Retail Consulting Services
Need help with buying, inventory, cash flow, or opening a store? Our retail business consultants will help you interpret the data to build a clear roadmap for decision-making.
Sales Forecasting, Inventory Planning & Buying Consulting
Know what categories to buy, how much to spend, and when to adjust.
Take the stress out of buying. Our retail buying consultants turn your sales, inventory, and on-order data into a monthly forecast, merchandise plan, and open-to-buy budget. You’ll understand how much you can spend, which classifications need more or less inventory, and how to adjust as demand changes.
- Monthly open-to-buy budgets
- Sales forecasts by classification, location, or channel
- Merchandise and inventory targets
- Allocation and store-transfer recommendations
- Markdown and aging-inventory plans
- On-hand, on-order, and delivery-timing guidance
Cash Flow & Profitability
Inventory is your #1 expense - understand where the money is going & how profitable it is.
Sales can look strong while cash still feels tight. We connect the dots between your data and your decisions so you’ll know what you need to break even, where cash may be tied up, and what to do about debt, aging inventory, staffing, promotions, or expansion plans.
- Year to date cash flow analysis + 12 month rolling cash flow plan
- Year-to-date cash flow analysis
- Break-even analysis for each location
- Inventory turn and freshness analysis
- Markdown strategy
Store Operations & Business Strategy
Get an experienced perspective on the decisions that keep you profitable.
Have questions about staffing, marketing, POS systems, clienteling, store layout, or visual merchandising? We provide retail merchandising consulting and operational guidance in the context of demand, inventory, and available cash, to help you build solid systems and know where to focus time and resources.
- Buying & assortment planning and receiving processes
- POS and inventory-reporting guidance
- Staffing and retail operations consulting
- Loyalty programs and customer acquisition
- Retail marketing and promotional planning
- Store layout and merchandising support
New Stores & Expansion
Open your first location or add the next one with a plan grounded in real numbers.
If you’re new to business ownership or looking to expand, our retail store planning consultants can help you decide how much inventory to open with, what level of sales the store needs to support, and which systems you need in place to avoid expensive mistakes. We build realistic projections for sales, inventory, expenses, break-even, and cash flow.
- Three year sales forecast & inventory plan
- Initial inventory investment & future open-to-buy
- Start up expense budgeting & tracking
- Break-even analysis that incorporates the new store investment
- POS and inventory system guidance
- Ongoing planning after opening
1. Start with a free business analysis
Meet with a retail business advisor, talk through your goals, and review a few key numbers together. You’ll get an initial sense of what the data may be showing and where support could make the greatest difference.
2. Build the financial foundation
We review historical sales, inventory, purchasing, and financial information to see the bigger picture behind your data. Then we build the forecasts, budgets, and plans you need to make informed decisions.
3. Put the plan into action with support
You’ll meet with your advisor weekly, biweekly, or monthly based on your needs. Each conversation connects current performance to a few clear decisions and priorities, so you always walk away knowing what to do next.
4. Reforecast and build momentum
We update the plan with you as demand, inventory, cash, and your goals change. Over time, you’ll understand the business more clearly, respond to shifts quicker, and feel confident you’re making the best possible decisions.
Support Beyond Project Retail
Whenever you need specialized execution outside of what we offer, we connect you with the best people to help. Our trusted partners can support you with bookkeeping, recruiting, marketing, and more.
FAQs About Our Retail Consulting Services
What does a retail consultant help with?
Retail business consulting services can include sales forecasting, inventory and merchandise planning, cash-flow analysis, operational guidance, and support for new stores or expansion. We begin with sales and inventory because those numbers affect nearly every other business decision.
When should I hire a retail buying consultant?
If you never know how much to buy, regularly overbuy or underbuy, struggle with markdowns, or go to market without a budget, a retail buying consultant will help you. We can also help when buying becomes more complicated due to expansion or changing demand.
How does open-to-buy planning work?
An open-to-buy plan is a purchasing budget based on planned sales, inventory needs, and orders you have already committed to. It shows how much you can still spend during a given period and is adjusted as your actual sales and inventory change.
How does inventory planning affect cash flow?
Inventory uses cash before it produces sales. Planning the amount, timing, and product mix can reduce unnecessary commitments, limit aging merchandise that ties up money, and open up more cash to cover expenses and future opportunities.
Does retail merchandising consulting include visual merchandising?
Project Retail’s retail merchandising consulting covers merchandise planning, including how much inventory to buy by category, when it should arrive, and how it should be allocated. We also provide guidance around product presentation and visual merchandising.
Why should I work with retail store planning consultants before I open?
Many of your biggest financial decisions happen before opening day, including how much inventory to buy, which categories to invest in, and how much operating cash you’ll need. Our retail store planning consultants create realistic forecasts based on market data and build a tailored opening plan for your store. This helps you avoid overbuying, running out of cash, setting unrealistic sales targets, and opening your doors without the right systems in place.
What should I look for when comparing retail consulting firms?
Look for firsthand retail experience (advisors who have run stores themselves), a record of client results, clear tools that help with decision-making, and a team of retail consultants who work together to help you solve every kind of problem. Ask how they help retailers turn data into a plan of action. And choose a consultancy that lives, eats, and breathes retail — no generalist business advisors!
Get a Clearer View of Your Business
Ready to partner with an experienced retail consultant on buying, merchandising, operations, or business strategy? Start with a complimentary business analysis to meet with an advisor, review the numbers, and see where we can help.