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After having to close your retail store as a result of COVID-19 related restrictions, you’re probably looking forward to reopening your doors. States are lifting restrictions on business operations, so you’ll need to create a detailed plan for how you’ll reopen your store while still protecting the health of your customers and your employees.  

Use this checklist to help you reopen your retail store while keeping yourself, employees and customers safe.

This checklist will help you determine what your customers expect when your store reopens, talk to your employees about reopening, and put supply chains in place to keep your store running smoothly after reopening.

Whether or not to reopen your retail store as soon as COVID-19 closures for retailers are lifted is a choice that only you can make. Take federal, state and local health authority guidelines, as well as your store’s finances, into account when making your decision.

There are several factors to consider as you develop your store reopening plan:

• How your business model may need to change to stay competitive
• What types of sales are needed to break even and when you can expect to become profitable again
• Where to access the financing you may need to retrofit or adapt your business
• How to maintain a safe environment for everyone who enters your store
• Any accommodations your employees may need to return to work
• How to make shoppers feel comfortable coming into the store
• How to market your reopening to build awareness and demand

SCORE’s retail reopening checklist will help ensure you take all the relevant factors into account to develop a well-thought-out plan, and includes resources to help you.

There’s a lot to think about when reopening your retail store after coronavirus shutdowns. To get advice about creating your store reopening plan, contact a SCORE mentor online or in your community.