How to open a store: step by step instructions

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Many people who want to start their own business are thinking about how to open a children's store or outlet with a different profile, which will bring a stable income. In any case, the fact remains that selling is one of the best ways to reach a fundamentally new financial level. But in order to successfully start and stabilize a business in the field of trade, you need to take into account several important factors.

How to open a store

The idea of making money by opening a retail outlet has long been actively implemented in Russian business. At the same time, it still remains quite relevant and provides an opportunity to receive a stable income.

In order not to lose the invested money and turn the store into a source of resources, you need to properly organize the process of launching TRT. And the first thing to pay attention to is the niche.

Trying to figure out how to open your store from scratch, you need to analyze the market and determine the most relevant product groups. The store's sales in the future will directly depend on how competently such monitoring will be carried out.

It is also important to choose the right store location. To do this, you need to determine the distancecompetitors with a similar profile and large markets with low prices. Also, of course, it will be necessary to draw up extremely accurate and capacious items of expenses and income, which will have to be de alt with from the moment of opening. We are talking about staff salaries, electricity bills, possible balances of unsold goods and much more.

Pricing policy

Regardless of which store you have to open, you need to correctly price the goods. Products must be affordable, but at the same time bring the necessary income.

In order for everything to be in order with prices, you need to start looking for suppliers with great deals before you open a store and start trading. In any region there are many companies that can offer quite attractive prices. Moreover, in most cases they have a volume-based discount system, which is also worth considering.

Before you open a thrift store, grocery outlet or other type of TPT, you need to focus in planning not on extremely low prices, but on the current assortment and attractive promotions. The latter, by the way, must be carried out at the first time and especially on the opening day. This will help attract the maximum number of potential buyers.

As practice shows, customers in various product segments react extremely positively to various promotions. This approach can also be used if there are still stocks of goods that are out of fashion or have expiration dates close to expiration. You can get rid of this “ballast” with the help of a sale with attractive discounts and bonuses.

For proper pricing, you should also pay attention to the following tips:

- collect information about what markup level is used when working with the most popular positions in the current segment;

- identify the optimal margin for the entire product group, taking into account the current legislation (the price of some goods may be limited by the state);

- collect competitor price lists and evaluate their pricing approach.

How to open a clothing store from scratch

One of the best examples of a popular retailer is TRT, which specializes in clothing. The format of the store may be different, but the essence always remains the same: a quality product, good service and attractive prices.

At the same time, it should be understood that, when dealing with clothes, you will have to choose among several main areas. We are talking about men's, women's and children's clothing. In addition, things can be both new and used, for example goods from Europe.

If you analyze the market, it would be logical to make a choice in favor of female models, since the representatives of the weaker sex pay more attention to their appearance. But if the area and resources allow, then it will not be a mistake to present two types of clothes in the store.

Moreover, the store itself can have different formats, which will be discussed below.

Boutique

Thinking about how to open a clothing store from scratch, you should initiallydefine your target audience and, based on this choice, designate the format of the outlet.

An example is a boutique, which is actually a small store with an area of 15-25 m22. In such points, clothes from brands with a price tag above the average are sold. Accordingly, we althy clients who are able to afford expensive things get into the target audience. Such a store format requires a lot of money, since the clothes themselves, which will have to be purchased, are expensive, and you will have to look for premises for a boutique in the city center or in developed areas of the metropolis.

In addition to the appropriate design of the trading floor, for successful trading it is necessary to recruit qualified personnel and train them to work, which implies a competent individual approach to each client. Otherwise, it is better not to think about how to open a store selling expensive clothes.

Number of brands

If we talk about the sale of clothes, then it is worth highlighting two key areas of such stores: mono- and multi-brand.

The prefix "mono" is relevant for boutiques and TRTs, focused on the sale of one brand, which is already known or, in the opinion of the owner, should become one. Here, in fact, the same standards apply as in the case of a boutique.

Thinking about how to open your store from scratch, it makes sense to take into account the idea of a multi-brand TPT. In this case, buyers will have a wider choice of clothes and favorite brands, which will positively affect the level ofattendance and subsequent sales.

It is important to understand that with a significant assortment, all goods must be laid out correctly, so that the buyer can quickly determine where the category he needs is located. Also, do not forget about the atmosphere in the store - the client should feel comfortable. This will allow him to comfortably stay indoors for a long time, carefully choosing the right position.

Franchise

Those who are looking for the answer to the question: "How to open a store?", You should pay attention to the possibility of using the resources of any franchise in the field of clothing.

But before concluding a contract, you need to carefully study the product and determine how relevant it will be for a particular city and even area.

The obvious advantages of a franchise are that you don't have to rack your brains on how to open a store. Step-by-step instructions in such cases are issued by the marketing department of the company. It is only necessary to responsibly approach the fulfillment of all requirements.

As a minus, you can note the possible need for monthly deductions. There is also always the possibility that someone else in the city will take advantage of this offer and open the same store. Therefore, if you have resources, you should initially launch several points in the worst places.

Second hand and stock

This is one of the most popular trends in the clothing segment. Those who are interested in the topic: “How to open a thrift store” need to understand what to offer lowprices are not enough. The stock even implies an affordable pricing policy, but the models must be relevant. In fact, we are talking about an inexpensive, but still clothing store.

But as for second-hand, the situation here is somewhat different. In such points, things are sold that have already been in use. Stores like this allow you to mark up 200% and are popular with those shoppers who are focused on savings.

Using the Power of the Internet

Anyone who intends to see a steady increase in sales and enjoy a high income should consider starting an online store. This idea has a number of tangible advantages compared to an offline business:

- the customer base is expanding significantly as customers from all over the country can order clothes (or other goods);

- the store is open around the clock, which also has a positive effect on income;

- no need to pay for the rent of premises, warehouse, make repairs and spend money on utility bills;

- for the effective operation of the online store, several employees will be enough;

- thanks to the subscription base, you can establish high-quality feedback with customers and send them information about promotions and new products by mail.

How to create an online store

When it becomes clear that the idea of selling clothes or other goods on the Internet is more than successful, the question arises related tothe technical side of things, namely, the launch of the trading platform itself.

In the framework of the topic "How to open an online store", step-by-step instructions, regardless of the product group, have one scheme.

So, after the niche has been identified and the target audience has been identified, it is worth starting the launch of the site itself, on which the products will be presented. At the same time, everyone must decide for himself whether to do this process on his own or entrust such a task to programmers. But it is desirable to give the site development process into the hands of professionals who can realize the customer's vision quickly and efficiently. This is important because users are used to user-friendly and practical interfaces (remember competitors!), so a cheap-looking online store with a confusing menu is clearly not going to help sales.

But if the size of the starting capital forces a novice businessman to save money, then you can start creating a selling website on your own. To do this, you need to overcome several stages:

- First of all, it is important to find a good paid hosting that will ensure the smooth operation of the store. You can't save on this. The forums will help you determine which hosting to choose.

- The next task is to choose a domain name. Often, those who provide hosting give you the opportunity to immediately register a domain. At the same time, the name of the site should be consonant with the name of the store and easy to remember.

- Choosing a content management system is the next step to takepay attention when figuring out how to open an online store. Step-by-step instructions inevitably include this item. In fact, how the site will work depends on this system. Under the selected system, you can find both paid and free store design templates. Their range is now quite large. If you have the appropriate skills, you can work with the design yourself, leaving the templates aside. If we analyze the rating of available platforms, we can identify the following current offers: Cs-cart, Open Cart, Simpla, Prestashop, etc. Returning to the design topic, you need to pay attention to the fact that it is important to create a corporate logo that will increase the degree of recognition.

- When the selected online commerce system is installed on the paid hosting, it's time to start filling the site with product information. It should be understood that such a resource should look like a store. Opening a site with somehow described goods is not enough. It is necessary to take high-quality photographs, compose understandable and attractive product characteristics. It is also important to pay attention to the fact that the store menu should be extremely clear. It is important to provide comprehensive and clear information about the methods of payment and delivery of goods. Subsequently, you will need to constantly update the positions of the goods.

How to arrange shipping and payment

This question needs to be considered before opening an online store. A step-by-step reliable scheme for working with money and goods is very important. Customer loy alty and business efficiency depend on it.overall.

First, let's pay attention to the issue of payment. It is worth understanding that the chances of a purchase will increase significantly if the store accepts various methods of crediting funds (MasterCard, VISA and electronic systems). There are many services that can help you solve this problem. Also, do not forget about cash on delivery with a down payment, say, 10% of the cost of the goods.

As for delivery, there are several ways to pay attention to:

- At the beginning of the activity it is very important to show a high level of service. Therefore, when thinking about how to open an online store, you need to plan courier delivery within the city where the main warehouse is located.

- You can deliver goods to other settlements by mail. It's inexpensive, reliable, and fast enough. At the same time, it is worth making sure that the client is informed about the stages of delivery of the ordered goods and the cost of transportation (SMS to help). This can greatly increase customer loy alty.

- Of course, pickup should always be provided.

- If necessary (large cargo), you can use the services of transport companies.

At the first stage of the establishment of the store, you can actually perform all the functions yourself. But in the end, you will still need to hire a staff of workers (2-3 people) who will be able to process all customer requests with high quality and provide decent feedback.

Do not forget about advertising on the Internet. This expense item will pay off many times over by attracting new customers.

Conclusion

If you had no experience of selling on the Internet before, then it is better that the activity is based on an instruction proven by the practice of other people. “How to open an online store” is a fairly popular topic, so there are many forums where people share their practical experience and algorithms for successful trading. In other words, for a competent start, you need to use the experience of those who have already succeeded.