A Retail Analysis is any information that allows retailers to make smarter decisions and manage their businesses more effectively. There are 10 different components to a retail analysis, those are:

• Executive Summary
  • Is a brief but comprehensive synopsis of a business plan or proposal, which highlights its key points and is generally adapted for the external audience.
• Company Analysis
  • Sales and Profit Figures
  • Company Mission and Vision Statement
  • Risk Position
  • Corporate Resources
  • Aggressiveness
  • Market Share
  • Sales Trends
• Competitive and Industry Analysis
  • Current Direct Competitors
  • Rivalry among competing sellers in an industry
  • Competitive force of substitute products
  • Potential entry of new competitors in an industry
  • Bargaining power of suppliers
  • Bargaining power of buyers
• Product History and Analysis
  • The major service or product that the retailer offers that sets them apart from other retailers.
  • What product or service is the retailer known for and why?
• Differentiation
  • The concept is to create or highlight unique product or store offerings from those of the competition. Retailers use several types of differentiation strategies.
• Audience Analysis
  • Consists of assessing the audience to make sure the information provided to them is at the appropriate level.
• Geographic Analysis
  • A geographic or market analysis is conducted to provide the retailer information about which geographic markets offer the most potential for the success of the retailing operation. Retailers need to ascertain which geographic areas are key areas, either because of the strong presence of the retailer in that market or because of problems associated with doing business in a geographic area.
• Trade Area Analysis
  • The trade area analysis shows where your customers live in relation to your existing or potential business site. The trade area analysis compares the number of customers by distance from a business site to the number of households in the study area.
• Internet Analysis
  • From urban to suburban to rural physical locations, customers shop online from around the globe to find the most unique items, search for specific products, or save money. It is necessary for the retailer to find out where most of the shoppers and customers are located. Typically, there will be segments of customers that are located in the same region. Online retailers should have systems in place that capture information about where customers are located. This will help the e-tailer customize product solutions for different segments.
• SWOT
  • SWOT analysis is a framework used to evaluate a company’s competitive positionand to develop strategic planning. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. SWOT analysis assesses internal and external factors, as well as current and future potential.

Below is an example of a Retail Analysis of Woodman’s Grocery in an E-Book: