New Year, New Strategy: Six Practical Retail Goals That Drive Real Results

The start of a new year marks an extended planning phase for both retailers and property owners. Budgets are refined over several months, store portfolios are evaluated, and leasing strategies begin to take shape based on priorities set early in the year. Decisions made during this period often influence performance well beyond the first quarter.

Yet many goals fail for one simple reason: they are too vague to guide real-world decisions. Broad objectives like “grow sales,” “improve the customer experience,” or “open more locations” sound directionally right, but rarely provide the clarity needed to inform leasing, capital allocation, or operational focus.

The retailers and property owners that consistently outperform approach this planning phase differently. They set goals that are specific, measurable, and directly connected to how space is used, how stores perform, and how growth is sequenced. Below are six practical retail goals we see successful brands and landlords prioritize and how to turn them into strategies that drive real results.

1. Set Revenue Goals That Inform Real Estate Decisions

Instead of setting a single top-line sales goal, successful retailers and property owners break revenue targets down by channel, by location, and by asset.

Actionable questions to ask:

For retailers:

• Which stores are delivering the strongest sales productivity relative to their size and cost structure?

• Which locations are underperforming, and are those challenges operational, market-driven, or real estate related?

• Are digital sales supporting store traffic and brand awareness, or pulling demand away from specific locations?

For property owners:

• Which tenants and categories are driving the highest sales productivity within the center?

• Where are performance gaps emerging across the tenant mix, and what is contributing to those results?

• Are leasing strategies aligned with how shoppers are actually using the center today?

Actionable goal examples:

For retailers:

Determine the appropriate sales per square foot improvement targets for existing locations before committing to new leases or expansion.

For property owners:

Establish realistic productivity and revenue growth benchmarks across key tenant categories to guide leasing strategy and long-term asset planning.

By grounding revenue goals in performance data, retailers expand with greater confidence and property owners gain clearer visibility into which tenants and categories are positioned to succeed.

2. Evaluate Stores and Tenants Based on Their Role

Not every store or tenant is meant to perform the same way. Some locations are designed to maximize sales, others to build brand awareness, drive traffic, or test new markets.

Problems arise when every store or tenant is measured against the same expectations.

Retailers and property owners make better decisions when they clearly define why a location exists and evaluate performance through that lens.

Actionable goal examples:

For retailers:
Identify the primary role of each store, such as revenue driver, brand showcase, market test, or convenience location, and assess performance based on whether that role is being fulfilled, not just on sales volume alone.

For property owners:
Clarify the role each tenant plays within the center, such as traffic generator, experiential draw, or steady revenue producer, and factor that role into leasing strategy, renewal discussions, and tenant placement.

When stores and tenants are evaluated based on purpose, decisions around lease renewals, investment, and expansion become more thoughtful and far less reactive.

3. Make Experience Goals Measurable

“Better customer experience” only works as a goal if it can be measured and tied to outcomes that matter.

For retailers, experience improvements should connect directly to store-level performance metrics. For property owners, they should translate into stronger traffic patterns, engagement, and tenant productivity.

Actionable goal examples:

For retailers:
Identify one or two experience-driven metrics, such as average transaction value or conversion rate, and align merchandising, staffing, and training initiatives around improving those measures.

For property owners:
Set clear goals around dwell time, repeat visitation, or traffic flow in key areas of the center, and adjust tenant mix, adjacencies, or programming to support those outcomes.

Experience is not abstract. When measured correctly, it becomes a lever for stronger performance on both sides of the lease.

4. Use Short-Term Leasing as a Strategic Tool

Pop-ups, seasonal activations, and short-term leases are more than marketing tools. When used intentionally, they support smarter long-term planning.

Retailers and property owners use short-term leasing to test markets, experiment with formats, and create urgency.

Actionable goal examples:

For retailers:
Launch one or two short-term locations to test new markets or store concepts before signing long-term leases.

For property owners:
Convert underutilized space into short-term leasing opportunities to test emerging categories and generate near-term revenue.

Short-term leasing reduces risk while preserving flexibility for both sides.

5. Build Flexibility Into Your 12-Month Plan

The strongest retail strategies allow room to adapt. Instead of locking every decision early in the year, build in structured review points.

A practical planning framework:

• Q1: Optimize and analyze performance data

• Q2: Test new formats, concepts, or locations

• Q3: Scale what is working

• Q4: Focus on execution and peak performance

Actionable goal examples:

For retailers:
Commit to quarterly performance reviews that inform merchandising, staffing, and expansion decisions.

For property owners:
Align leasing activity and capital improvements with quarterly performance insights rather than fixed annual assumptions.

Phased planning allows for agility without sacrificing direction.

6. Align Goals Across Teams

Retail goals often fall short when departments operate in silos. Real estate, marketing, operations, and store teams should all understand how their work supports shared objectives.

Actionable goal examples:

For retailers:
Translate each major goal into clear ownership across real estate, marketing, and store operations teams.

For property owners:
Ensure leasing, asset management, and marketing teams are aligned on tenant strategy, center goals, and performance metrics.

When everyone understands both the why and the how, execution improves dramatically.

At Blue Butterfly, we believe retail success is built through thoughtful planning, intentional growth, and decisions rooted in data and followed by action. Here’s to a year of smart strategy, confident decisions, and retail real estate that truly performs.

Happy New Year from the Blue Butterfly team! 🦋