5 Tips to Write a Retail Store Business Plan

3 min read

by Daniela McVicker

When you’re planning to open and start running a retail store, it’s always a good idea to do it with maximum preparation. Yes, you’re anxious to get going and open your business, but don’t rush in. Writing a good business plan could help you do it the right way.

A business plan for your retail store will be a summary of all the things you need to combine together to make it work. It will guide you through the process of starting your retail store, attract potential investors, and ensure you make no hasty decisions.

Here are 5 tips to write a retail store business plan. Let’s break it down together.

Executive Summary

The opening segment of your business plan might just be the most important. It has to attract the reader’s attention and provide enough information to get them interested.

In your executive summary, make sure that you cover the following:

• information about your business

• your mission and vision

• your goals

• things you’ll cover in the rest of the business plan

Open with some strong arguments and move on to the next segment.

Business Review

Now it’s time to get into greater depth about your business and write about the important details. This segment needs to provide more specific aspects of your future retail store.

Here’s what you need to include:

• company structure

  Write about the legal structure of the business (corporation, LLC, etc.) as well as about the potential partners you’ll have.

• legal name

  Decide on the name of your retail store and make it clearly distinctive in this section.

• location

  Write about the location you plan on opening in, and how you chose it. If you’ve done some research to choose the best potential location, write about that as well.

• products

  Write about the specific type of products you plan on selling in your retail store. Describe the product quality, suppliers, and other product-related details.

You can also include the tools and resources you’ve used to gather the right information.

Competitors & Target Customers

Now it's time for you to talk about the specific conditions on the market that you plan on conquering. It's important that you show you've done the proper research and you've gathered the necessary information for opening your retail store.

Here’s what you need to analyze and show in your business plan:

• competitors

  Write about your greatest competitors and their current offer. Show that you have a plan to offer something different from them and attract the customers to your retail store.

• demand

  Is there a high demand for the products you’ll be selling on that specific market? If there is, show it in your business plan. Provide the numbers, data, and information you’ve collected.

• target audience

  Who is a typical member of your target audience? Who is your typical customer? Describe the demographic factors (age, sex, social status, etc.) of your typical customer and how you plan on approaching them.

If you need extra help with writing any section of your business plan, including this one, check out this college writing service.

Financial Plan

Finances always play a significant role in starting any business. Your retail store business plan needs to include a budget section that will cover all the financial details.

You need to describe the following:

• start-up budget

  How much money do you need to get started with the store? Break it down and explain the expenses.

• ROI

  How much time do you think you’ll need to return the investment? What is your sales forecast?

• costs

  What is going to be your monthly costs, and will you be able to cover them?

Create a detailed financial plan and explain how you predict things will develop in the future.

Marketing Plan

Marketing plays a huge part in your business success, so it's no wonder you need to include it in your business plan.

You should decide how you plan on marketing your retail store and write about:

• marketing tools

• platforms you’ll use such as social media

• email marketing

• blogging and content marketing

• marketing budget

• outsourcing for marketers

Describe what your marketing strategy is and what specific goals you plan on achieving. 

Whether it's raising brand awareness or having loyal customers from the very start, make sure you set specific goals and describe them in your business plan.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, writing a retail store business plan is a way for you to form your vision into a strong strategy that is backed up with valuable data and facts. Once you do all the research and put it together into your plan, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

Use the tips listed above to create your own retail store business plan and achieve your business goal faster.

About the author

Daniela McVicker is a blogger and a freelance writer who works closely with B2B and B2C businesses providing blog writing, copywriting, and ghostwriting services. When Daniela isn’t writing, she loves to travel, read romance and science fiction, and try new wines.