This document outlines the steps involved in retail strategic planning. It discusses defining objectives, identifying consumer characteristics and needs, developing an overall strategy, specific retail activities, and elements of control. It then provides an example of Walmart's retail strategy, discussing its focus on location, merchandise assortment, pricing, communication mix, store design and displays, and customer service. The strategic planning process allows retailers to systematically account for controllable and uncontrollable factors to create an integrated strategy for tapping the market and building long-term consumer relationships.