🛒 How Do I Take My Amazon Brand Into Retail Stores?

This is the big question, and the foundation of why Crossover Strategies exists. Sellers all over are curious about expanding into retail, but have no idea how to go about it. You’ve got a brand that’s humming on Amazon—solid sales, great reviews, lots of subscription buyers, maybe even strong social media. And now you’re wondering: Could this thing work on a Target shelf? Or a boutique grocery chain? Or maybe even CVS?

Short answer: probably yes, but only with the right approach

Retail is a different animal. The buyers don’t care that your ACoS is clean or that you cracked Amazon’s algorithm last Prime Day. They want to know if your product will move on their shelves, in their stores, with their customers. And they want to know you can execute, not just advertise.

Here’s a simplified version of what it actually takes to make the leap from clicks to carts. 

This outline only applies to a National Account Strategy (the Big Boys), we’ll cover Independent Retail another time.

✅ 1. Do a Competitive Market Analysis 

Before you start emailing buyers or cold-DMing store managers, you need to ask:
“Is my brand truly right for retail?” This is the project from which all decisions are derived. DO NOT skimp here. 

You need to determine:

• Which retailers do I want to target? Think about where you would buy your product. Go to those stores and look at the category

• How does my product compare to what’s on the shelf? Price, function, features, quality, quantity. All these things matter. Where do you fit in? Where do you see a gap you can fill?

• Can I create a product variation that won’t interfere with Amazon? Amazon does not like competition. You will need to variate your product somehow if you want to avoid scraping. Can you make something that’s compelling to a customer, makes you money, and is differentiated?

If you study these elements and see an opportunity, you’re ready to think about…

🧮 2. Defining Your Product and Margins

You need to make sure you are coherent in how you approach the market. You can be the cheapest, the best value, or premium. Pick a lane that suits your product. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Whatever lane you pick, make sure you have, or can create:

• Pricing that leaves room for retail margins (think 40–60% markup minimum)

• Packaging that sells itself on a shelf in 3 seconds or less

• Logistics that can scale beyond FBA—case packs, pallets, on-time delivery

• A pricing and promotion strategy that can work on multiple channels at once

If you’ve built your brand entirely inside the Amazon ecosystem, you’re probably going to need to retool a few things. It’s not rocket science, but you must get it right. Once you have outlined your P&L with your core fundamentals, it’s time to…

🔍 3. Build a Realistic Retail Forecast

Start with a top line forecast, and from there you can determine things like operational expenses, capital needs, staffing, etc. 

• Create a targeted account list with store counts. This is your Total Addressable Market (TAM) for the first 5 years. 

• Estimate how many units per store per week you could sell at retail. Scale up or down based on things like foot traffic, category prominence, etc.

• Work backwards toward a realistic growth plan. 1 major retailer in the first year is a reasonable estimate. 2 to 3 accounts by year 2. 4 to 6 by year 3, and so one.

A retail forecast doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be grounded in reality. Pull from Amazon data where relevant—but remember that sales will not translate 1 to 1. The proportion of sales across your ASINs and vs. your competitors is what you need to focus on. If you’ve only sold online, assume retail velocities will be slower at first—you will have to iterate with merchandising a bit to really take off. Your category is the biggest determining factor. Scale your forecast against your competitors– don’t pull numbers out of thin air!

✍️ 4. Create Your Systems Outline

You will need some basic systems to run your retail machine. Things like fulfillment, payments, and inventory tracking are all critical. Start with a basic outline and fill in details of cost and timeline as you vet providers or determine if you are capable of making what you need in-house.

Focus on:

• The Cost of Goods and Minimum Order Quantities for your retail-specific products. Including new packaging suited for retail

• 3PL fulfillment and storage fees - these are highly commoditized and can be easily estimated

• Net cash flow from retailers – think about the costs of storing inventory and living on Net60-90 payment terms

• EDI system costs are usually table stakes for working in major retailers

• Receivables/AP systems and automation will be critical as you scale

• Data ingestion and storage systems for store-level sales data; this information is critical to have long term

You will have systems needs unique to your category, just be sure to include them in the outline. It’s better to start with it all laid out in front of you rather than piece it together as you go. That’s how costs get out of control. 

👋 5. Don’t Pitch Like a Rookie

Now your plan is in a good place, you’re ready to get out there and start selling. But don’t rush headlong into a shotgun-style outreach campaign. Retail buyers get dozens—sometimes hundreds—of pitches a week. The worst ones read like LinkedIn spam:

“Hi there, we’d love to get on your shelves! Can we hop on a quick call?”

You need to show:

• Clear category context—what problem you solve, what gap you fill

• A compelling story that resonates with their customer, not just yours. Show that you have researched their store and assortment

• That you dominate on Amazon. This is your only proof that your product is legit and worth their time.

Get their attention with a call, email or LinkedIn message. If you are having trouble getting through, use a broker rep to fast track the introduction process. Once you’re at the table, tell your story.

🧠 6. Know What You Don’t Know

What’s written above is only the outline. It’s to get you thinking about how you would approach the market. It covers less than 1% of what goes into actually being successful in retail. 

The brands that succeed in retail aren’t the ones who “figure it out as they go.” They’re the ones who either:

1. Have done this before, or

2. Know enough to bring in help when they haven’t.

You don’t need a huge team. But you do need to think like a VP of Sales & Marketing for the retail channel. And if you don’t have one? You’ll need someone to help you build the roadmap and avoid expensive mistakes.

🚀 Ready to Make the Jump?

I work with Amazon-native and DTC brands to help them assess retail viability, forecast sales, and create a real go-to-market plan for wholesale. Then I help them execute it, filling the gaps where they lack experience, relationships, or resources.

If you’re serious about going into retail—and you want to do it right the first time—reach out here or shoot me a message. I’ll help you figure out if it’s the right move, what it’ll take, and how to get started.

Let’s get your brand off the screen and into the store.

Cheers,

Mike