelves, food case) – $3,720
• Cost for serving area equipment (plates, glasses, flatware) – $3,000
• Cost for store equipment (cash register, security, ventilation, signage) – $13,750
• Cost of purchase and installation of CCTVs: $10,000
• The cost for the purchase of furniture and gadgets (Computers, Printers, Telephone, TVs, Sound System, tables and chairs et al): $4,000 .
• The cost of Launching a Website: $600
• The cost for our opening party: $7,000
• Miscellaneous: $10,000

We would need an estimate of $500,000 to successfully set up our retail store in Columbus, Ohio. Please note that this amount includes the salaries of all the staff for the first month of operation.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for People’s Choice Retail Store

People’s Choice Retail Store is a private business that is solely owned and financed by Bob Wesley and family. They do not intend to welcome any external business partner which is why he has decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital to 3 major sources. These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $200,000 ( Personal savings $150,000 and soft loan from family members $50,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $300,000 from our bank. All the papers and document have been signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited with the amount.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If any of these factors is missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

People’s Choice Retail Store will ensure that all the factors listed above are reinforced on a regular basis and also we will engage in continuous capacity building of our workforce. As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more.

We will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that staff welfare is well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
• Business Registration: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts: Completed
• Securing Point of Sales (POS) Machines: Completed
• Opening Mobile Money Accounts: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing of facility and remodeling the shop: In Progress
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating capital from family members: Completed
• Applications for Loan from the bank: In Progress
• writing of business plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents and other relevant Legal Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: In Progress
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the Needed furniture, racks, shelves, computers, electronic appliances, office appliances and CCTV: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business both online and around the community: In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement (License): Secured
• Opening party / launching party planning: In Progress
• Compilation of our list of products that will be available in our store: Completed
• Establishing business relationship with vendors – suppliers of all our needed raw materials: In Progress

More on Wholesale & Retail

Upmetrics AI Assistant: Simplifying Business Planning through AI-Powered Insights. Learn How

Entrepreneurs & Small Business

Accelerators & Incubators

Business Consultants & Advisors

Educators & Business Schools

Students & Scholars

AI Business Plan Generator

Financial Forecasting

AI Assistance

Ai Pitch Deck Generator

Strategic Planning

See How Upmetrics Works  →

• Sample Plans
• WHY UPMETRICS?

Customer Success Stories

Business Plan Course

Small Business Tools

Strategic Planning Templates

E-books, Guides & More

• Sample Business Plans
• Retail, Consumers & E-commerce

Retail Store Business Plan

Retail store is a competitive business as competition is intense in this segment. Moreover, many big giants are investing more in e-commerce and digital marketing, making this business even tougher day by day.

Having a physical retail store that offers a shopping experience along with products is a dream for many. It is not only because of the size of a business but the potential and opportunities such a business offers.

And if you are an individual who likes to interact with people, constantly improve your way of doing business, and form communities that work towards something, then you might have thought of having your retail store business.

Now, a retail store has great potential for success, but it is also a very competitive business. You’ll need a retail store business plan to help you stand apart from your competition and have a thriving business.

Industry Overview

Research suggests total retail sales in the United States were projected to amount to 6.03 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, up from around 5.4 trillion U.S. dollars in 2018, according to the National Retail Federation .

Retail businesses come in many forms such as grocery stores, restaurants, and bookstores. There are around 4 million retail businesses in the United States alone.

The domestic retail market in the United States is very competitive, with many companies recording strong retail sales. Walmart, a retail chain giving low prices and a wide selection of products, is the front-runner in the United States. Amazon, The Kroger Co., Costco, and Target are a selection of other notable U.S. retailers.

Now, to have any genuine hope of getting noticed in such a jammed industry, you need a solid business plan to get success.

Say goodbye to boring templates

Build your business plan faster and easier with AI

Plans starting from $7/month

Things to Consider Before Writing Your Retail Store Business Plan

Build a brand image.

A brand image goes a long way for any business, especially for a retail store. It is crucial to pay attention to what people think about your store, what emotions they associate your brand with, and how they perceive your products in general. Above all, what qualities make you different from your competitors?

Pick the right location

A retail store’s location can make or break the deal. Hence, it is very important to pick a location that is both convenient and accessible for your customers. As people are always running short of time, they prefer a store that is on the way and takes less time to get to. It can also act as your USP over the bigger retail stores.

Plan a good store design

A good store design that follows the major principles of consumer psychology is essential for a retail store. The strategic placement of products influences a customer’s buying decisions. Hence, you need to pay attention to it and design your store in a way that maximizes your sales.

Build communities that promote your brand

Building communities that stand by and promote the idea of your brand can be extremely beneficial for your retail store. Hence, ensure that you work towards building one. These communities can be driven by anything from a common belief to a certain cause that your brand stands for.

How Business Plan Can Help?

Regardless if you’ve been operating for a long time already, by writing up a business plan for your retail store, you can get an overview of what you want to achieve with your business, and guidelines for how you’ll achieve your goals.

A retail business plan is a solid foundation for the success of your business, whether you seek funding or not. It helps you see clearly what your business looks like and how it’s positioned in your target market.

If you need to get funding, your retail business plan will work as proof that you and your business are good for investment. Studies suggest you can double your chances of securing a loan with a business plan and grow your business.

How to Write a Retail Store Business Plan?

Writing a retail store business plan requires a good amount of research, a thoroughly competitive and customer analysis, and a little bit of extra help.

You can get help for writing your plan either through a premade template on the internet or through an online business plan software which will help you write a customizable plan anywhere and at any time.

Before you start writing your business plan for your new Retail store business, spend as much time as you can reading through some examples of retail & e-commerce-related business plans .

We have created this sample business plan for you to get a good idea about how a perfect retail store business plan should look like and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.

Retail Store Business Plan Outline

This is the standard business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Company Profile Summary
• Market Research Summary
• Marketing Summary
• Finance Summary
• Business Overview
• Company History
• Legal Structure Vision & Mission
• Industry Profile & Market Size
• Local Market
• Target Market
• Competitor Analysis
• Keys to Success
• Customer Survey Summary
• SWOT Analysis
• Products and Services
• Pricing Strategy
• Marketing Strategy
• Primary Marketing Activities
• Positioning Statement
• The Sales Process
• Strategic Alliances
• Location(s)
• Legal Issues
• Insurance Issues
• Human Resources (Or Team)
• Process/Production
• Risk Assessment
• Startup Funding & Capital
• Start-Up Costs
• Sales Forecast
• Projected Profit & Loss

What to include in a Retail Store Business Plan?

A retail store business plan consists of several different aspects. The major ones are as follows:

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary gives an overview of what your business stands for the reader. It should be written in such a way that even an outsider could get an idea of what your business is all about.

This section mainly comprises your business summary, your vision and mission statement, and your financial summary.

2. Company Profile

The company summary or company profile section of your business plan would consist of everything about your company, ranging from its location to information about your team.

While the executive summary section consists of information about the functional aspects of your business, a company summary consists of information about the structural aspects of your business.

While writing a company summary, it is a good practice to take suggestions from your team, as this section represents you as a team of individuals more than representing you as a brick-and-mortar company.

3. Market Research

Conducting market research helps you understand what you are getting yourself into. It helps you understand your target market, your competitors, and the working of the industry in general.

You can conduct thorough market research by using tools like PESTEL analysis or SWOT analysis . These tools help you conduct research specific to your business and prevent you from wasting your time on vague data.

4. Marketing Plan

As a retail store, it is your primary job to let your customers know about your existence. And to retain them once they start coming to your store.

A good marketing plan would help you do just that.

Based on the information you have gathered about your target audience through market research you can design your marketing campaign and promotional offers that’ll appeal to your customer base.

5. Operations

As a retail store, a proper operations plan can prevent your business from turning into a chaotic mess. An operations plan consists of your business’s logistic and functional information. It helps an outsider see what a typical day at your business looks like.

It also consists of your long-term and short-term goals. As well as the milestones you’ll have to reach for achieving them.

As a retail store business, your operations plan would consist of your supply renewal cycles, your backup distributors, a plan for the working of your store, your daily sales targets, and your long-term expansion goals, etc.

6. Financial Plan

A financial plan ensures that your business sails smoothly through tough times and also generates maximum profits.

It would consist of your funding requirements, cash flow projections, and profit forecasts.

As a retail store, your financial plan would consist of the funding requirements for setting up your store, buying supplies, and hiring people. It would also consist of your projected profits and break-even analysis.

Download a sample retail store business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free retail store business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your retail store business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Retail Store Business Plan Summary

In conclusion, a retail store business plan helps you organize and manage your store better. It takes care of everything that goes behind the scenes of running a retail store, so you can greet your customers with a smile.

From angry customers to poorly stocked supplies, a business plan can save you from all of it.

After getting started with Upmetrics , you can copy this retail store business plan template into your business plan and modify the required information and download your retail store business plan pdf or doc file.

It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

Related Posts

Convenience Store Business Plan

Toy Store Business Plan

400+ Sample Business Plan Template

Farmers Market Business Plan

How to do a Customer Analysis

Business Plan Writers Hiring Guide

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

Plan your business in the shortest time possible

No Risk – Cancel at Any Time – 15 Day Money Back Guarantee

Popular Templates

Create a great Business Plan with great price.

• 400+ Business plan templates & examples
• AI Assistance & step by step guidance
• 4.8 Star rating on Trustpilot

Streamline your business planning process with Upmetrics .

Comprehensive Guide to Retail Store Operations: Today and in the Future

By Kate Eby | August 29, 2017 (updated July 19, 2021)

• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn

Link copied

The field of retail store operations concerns all of the activities that keep a store functioning well each day. In the best-run stores, everything is carefully considered, planned, and executed. Operations includes many aspects, such as store design, display placement, customer service, money and credit handling, shoplifting prevention, premises maintenance, staff management, inventory optimization, and dealing with the entire supply chain that leads to having products in the store.

Retail hasn’t been easy in recent years. The rise of e-commerce, such as the behemoth Amazon, has disrupted many retail store operations, and it’s vital that today’s retail operations professionals adapt to handle that challenge. Many retail professionals say the key to success - in stores or online - lies in superior customer service, both today and in the future.

“There is a lot of synergy between your physical store and your online operation,’’ says Jason Parks, Co-Founder of DermWarehouse , a beauty and skin care e-commerce site. “If you just have a physical store and not an online presence, you can distinguish yourself by having amazing customer service. Actual human interaction can never be replaced and that is the advantage that a store owner has.”

In this article, we’ll provide an overview of the functions and responsibilities of today’s retail store operations and retail management. We also interview seven experts who give their tips, including on how to break down the walls between physical stores and online operations.

What Is Meant by Retail Store Operations?

Typically, when people use the term retail store operations, they’re referring to most of the functions and jobs in stores. How the term translates for individual operations depends on the type of store and the specific company’s organizational chart.

So, retail operations can encompass everything about how a store operates each day. If we think about it linearly, we can see examples of responsibilities. Start with choosing the store’s location and designing the store. Then think about how the store plans, orders, and adjusts its product inventory: How it prices items and displays them in the store, under what lighting, in what arrangement, and with what signs. How it treats its customers throughout the store experience, from entry to exit. How it handles cash and credit. How it handles returns and refunds. How it handles price markdowns and sales. How it manages its staff and maintains its premises. How it handles data about customers, products, sales, and revenue. All of this can fall under the field of retail operations.

In larger retail businesses, some of the functions may fall outside of what they call their operations department. For example, they may have departments for finance and/or accounting, marketing, human resources, and IT. Sometimes those departments exist at the corporate level but less so at individual stores, where more jobs may fall under operations. At smaller stores, nearly every position may fall under operations. It all depends on the definitions of the individual business. For the purposes of this article, we’ll take the widest view of retail operations as a field.

Retail can fall under goods or services. Some stores are both. A retail clothing store is mostly goods. A dry-cleaner offers a service. A tire store sells both a product (tires) and service (installation).

Traditionally, the term store meant a brick-and-mortar store, but increasingly people blur the distinction, even referring to online stores. The term retail clearly applies to both physical stores and online operations. Each year, more and more sales are made online as consumer habits continue to change, and as the nature of competition changes.

The next six sections provide a more detailed overview of responsibilities that may fall under the field of retail store operations:

Customer Service

• Cash, Fraud, and Internal Controls
• Product Inventory
• Administration
• Store Management

Store Design Responsibilities

Design and aesthetics are a major part of the shopping experience. Design is both art and science, often using data to help make choices, such as product display and placement. Here are aspects of design that fall under retail operations.

• Store location: As the adage goes, location, location, location. Visibility and customer traffic patterns play a key role in a store’s success. People will travel off the beaten path for something special, but it’s generally harder to build that business.
• Store design and layout: The store’s exterior and interior design sets the tone for the shopping experience. Design can signal a clean, well-organized but relatively spartan discount store (think Target), a well-stocked, industrial looking warehouse (Home Depot or Lowe’s) or an upscale, well-appointed department store (Nordstrom’s) or clothing boutique (Anthropologie). Another consideration is the display layout. Racks, shelves, or displays can be arranged straight, at angles, or in a geometric pattern to create visual interest in addition to organization. Similarly, traffic patterns for customers can be gridded, almost like streets, looping or curving, or more free flowing. Changes in these patterns can affect what customers see and what they purchase.
• Creating departments within a store: This is important for item findability in a store, as well as for delivering tailored customer service. By creating speciality areas, such as jewelry, shoes, sporting goods, and housewares, retail professionals create “stores within stores” and have specialty employees who are better able to serve customers.
• Visual merchandising and display: Create attractive displays of products to set a tone and an expectation. Sometimes, you aren’t just selling a product - you’re selling an experience. A pleasing display of merchandise sends a message to the would-be buyer, and so does a sloppy, unkempt table. Even the height at which items are placed can make a big difference. Some professionals use a retail planogram, a type of diagram, to detail the placement of items in a store.
• Store atmosphere: Lighting, music, and consistent overall store maintenance create a pleasant atmosphere that makes customers want to shop there. Unpleasant factors like clutter, odors, inadequate air conditioning, or unserviced restrooms can turn off customers. At the best stores, employees strive to create a pleasant atmosphere that helps to define the brand.
• Signage: Posting signs, both outside and inside, help to direct customers and make them aware of products, services, and offers. Without good signage, a store can be difficult to navigate, and customers might not see what store managers want them to see.
• Store space management: Avoid clutter and disorganization by managing space well in the store. Make items easily accessible and use out-of-the-way space for storage.

Customer Service Functions

Much of a store’s success depends on customer service - how it treats its customers. Customers may not always be right, but they’re always the customer, representing a potential sale and potential review. With excellent customer service, stores can increase their competitiveness, and even make up for shortfalls in other areas, such as convenience or pricing. Positive, personalized customer service can help the little guys compete against the big guys, and it can help brick-and-mortar stores compete against online operations. However, online operations have been increasingly good at providing remote customer service, with services such as convenient returns. The best-run stores comprehensively train their employees on how to treat customers and provide superior service to keep them coming back.

The following questions address elements of customer service:

• How are customers greeted when they enter the store?
• Is there a familiarity with repeat customers?
• Is personal service offered? At what point?
• If the store doesn’t have what the customer wants, how does the store handle that? Is it willing to say who else might have the item?
• Does the store offer helpful guidance - after really listening to the customer?
• Is loyalty rewarded, such as through loyalty programs?
• If the customer has a problem or concern, how does the store handle it?

Returns and refunds are another vital area of customer service. A store buys faith and loyalty with customers when it handles returns easily and without hassle. Customers want to know that if they make a mistake with a purchase, the store won’t penalize them. Stores should also carefully track returns to understand patterns and resolve problems. Technology makes this process easier.

Cash, Fraud, and Internal Control Functions

Stores need to carefully define, implement, and monitor these areas of their operations, as they directly impact the bottom line.

• Handling cash and credit: Good cash and credit handling requires both good people and a good system to track everything, quickly discover discrepancies, and keep the store’s finances and inventory on accurate, solid footing. Today’s technology often comes in the form of a point of sale (POS) system that can handle not only daily sales, but also customer management and inventory. This can make it much easier to track and reconcile each day’s sales with the cash and credit showing in the system. Still, some stores may compare POS statistics with manual counting or cross-checking. They also might do surprise counts of cash or inventory during the day, especially if problems have been occurring. It all depends on the size and complexity of the retail operation. In any case, it’s critical that a store maintain accurate figures with cash, credit, and inventory.
• Shoplifting and fraud prevention: Stores devote significant resources (both people and technology) to deter shoplifting and fraud. Some keep it behind the scenes so as not to interrupt the customer experience. Others may be more upfront, as in the case of having a guard at a jewelry store entrance. Security cameras, monitoring, and product scanners are also common. Losses from shoplifting and fraud can be significant, including by organized rings and scams, so stores need to be vigilant and find problems quickly if they do occur.
• Internal controls: Stores develop and maintain internal controls, or standard operating procedures, to prevent problems with cash handling, credit, shoplifting, and fraud. These controls help to prevent money or inventory theft. They include cross-checks such as deposit slips for cash and a well-defined set of authorized functions, so that only a certain level of employees have access to certain items or parts of the store. It’s also vital to have different levels of employees sign off on others’ work, so no one employee can operate in secret. Without these controls, a store could be at the mercy of theft or fraud by employees, customers, or suppliers.
• Safety and security: Stores try to ensure that their employees and customers are safe. They may use security guards and security camera monitoring. Police calls to stores can be common, depending on the store’s practices. With liability issues, some stores are quicker nowadays to turn matters over to the police.

Product Inventory Responsibilities

For a store to succeed, it needs to have the products to satisfy its customers. This is the fourth area of retail operations: inventory management . Stores do their best to balance supply and demand for products in a constant cycle of selling and restocking. If a product doesn’t move well, it is replaced with something that does. If a product does sell well, the store increase its inventory. It may sound simple, but the quirks of supply and demand can make inventory management difficult. Problems in the supply chain can make it hard to get hold of desired products. A sudden shift in demand, such as a new product making an older one less attractive, can catch a store by surprise.

These functions fall under inventory management:

• Ordering merchandise: Buyers place orders for products, trying to anticipate the demands of customers. They’re trying to get the right products in the right quantities at the right time. To be efficient and cost-conscious, they don’t want to order too much. In an automated system, the inventory needs are forecasted, so stock replenishment is automated. Another factor to consider is the merchandise mix. Stores want to ensure that the customer has a variety of products, sizes, colors, and other features to choose from, at appropriate price points.
• Receiving stock: Stores receive shipments from suppliers and distributors. They carefully track and record it all, and make sure it’s handled properly and is in good condition.
• Using an inventory system: The three main types are perpetual inventory, physical inventory, and combined. With perpetual inventory, the counts are updated upon each sale. This is what happens with today’s computerized POS systems. With physical inventory accounting, the business physically counts its inventory. With a combined system, both methods are used, where the physical count provides a cross-check of the computerized system.
• Pricing: Stores set the prices and mark the products either physically on the product or in the computer via the product’s barcode, or both ways. Price reductions are based on supply and demand, season, promotions, and other factors.
• Merchandise handling: This includes stocking shelves and displays, moving items for customers, and shipping items to customers.

Managing the supply chain: Operations people manage relationships with suppliers, distributors and other vendors, and keep products coming to the store for retail sale to customers. Problems can arise in the supply chain, which can result in bottlenecks, backorders, or quality issues, and store operations people handle them.

Retail Administration Responsibilities

These functions fall under administration, the fifth major area of operations.

• Managing the premises: Maintain the store in good working order. Make sure customers aren’t turned off by inadequate facilities or poor maintenance. Like a home, a store requires consistent care and attention. Customers may judge you based on a littered parking lot, insufficient air conditioning, or dirty restrooms.
• Training of employees: Employee training is essential, especially given the frequent turnover in retail jobs. Employees must be trained in customer service and store procedures, such as cash handling and internal controls.
• Managing of promotions and events: Stores rely on promotions and sales to drive additional business.
• Data management and use of technology: This includes streamlining store operations with POS systems, barcoding, and use of a customer relationship management (CRM) platform . With smart use of customer data, stores can guide targeted customers toward sales and offers, build their loyalty, and improve customer service to them - while increasing the store’s bottom line. Stores can also use data to root out bottlenecks and discrepancies, thereby increasing efficiency and timeliness.

What Is Store Operations Management?

The final area of operations responsibility is store operations management. The store manager is responsible for keeping daily operations functioning smoothly and managing employees. It’s a challenging role in a challenging environment. The store manager reports to regional or corporate managers, or an owner, and may have to follow broad strategies or directives from them. But within the environment of the store, the store manager is the boss and is often responsible for all aspects of its performance, including its finances. Other areas of responsibility may include:

• Hiring, firing, training, and managing of employees
• Forecasting sales and budgeting
• Oversight of inventory and loss prevention
• Oversight of all internal controls, such as for cash handling
• All aspects of customer service
• Internal and external communication
• Legal compliance

Perspectives of Store Owners, Store Managers, and Staff

Store owners are typically focused on long-term strategy and business success. They may hope that everyone cares as much about the business as they do, but they may realize no one will care more than they do. So they may work long hours to make it a success, as many driven, ambitious owners do.

Store managers also focus on success, but perhaps from a more tactical view of daily operations. They’re trying to meet their goals by hiring and training a team to handle each aspect of store operations. They’re managing the store, while also reporting to the owner or higher-level managers for strategic plans. Still, depending on the business, a store manager may create or contribute to overall strategy. In some cases, such as a smaller business, an owner may depend heavily on his manager to run the business, including setting strategy.

For store employees, such as sales associates, the focus is typically the daily customers they attend to. The best employees demonstrate a sense of drive and responsibility.

Standard Operating Procedures and Checklists for Store Operations

To run smoothly and efficiently, stores should define their daily, weekly, and monthly processes in written standard operating procedures. These procedures can be paired with checklists to ensure they are being carried out properly, by the correct people at the correct time. Virtually every operations function detailed in this article should have a written procedure compiled into an operations manual to ensure uniformity and consistency. Here are examples:

General Store Opening and Closing

• Employees assigned to open should arrive early to prepare the store for its opening to the public.
• The store should be opened to the public on time, indicated with signs or lights as appropriate.
• Employees should begin preparing at a designated time for the store to close. This typically includes cleaning and other preparation for opening the next day.
• The store alerts customers at a specified time, such as thirty minutes before and again ten minutes before, that the store will be closing. Staff may pull gates, change the lighting or perform other steps to alert customers.
• All cash is counted, reconciled, checked by a manager, and locked. All keys go to the person in charge of that. The procedure should define in detail how important matters like this are carried out.
• Opening and closing work is subject to inspection by someone responsible for that, as appropriate.

​Download General Store Opening and Closing Checklist

Store Staffing

• Employees should be interviewed, hired, onboarded, and trained in a prescribed manner.
• Job descriptions should be clear and regularly updated to reflect responsibilities.
• Employee reviews should be done consistently, with regular feedback and follow-up.
• Employee work hours should be accounted for through a system, especially with variable part-time work or overtime.
• Compensation should be spelled out, as well as determine when and how payment is made in the case of bonuses, such as sales incentives.

​Download Store Staffing Checklist

Cash Management

• Front-end cash procedures ensure proper handling at the POS. This includes how and when to take cash to the back office, and how to reconcile cash and credit against sales.
• Back-office cash procedures are usually a bigger-picture accounting function, making sure the store is on track and carrying out its internal controls to prevent loss and pilferage. They catch cashier mistakes or possible fraud.
• Cash refunds to customers should be consistent with store policy. Sometimes a store may choose to only give a credit on a credit card, or store credit. This is all important to decide as part of cash handling and customer service.

​Download Cash Management Checklist

Merchandise Handling

• Product shipments should be received in a set procedure to ensure everything arrives in good condition and in the proper quantity.
• Route products in an efficient manner to the proper location in the store, either to the shelves, storage, or holding area.
• Enter products in the inventory system for tracking.
• Return damaged goods according to standard operating procedures.

Download Merchandise Handling Checklist

• Help customers in a way that befits the brand (this can be spelled out in written procedures).
• Accept and route customer complaints to the proper person for response and resolution.
• Do home delivery of large items on a certain schedule.
• Special orders may be possible to get items not regularly stocked.

Download Customer Service Checklist

Daily Store Checklists

Running a store efficiently and smoothly requires a disciplined approach. These checklists show the range of things customers might judge in a store and what staff can do to make sure daily operations run smoothly.

Store Cleaning Checklist

• Clear the parking lot of debris and sweep the sidewalk each morning. Don’t leave empty boxes of trash outside as a customer’s first impression.
• Clean your windows and glass doors of smudges. Make sure your window display looks good each morning.
• When you turn on the lights, replace any burned-out ones promptly.
• Clean, sweep, or vacuum your store floors at closing time.
• Empty all trash receptacles as needed, plus at closing.
• Clean your restrooms as often as needed to keep them tip-top. Nothing will turn off customers faster than dirty restrooms.
• Throughout the day, straighten up the merchandise displays. Don’t leave unfolded clothes or disorganized shelves.
• Promptly clean up any spills or breakage.
• Keep all checkout areas spotless and uncluttered.
• Don’t leave empty boxes in the aisles any longer than necessary when restocking.
• Promptly attend to any unpleasant odors.
• Periodically do a bigger cleaning, such as a spring cleaning.

Download Store Cleaning Checklist

Daily Store Opening Checklist

• Arrive early to prepare the store for opening to the public.
• Disable any alarm system and turn on lights.
• Prepare the registers or POS system for the day. Check cash levels.
• Walk the store and do any necessary straightening, cleaning, or decluttering.
• Take note of any items not completed properly at the previous night’s closing.
• Adjust the air conditioning or heat for customer comfort.
• Sweep the sidewalk and shake out any mats. If you have a parking lot, toss out any debris from the previous night.
• At opening, unlock the front door or gates and turn on any signs that alert the public that you’re open.

Download Daily Store Opening Checklist

Daily Store Closing Checklist

• Start closing procedures at a certain time, or when the person in charge says it’s OK. Don’t rush customers out long before the advertised closing time.
• Announce to customers that you’re closing soon. You also might lock the doors to new customers at a particular time.
• When the last customers leave, signal that you’re closed with appropriate signage.
• Walk the store and do any necessary straightening, cleaning, or decluttering. The opening people depend on this being done properly.
• Restock shelves at this time, or as needed, but don’t interrupt customers unnecessarily.
• Make sure all shelves, racks, and displays are properly filled and arranged. Customers often don’t put things back correctly.
• Empty all trash receptacles and discard boxes and packing materials left in storage areas.
• Close out all registers or the POS system. Count the cash and reconcile it and credit payments with sales. Do all necessary cross-checks based on your internal controls.
• Based on your procedures, you might take some cash to another spot, such as the back office, for later deposit.

Download Daily Store Closing Checklist

Store Operations Tips From the Pros

We asked seven retail operations professionals to give us their top two or three tips for store operations. Here’s what they had to say.

Hyun Lee is Growth Manager at  Qminder , a queue management system that improves customer experiences at physical locations. Here are his tips:

1. Get to know your customers.

2. Personalize their experiences (greet them by name, ask about family, open up!).

3. Leverage the personal information into an upsell (when it provides value).

Jason Parks, Co-Founder of  DermWarehouse , a dermatologist-backed skin care and beauty e-commerce website that sells its products throughout the United States, suggests these tips:

1. Get a POS system that connects with your online inventory. Shopify, for example, has its own POS system which ties your online and storefront inventory and sales together, which is very nice.

2. Capture email addresses from all of your customers at your storefront location. Email marketing has a great ROI. You want to make sure that your first-time customers turn into repeat customers, and capturing the email is a crucial step in accomplishing this. Your POS system should have a place to capture the customer’s email. Just leaving a notebook by the checkout area promoting upcoming discounts can also help to capture emails.

Kate Szirmay (pictured here) and her brother, James Matero, are the fourth generation running their family’s business,  Jaymark Jewelers. Here are her thoughts :

1. The customer isn't always right, but they always come first.

2. If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.

3. When you have an outstanding employee, have them create their own procedures.

Pamela Danziger is president of  Unity Marketing  and author of the book  Shops that POP! 7 Steps to Extraordinary Retail Success . She advises:

1. Evaluate open hours: Independent retailers depend upon foot traffic for their sales, so they need to study when people are moving past their stores and be open at those times. Too many retailers on Main Street cling to their 9 to 5 or 10 to 6 hours when the most people are actually on Main Street in the evening. Retailers can’t force people to come to the store when they want them too, but must be open when customers want to be there.

2. Uniforms: I am a huge believer in providing sales staff with some kind of uniform or distinctive identifying clothing item that clearly defines them as people there to help. It doesn’t have to be a full-on uniform as such, but a logo shirt, apron, cap, or something that makes it clear that those people belong to the store.

3. Get out of the back room and onto the sales floor: Too many retail owners and managers spend too much time worrying over the books in the stockroom, placing orders and such, but that isn’t where the success of their store resides. It depends on the work they do on the sales floor, not the stockroom. Store owners need to be on the floor, greeting guests and modeling the customer service that they expect from their sales staff. Retailers need to hire people to do the back office work, but get out there on the sales floor where their store’s success will be made.

Laura Cummins is Chief Creative Officer of  Nine Dotz Consulting  in New Jersey. She suggests:

1. Keep the retail area pleasing to the eye. Change the look of retail displays (including windows) every four to six weeks.

2. Maximize the CRM system. Track customers' purchases in order to create customized promotions.

3. Offer ongoing training - especially when it comes to product knowledge. It is so important that they [employees] are well versed on all products offered. Customer service training is also a must.

Bob Clary is Director of Marketing for  DevelopIntelligence , which creates, delivers and manages highly customized learning solutions. Here are his thoughts for expanding online:

1. Be lean. Square footage is at a premium, so you need to focus inventory and shelf space on what can turn quickly, both for online and offline sales.

2. Consider using 3PL (third-party logistics) partners for distribution if you are expanding online. They can help you scale quickly, and you can always bring things back in-house at a later date.

Andy Hill is CEO of  Startle International , which provides background music and other digital services to retail and hospitality venues to improve their customer experiences and increase spend. 

Retailers need to ensure they are actively engaging the customers to retain interest and provide a memorable experience,” he says. “Offer something that is different to online. Give them a real reason to visit that provides an advantage over e-commerce - and offer both physical and online experiences that can integrate to create convenience and personalization for consumers.”

How to Tear Down the Walls Between Physical Stores and Online Operations

Most sales still take place in physical stores, but e-commerce keeps rising each year. Amazon and other online retailers continue to grow, while many brick-and-mortar retailers have declined steeply in recent years. We asked our experts, How do you tear down the walls between physical stores and online? Here are their tips:

Bob Clary: “By blurring the lines between the two. In-store technology can be expensive and problematic to use, but even simple things like signage and indicators that tie online with brick-and-mortar can bring the two experiences together.”

Hyun Lee: “This is a tough one to answer, but even tougher to act on. Professionals have to take this seriously. They must commit their day-to-day activities to provide a seamless offline and online experience. Product pictures must represent the product realistically. Fit, description, colors, material all have to be realistic. Service should be A-plus both online and offline. No hiccups (website does not load, broken pages, lag vs. not greeting customers, not helpful in store, rude service, etc.).”

Kate Szirmay: “We have been most successful at tearing down the wall by treating our website like another physical store. We offer the same products and services, but with the added convenience of being mobile. For example: When you commission us to make a custom piece of jewelry, you can now follow the same process either online or in-person. You don't miss out if you don't come to the store. We consult via Skype, email you and split screen with you to review your CAD rendering, mail you your 3D printed prototype, and mail or hand-deliver your final product. Where people feel like they are shopping with people, not a faceless conglomerate. It's why we do Facebook Live - it's a driving force toward our crystal ball. Our phrase is when you shop with us online, we will do everything except hand you a cup of coffee.”

Pamela Danziger: “Regarding the walls between online and in-store, I think the main message is that when customers want to buy something, i.e. a buying experience, they are most likely today to go online to make their purchases. Amazon is of course the biggest beneficiary of that trend. But when customers want a shopping experience, they are attracted to specialty independents with a different point of view and a grounding in their local communities. They simply don't go to the malls anymore for either their buying or shopping needs. The retail apocalypse testifies to that.”

Laura Cummins: “Always offer outstanding customer service and create memorable experiences for customers.”

Andy Hill: “Retail operations professionals need to ensure that both physical and online are optimizing their individual strengths, whilst also integrating both into the customer journey to provide a great multichannel experience. For example, the use of technology is becoming increasingly evident and essential to providing excellent in-store experiences, such as with high-end, interactive digital signage (3D animation/AI). This allows customers to engage more with the products and the brand. By linking this to the online platform, retailers can showcase more choice that perhaps isn't available in that particular store, or allow customers to place instant orders if something is out of stock in the store.”

The Rise of Pop-Up Stores and the Effect on Operations

Pop-up stores - also called pop-up retailing, pop-up shops, and flash retailing - are temporary sales spaces often designed to take advantage of a trend. They may be in regular retail spaces, as a store-within-a-store, in mall kiosks, or in vendor stands, shipping containers or even motorized vehicles (taking a cue from the food truck trend). Because of the temporary nature of pop-up stores, operations may be sized down to a manageable level. For example, there’s often less space for inventory or storage, so more regular shipments arrive to keep the pop-up store stocked. You may remove cash from the premises upon closing for security. Advertising and promotion often needs to take place quickly, since there might not be time for a slow build of business.

Sometimes, existing businesses use pop-up stores to extend their brands. For example, Amazon has been rolling out pop-up shops in U.S. malls to give itself a physical presence to pair with its first permanent brick-and-mortar store in Seattle. The same business that caused so many difficulties for brick-and-mortar stores now has one - plus pop-ups.

Businesses have even emerged to help merchants find temporary space. For example, Storefront helps to find pop-up space in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Paris, among other cities. With each change in the retail operations landscapes, new opportunities arise. With pop-ups, retailers can move more quickly and take advantage of an opportunity without the full weight of a permanent brick-and-mortar store.

Store of the Future

With the rise of e-commerce and technology, the store of future may come sooner than we think. We asked our experts: Looking into your crystal ball, what will the store of the future look like?

Bob Clary: “Much smaller than today, for one. I think we’re headed toward an in-store experience that will focus on customizing the experience for each shopper, possibly minimizing human help. Think Amazon’s new automated retail grocery store, Amazon Go, for other categories.”

Hyun Lee: “I believe there will be two major groups. Obviously there's Amazon - they're taking over retail. If retail businesses don't adapt, they will surely lose out in the battle. Amazon prepped for both online and offline stores, and they are rolling in the products fast. The other side is stores with great customer experiences. The ones that truly cater to customers' needs. The ones where the customers go in and feel like home - or feel like they can open up to you. These stores will not just have products on a shelf with a cashier. There has to be active, personal service involved when anyone walks in the venue.”

Jason Parks: “The store of the future is going to just have a small dosage of your overall inventory in the actual store. The majority of the products will be listed online but the store will be the place where you can interact with other customers, employees, and learn more about the brand.”

Kate Szirmay: “In a perfect world, the store of the future would have the convenience and tech of online shopping but still have the knowledge and feeling of a personal buying experience. We are already seeing a shift in this direction in both the physical and online landscape. For us in custom jewelry that means video chat and 3D printing. Hopefully the melding of the two retail spaces will continue. With luck, the next big change will be virtual reality shopping where the customer can visit their favorite store, view the products, interact with the staff, make a purchase, but never leave their chair. No matter what the future turns out to be, the customer experience is the key to success when we discuss combining online and physical retail spaces.”

Pamela Danziger: “When people talk about the store of the future, they inevitably think technology, like the recent announcement of the Amazon-powered Needle & Tufts mattress showroom opening in Seattle. But for Main Street retailers, the store of the future is going to look more like the store of the past, not necessarily the real past but the nostalgic past that people long for. They long for the warm, neighborly feeling that Main Street used to represent, where people knew your name, greeted you like a friend, and welcomed you into the store as warmly as they would welcome you into their home. So for Main Street retailers, they need to draw inspiration for the store of the future from the past.”

Laura Cummins: “I think there will be less waste all together. From the displays to packaging to inventory - everything is going to be simplified. A major return to outstanding customer service will be the norm.”

Andy Hill: “Big brands will have large stores mainly for marketing purposes to provide an end-to-end experience, rather than focusing solely on purchases. Other stores will be smaller and deliver equal choice to online. With intelligent digital signage, the brick-and-mortar buying experience will be more enjoyable and interactive, particularly with the use of 3D and AI. These stores will also offer delivery to home or a next-day pickup at the store (and returns), to compete with the likes of Amazon and other e-commerce giants.”

Education Opportunities for Retail Operations

The retail field has become increasingly sophisticated with data and tech advances. Here are types of retail education:

• High school programs in retail.
• Certificates in retail, such as a one-year program.
• Associate’s degree in retail management or similar fields such as merchandising or marketing.
• Bachelor’s degree or post-graduate degree in retail or related fields, such as operations management, retail management, fashion merchandising, sales management,  marketing, or business administration.
• In-house training for retail employees. Many larger retailers have programs for management trainees.

To give you an idea of the range of available retail jobs, here’s the National Retail Federation Job Board .

Streamline Retail Store Operations With Smartsheet

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

Business Plan Template for Store Managers

• Great for beginners
• Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
• Get started in seconds

Running a successful store requires careful planning and strategic thinking. As a store manager, you need a business plan that encompasses everything from financial projections to marketing strategies. That's where ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Store Managers comes in.

With this template, you can:

• Clearly outline your store's goals and objectives
• Develop a comprehensive financial plan to track revenue and expenses
• Create effective marketing strategies to attract and retain customers
• Implement operational tactics to optimize store performance

By utilizing ClickUp's Business Plan Template, you'll have all the tools you need to drive your store's success. Start planning your way to growth and profitability today!

Business Plan Template for Store Managers Benefits

A business plan template for store managers offers a variety of benefits, including:

• Strategic clarity: Clearly outline goals, objectives, and strategies for your store, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
• Financial planning: Develop a comprehensive financial plan that covers budgeting, revenue projections, and expense management.
• Marketing strategies: Create targeted marketing strategies to attract and retain customers, boosting sales and brand awareness.
• Operational efficiency: Streamline operations by defining processes, roles, and responsibilities, leading to enhanced productivity.
• Effective decision-making: Make informed decisions based on data, market analysis, and industry trends.
• Resource allocation: Allocate resources effectively by identifying key areas of investment and cost optimization.
• Business success: Increase the likelihood of achieving business goals and driving overall store success.

Main Elements of Store Managers Business Plan Template

ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Store Managers provides the essential elements to help store managers create a comprehensive and strategic business plan:

• Custom Statuses: Track the progress of different sections of your business plan with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do, ensuring each aspect is properly addressed and completed.
• Custom Fields: Utilize custom fields such as Reference, Approved, and Section to add specific details and attributes to your business plan, making it tailored to your store's unique needs.
• Custom Views: Access different views like Topics, Status, Timeline, Business Plan, and Getting Started Guide to organize and visualize your business plan from various angles, ensuring clarity and easy navigation.
• Collaboration: Collaborate with team members, assign tasks, set due dates, and discuss ideas directly within the template, fostering teamwork and efficient plan execution.
• Goal Tracking: Set goals and milestones in the Goals feature, track progress, and align your business plan with your long-term objectives.

With ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Store Managers, you can streamline your planning process, improve decision-making, and drive the success of your store.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Store Managers

Running a successful retail store requires careful planning and strategy. By using the Business Plan Template for Store Managers in ClickUp and following the steps outlined below, you can create a solid plan to drive your store's growth and success.

1. Define your objectives

Start by clearly defining your goals and objectives for your store. Are you looking to increase sales, improve customer satisfaction, or expand into new markets? Identifying your objectives will help guide your decision-making and ensure that your business plan aligns with your overall vision.

Use the Goals feature in ClickUp to set specific and measurable objectives for your store.

2. Analyze the market

Conduct a thorough analysis of your target market to gain insights into customer preferences, demographics, and trends. This will help you identify opportunities and challenges that may impact your store's success.

Use the Table view in ClickUp to organize and analyze market research data, such as customer surveys, competitor analysis, and industry reports.

3. Develop a marketing strategy

Create a comprehensive marketing strategy to attract and retain customers. This should include a mix of online and offline marketing tactics, such as social media campaigns, email marketing, in-store promotions, and partnerships with other local businesses.

Utilize the Calendar view in ClickUp to plan and schedule your marketing activities, ensuring that you have a consistent and targeted approach.

4. Monitor and adjust

Regularly monitor your store's performance against your business plan and make adjustments as needed. Track key metrics such as sales revenue, customer satisfaction, and inventory turnover to identify areas where you can improve.

Use the Dashboards feature in ClickUp to create visual reports and track your store's performance in real-time.

With the Business Plan Template for Store Managers in ClickUp, you can easily create a comprehensive plan to guide your store's growth and success. By following these steps and regularly reviewing and adjusting your plan, you'll be well-positioned to achieve your objectives and drive your store forward.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Store Managers

Store managers can use the ClickUp Business Plan Template to streamline their planning process and ensure that all aspects of their store's operations are well-documented and organized.

First, hit "Add Template" to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you'd like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive business plan:

• Use the Topics View to organize your plan into different sections such as goals, marketing, operations, and finances.
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section, with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do.
• Utilize the Timeline View to set deadlines and visualize the timeline of your plan.
• The Business Plan View provides a holistic overview of your entire plan, allowing you to see the big picture.
• Create a Getting Started Guide View to outline the steps needed to implement your plan effectively.

Additionally, customize your business plan template by adding these custom fields:

• Use the Reference field to link relevant documents or resources to each section of your plan.
• The Approved field can be used to track the approval status of each section.
• The Section field allows you to categorize each section based on its importance or priority.

By following these steps and utilizing the different views and custom fields, store managers can create a comprehensive and well-structured business plan to drive the success of their store.

• Business Plan Template for Casino Employees
• Business Plan Template for Diplomats
• Business Plan Template for News Anchors
• Business Plan Template for Grocers
• Business Plan Template for Sales Team

Template details

Free forever with 100mb storage.

Free training & 24-hours support

Serious about security & privacy

Highest levels of uptime the last 12 months

• Product Roadmap
• Affiliate & Referrals
• On-Demand Demo
• Integrations
• Consultants
• Gantt Chart
• Native Time Tracking
• Automations
• Kanban Board
• vs Airtable
• vs Basecamp
• vs MS Project
• vs Smartsheet
• Software Team Hub
• PM Software Guide

Operations and Standards

How top retail and hospitality brands execute programs and standards on time, in full, at every site

11 Tips to Be a Better Retail Store Manager

Retail store managers are playing an increasingly important role in the brick-and-mortar environment. As we’ve shifted from purely transactional spaces into in-person brand experiences, the role of the retail employee continues to change. It’s important to always look for ways to improve as a store manager.

When it comes to pleasing your staff and your bosses, there are ways you can walk the line and balance both. Below, let’s look at 11 ways you can be a better store manager.

Build a Great Team

On time, in full, at every site execute programs and brand standards . every leader is only as good as the team they have behind them. it’s no different when it comes to managing a retail store. “if your store runs as good or better when you are not there then you’ve done your job,” says chris hawkins, retail specialist at fitsmallbusiness.com . it begins with hiring the right staff. and while relevant job experience is important, don’t forget to consider candidates’ soft skills and personality traits. robert walters group found that 90% of employers believe that culture fit is important when hiring staff. the key is not to rush. don’t wait until your back’s against the wall, and get a head start on seasonal hiring . “take your time with hiring and involve your team in the interview process,” hawkins recommends. the onboarding process is important too — and training shouldn’t stop, he says. document processes and provide training in different mediums so you can cater to multiple learning styles. be a leader.

Sure, being a store manager is in and of itself a leadership position. But holding a leadership role and actually being a leader are two different things — the best managers do both.

“The biggest mistake retail managers make is when they forget to be leaders,” says leadership development trainer Dr. Peter Langton .

Here are a few ways to be an effective leader:

Lead by example

Show your staff that you’re not above any task. Your employees will likely strive to match the effort and quality of your work.

Be decisive and display confidence

Especially during times of conflict. (Note that this doesn’t mean impulsive, it’s still important to rationally think through conflicts.)

If you’re stressed, your team will stress.

Be transparent

This will enable your employees to respect and trust you more easily

“Leadership is about purposeful engagement,” says Dr. Langton. “Focus on making sure your crew knows what’s going on and why .”

Promote open communication

Part of being a great leader is facilitating a safe environment with two-way communication. More important than speaking is listening.

You also want to establish an open line of communication with your superiors . Give them important updates, share your team’s wins, and bring new ideas to the table.

Get to know your staff

If you’re an effective listener, you’re also probably getting to know your staff both on a professional and a personal level. Retail environments can be tough — long hours, weekend shifts, bright lights, dealing with customers, etc. — you want to show your employees you’re right there with them.

Praise staff for their wins, and provide constructive criticism when they miss the mark. Remember to match praise to the effort, and distribute it across your entire team. Employees who feel their voice is heard are 4.6 times more likely to perform their best work.

Once you’ve gotten to know your staff, you should have a decent handle on their strengths. This is when delegating comes into play. “Empower staff with decision-making authority,” says Hawkins. He recommends sharing the information they need to make decisions, as well as establishing parameters to use during the decision-making process.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in all of the day-to-day tasks necessary to keep the store running. But the fact is, the more you delegate, the more you have time to spend on more impactful ventures. Use retail operations software to help assign and track tasks and action plans that have been delegated to your team. “Far too often, retail managers get overwhelmed by daily activity, inventory management, meeting sales goals, executing the plan,” says Dr. Langton. “The hardest way to manage is when the manager is responsible for directing all activity.”

Failure is chasing priorities, spending time calling in employees to cover for those that call out, spending closing hours catching up on tasks that weren’t completed. – Dr. Peter Langton

When you empower staff, they adopt a sense of ownership for the store’s well-being. They play a proactive role in its success.

“If you train your crew to respond to orders, they’ll be waiting on management for each step,” says Dr. Langton.

“Train your crew about the priorities, the purposes, and pride. Reinforce when someone takes initiative to straighten up a display, provide that extra level of customer service, or see a problem before it happens.” – Dr. Langton

Adopt a data-driven mentality

As a retail store manager, a data-driven mentality spans across all areas of the business: employee productivity, in-store sales, shrink, etc. Create a KPI checklist for your store , and then establish goals against which you can measure progress . Two figures to pay special attention to: time and money.

Goals should be S.M.A.R.T. — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely — and established for the company (this would likely come from senior leadership), the store, each department or team, and individual employees.

Document and distribute the goals with those responsible for helping your store achieve them. “Share results, good, bad, and ugly,” says Hawkins. “Your employees will feel more invested in what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Motivate employees

Establishing and tracking progress against goals is one way to keep employees motivated and engaged. But there are other tactics you can take:

It’s likely that most of your employees are part-time and juggle other priorities in their lives, like school, family, or even another job. Offering scheduling flexibility can improve employee satisfaction, which will in turn motivate them to perform better when they are on the job.

“Provide positive feedback for hard work and a job well-done, even if it didn’t result in a sale,” says Beverly Friedmann , who has a background in sales and retail management for retailers like L’Occitane and Malin+Goetz.

Problem-solve

Rather than dwelling on losses or pointing blame when conflict arises, look for solutions. Encourage staff to contribute to the problem-solving process. Remember to listen to and respect their ideas.

There are lots of creative bonuses you can create for your team. Put yourself in their shoes and consider which perks would be most valuable to them. Or, better yet, ask. For example, your staff want better access to transport, and education funding assistance. Though these perks aren’t always in your control, if you bring the ideas to senior leadership, you’ll demonstrate to your staff that you’re on their side and have their interests at heart.

Don’t be just a boss, instead, play an active role in your employees’ professional development. Find out their career goals and look for ways to help them develop necessary skills and experience in their retail role.

Motivating your staff is important for employee retention. According to the Chain Store Age , more than half of retailers indicated staffing was a top concern. By keeping your staff engaged, you can help to reduce the prevalence of this issue in your store.

Looking for more ideas? Check out 7 ways to motivate staff and increase productivity

Maintain operational organization

While you may not be on the retail ops team, you do play a very important role in the process . Especially for retailers with multiple store locations, it can be challenging for the off-site corporate team to have their finger on the pulse. As a store manager, you can help them feel more informed.

“Every retail store manager should make sure their inventory count is managed well and up-to-date at all times,” says Friedmann. Use your POS system to determine what’s in stock, how much, and how quickly it’s selling — and when you need to reorder.

Embrace new technology

To streamline store operations, you’re likely going to want to adopt new technologies. This will reiterate your value to your superiors.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you need to implement every new tool that hits the market. Instead, understand your store’s goals and challenges and search for solutions catered to those needs .

For example, technology can introduce automations which can reduce the amount of manual processes. Manual processes are time-consuming and susceptible to human error; the right tech can mitigate each of these.

Explore some tech to help you manage your store .

Get to know your customers

Much like you want to understand the people you’re managing, you also want to get to know the people you and your team are selling to. “Understand who your buyers are and then look for all opportunities to connect with them in your community, whether it’s through social media, a civic organization, or your kid’s soccer game,” says Hawkins.

Building authentic relationships with customers can help you not only understand them on a personal level, but also their pain points and which products would absolve those pain points.

It’s easy to get bogged down with the management side of being a retail store manager, but it’s important to also wear your sales associate hat. “Retail store managers who avoid direct sales and customer interaction by focusing on other tasks and simply try to direct their employees to do sell are making a critical error,” says Friedmann.

Not only does this hurt the store in terms of missed sales, but employees also miss out on crucial learning opportunities. Seeing a manager in action can give them great insight into how to make sales themselves. And not giving staff this opportunity can also hurt the team mentality, Friedmann points out.

Be proactive with brand standards

Ensuring your store is compliant — both with internal and external standards — is one of your biggest responsibilities as a manager . And while it’s often thankless, behind-the-scenes work, it’s absolutely critical to the business’s overall health. Think of it as protecting the brand . Non-compliance can lead to major challenges or, worse, shutting down the company.

“Ensure all merchandising is up-to-date and in accordance with store policies and that the store is clean at all times,” says Friedmann. “All employees should practice storewide protocols.”

Conduct regular retail audits , both scheduled at regular intervals and sporadically. “Inspecting what you expect can go a long way in ensuring compliance,” says Hawkins. “Perform a random audit for a particular department every so often.”

Skills you need as a retail store manager

In addition to the above tips, Bob Phibbs of The Retail Doctor recommends all managers develop the following seven skills:

• Multi-tasking
• Decision-making
• Business development
• Effective communication
• The ability to make a sale

The greater impact you can make on the business, the more invaluable you become.

Putting it all into action

You can’t run a store all on your own. To be an effective retail store manager, you need a strong team, great leadership skills, and a data-driven mentality. The best managers empower their staff to take a proactive role in the store’s success, and make their superiors feel confident that they’re handling the job.

About the author:

• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

7 thoughts on “ 11 Tips to Be a Better Retail Store Manager ”

informative. Worked with some retail stores as retail software provider and strongly feels above points will be helpful for any store manager.

It’s good to know that it is important to get to know the people you are selling to and understand who they are. My wife and I have been thinking about starting a retail shop in our area and have been looking for ways to make our endeavors successful. I will definitely keep the customer’s viewpoint in mind when planning the details of our store and what services we use to set up our shop.

I like it very much. Those who wish to know more about store manager role, it is very good information.

Such a useful information it is.

It was interesting to learn about how solutions should be catered to the company’s needs, goals, and challenges so that technology can help improve how they run. I can understand how it could be really useful for a business to make sure that they can manage their retail solutions and it can be safer. Getting some help from a professional could be really useful and allow them to be more productive.

Very nice n informative to know

I have been a store manager for years and I must admit that this article is very well curated covering every aspect of retail operations.

It would be interesting if Alexandra could write an article on challenges of a store manager. It would be an interesting read.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Discover more from Operations and Standards

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

• Manage Account
• Website Survey
• Voter Guide
• Things to Do
• Public Notices
• Help Center

business Retail

H-E-B will open a store in HEB and has added Murphy to its coming-soon list

‘we don’t have to worry where the cash registers are,’ said euless city manager loretta getchell about an agreement worked out for the h-e-b coming to both bedford and euless..

By Maria Halkias

6:00 AM on Apr 22, 2024 CDT — Updated at 6:16 PM on Apr 22, 2024 CDT

San Antonio-based grocer H-E-B has plucked two more locations from its Dallas-Fort Worth land bank to shift over to its list of new stores under development.

One of them could be called a namesake store on a parcel that overlaps cities in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford region of Tarrant County, commonly called the HEB area for its combined independent school district.

Bedford Mayor Dan Cogan restarted the new round of alphabet fun that no doubt will become part of this H-E-B store’s culture.

“H-E-B is finally getting an H-E-B!” Cogan said in an email. The parcel is partially in Bedford and in Euless.

The latest on retail openings, closings and trends in D-FW.

By signing up you agree to our  Terms of Service  and  Privacy Policy

Euless Mayor Linda Martin said residents came up with the slogan, “Bring H-E-B to HEB,” and have been saying it for years.

A site in Murphy, in eastern Collin County, is also officially in the planning stage. It’s located on the southwest corner of McCreary Road and FM 544.

Both properties have been owned by H-E-B for years as the retailer started accumulating prime corners in D-FW as long as 20 years ago.

The two stores are expected to open in the second half of 2026, H-E-B spokeswoman Mabrie Jackson said. H-E-B planned four new stores for 2024 and four more in 2025.

Related: Here’s where H-E-B has opened stores in D-FW and what’s coming next

Hurst-Euless-Bedford

H-E-B will open on the northwest corner of Cheek-Sparger Road and Heritage Avenue in the area that locals refer to as Glade Parks South. The 14.5-acre parcel is split with 8.5 acres in Euless and 6 acres in Bedford. There’s a Walmart across the street on the south side of Cheek-Sparger, and it’s in Bedford.

The two cities worked out an “interlocal agreement” for the property in 2015, said Euless City Manager Loretta Getchell. “The agreement is best for us and H-E-B. We don’t have to worry where the cash registers are.”

Related: Walmart building stores in Frisco, Melissa, Celina to capitalize on Texas population boom

Euless and Bedford will split the sales taxes and property taxes 50-50, she said. While the three cities work together often, having to split a business down the middle is unusual, she said.

The agreement “will facilitate a smooth and seamless development process for their site,” Martin said.

“We’ve been having joint meetings, and the next one is this week,” said Andrea Roy, Bedford’s interim city manager. “It’s not H-E-B’s fault that the property is split.”

Residents have known that H-E-B was the property owner for years.

“We get calls asking if they’re building yet,” Getchell said. “And we’ve had to say, ‘no, they’re not,’ until now.”

That’s true, too, for Murphy, said Murphy Mayor Scott Bradley.

“There would be an announcement of another city getting an H-E-B, and we’d hear the friendly ribbing that they didn’t see Murphy on the list,” Bradley said.

The Murphy property is on the southwest corner of McCreary Road and FM 544. A Target is across McCreary Road, and Sprouts Farmers Market is just northwest of the property along FM 544. Murphy also has a Walmart.

Related: H-E-B Alliance in Fort Worth opens to a line of more than 700 shoppers

Bradley called it a win for the small town of Murphy, which is “grown out,” with most of its land occupied and a population of about 22,000 versus adjacent Wylie, which is almost three times as big.

Murphy has been building new pedestrian bridges, landscaping and trails along FM 544 where the H-E-B is going, he said. “H-E-B will fit in nicely. We’re mostly a residential community.”

People are also used to driving to neighboring towns, he said. The location is convenient for people living in East Plano, Sachse and Wylie. The Target across FM 544 from the H-E-B site is in Wylie.

H-E-B plans to open a store in Rockwall next year, and the Murphy location is strategically between it and H-E-B stores that have opened in Allen and McKinney, Jackson said.

X: @MariaHalkias

Looking for more retail coverage? Click here to read all retail news and updates. Click here to subscribe to D-FW Retail and more newsletters from The Dallas Morning News.

Maria Halkias , Staff writer . Maria Halkias has covered the retail scene for The Dallas Morning News since 1993. She has chronicled the stark changes in grocery, malls, e-commerce, major bankruptcies and local retail entrepreneurs.

Top Business Stories

What it feels like to be laid off: jcpenney employees remember 12 years later.

Do Texas universities fund Israel as student protesters say?

Tornado watch piles up delays at Dallas Love Field, DFW Airport

After moving headquarters, FreshRealm secures state funds for facility

Warren Buffett’s real estate brokerage agrees to $250M settlement in antitrust lawsuits