Retail store daily opening checklist

Setting up your store for success starts with opening it properly. Don’t forget to take the
following steps before opening your doors to the public.

Do a security inspection. Inspect the building for signs of anything that may have gone
wrong while your store was closed. Conduct the following steps:

o Inspect the exterior of the building.

o Inspect windows and doors for signs of forced entry.
o Check that the alarm is working properly, then disarm your security system when you enter the
store.
o Review security footage if necessary.
o Keep your doors locked until you’re open for business.
Perform daily housekeeping. See to it that your store is nice and presentable when people
start coming in.

o Shine your windows.

o Do a quick sweep of the shop floor to clear dirt and dust.
o Keep an eye out for spillage or anything that may be considered a safety hazard (things on the
floor, stuff hanging from the ceiling, etc.)
o Inspect and clean your fitting room and other areas frequented by shoppers.
Turn on electronics and other appliances. You can choose to do this until right before
you’re officially open for the day. Make sure you switch on the following before shoppers
start coming in:

o Lights
o HVAC
o Electronic displays
o TV and sound system
o Computers, tablets, and other gadgets
o Turn on POS equipment. Switch on your POS hardware and make sure they’re
working properly. You could also use this as an opportunity to do a POS security
check by inspecting your equipment for signs of tampering.
o Launch your POS software. Turn on your POS software and ensure it’s working
properly.
o Enter your daily cash float. Place your cash float into the register and enter the
amount into your POS.

Merchandising
Check that all displays are in order. Examine all the displays you have in-store and see to it
that they’re up to snuff. Ask the following questions:

o Are the products arranged properly?

o Do your displays comply with your planogram?
o Is there anything missing from the shelves?
Restock shelves if necessary. If there are items that are missing from your
displays, be sure to restock your shelves before opening time.

Physically count your products if necessary. Depending on your inventory

management practices, it may be necessary to do a quick inventory count. Daily
stock-taking typically comes in the form of cycle counting, a method that involves
counting a small amount of merchandise every day.

Ensure that promotional and directional signage are set up properly. Retail
signs can also influence the customer experience, so make sure that your signs are
in order. The following questions may help:

o Do you have signage for any current promotions that you’re running?
o If you have directional signage, are they pointing the right way?
o Are all signs in their proper places?
Ensure that product tags are in order. Tags are a small but significant detail that
can greatly help (or hinder) the sales experience of your customers. So, don’t
forget to inspect the following:

o Size tags
o Price tags
o Sales pricing tags
o Special promotional tags
Staffing and strategy
Round up your team and do a daily staff huddle to motivate everyone and give
them the information they need to do their jobs well for the day.

Review shifts and duties. Iron out who’s in charge and what. What are everyone’s
roles? Where should they station themselves in the store?

Review sales targets. Keeping sales top of mind will help drive your team’s
performance. In this regard, you should talk about:

o Your sales target for the day/week/month.

o For the weekly and monthly targets, how close are you to reaching it? What can you do
to move things forward?
o What can each team member do for that day to drive more sales?
Review your team’s and store’s performance. Your staff huddle also provides a
great opportunity to discuss how you and your team can improve overall. You may
want to:

o Discuss things that went wrong/right the previous day, and what the staff can do today
to improve.
 o Bring up notable customer interactions or events from the previous day and discuss the
things that went right or wrong. Could the situation have been handled differently? How
so?
Review the promotions that you have going on. Finally, if you’re running any
in-store initiatives, now is the time to talk about them.

o Discuss the sales or offers that you have in-store.

o Talk about the best ways to increase awareness around your promotions or offers.
Review your store policies. Remind employees about the rules, guidelines, and
policies that need to be enforced in your store. This is particularly important if you
have new employees on board or if you’re dealing with a situation that’s rapidly
changing (such as a global pandemic).

Put this retail store daily checklist to good

use
Retail success starts with strong habits performed by managers, associates, and
cashiers. Hopefully, the points above inspired you to implement better daily
practices in your shop. Lightspeed can help you stay on top of your daily retail
tasks. Watch a demo to learn
1. Create immersive retail displays
2. Encourage people to touch and feel your products
3. Use plants in your shop displays
4. Don’t forget about cross-merchandising
5. Have something for the kids
6. Keep your retail displays well-lit
7. Keep ‘em portable
8. Use signage and displays to educate people about your products
9. Play around with colors
10. Have something seasonal
11. Localize your retail displays
12. Be witty with your visuals
13. Use technology to “extend” your retail displays
14. Know that sometimes, less is more
15. Consider upcycling
16. Be festive with your shop displays

 83.0% – Sight
 11.0% – Hearing
 03.5% – Smell
 01.5% – Touch
 01.0% – Taste