How To Plan a Retail Marketing Budget for 2025

How much do retailers spend on marketing?

54% of retail companies spend between $1,000 and $10,000+ per month on marketing.

We will break down everything to do with retail marketing budgets, including:

• How much do retailers spend on marketing? 
• Retailer marketing budget breakdown
• Factors that impact retail marketing budgets
• How to create a marketing budget for retail stores
• FAQs for retail marketing budgets

Download Now: Our Retail Marketing Budget Planner

How much do retailers spend on marketing?

54% of retail companies spend between $1,000 and $10,000+ per month on marketing.

Here’s a look at the different amount companies in your industry spend per month:

Nearly half of retail companies are planning to increase their marketing spending in 2025. For those just planning their budgets, it’s crucial to make your spending as competitive as possible.

Retailer marketing budget breakdown

Knowing how much to spend is one thing, but knowing what to spend your budget on is another. Looking at the top digital marketing channels in your industry is a great place to start.

Here are the top strategies companies are currently investing in:

The average price of digital marketing can give you an idea of what people are paying per month in your industry for these services.

Let’s look at what other retail companies are paying for top digital marketing services below:

Factors that impact retail marketing budgets

As you build your budget, you should know the main factors that contribute to your spending. Below are the top factors impacting digital marketing investments in the retail industry:

And here are some other pressing factors you should consider while planning:

• Tight budgets: As noted above, many retail companies have a limited budget for marketing. To manage that challenge, you should optimize your spending by only investing in strategies that drive revenue.
• Changing consumer behaviors: Noting consumer trends can help you keep your marketing budget and approach fresh. You should also budget for experimentation to target new areas.
• Local optimizations: If you have a brick-and-mortar store, you must implement local optimizations to help customers in your area find your business.

How to create a marketing budget for retail stores

How to Create Your 2025 Retail Marketing Budget

• Allocate 5-10% of your total revenue for marketing
• Reserve between 5-10% of your marketing budget to invest in new marketing strategies

After you understand how much you should spend and the factors contributing to your budget, you can start planning for 2025. Below, we will walk through how to plan a marketing budget for retailers in four steps:

1. Set specific goals for marketing your store
2. Evaluate your current strategy and retail market
3. Outline how much you can spend
4. Track and review your budget periodically

1. Set specific goals for marketing your store

The first step to creating a marketing budget is setting goals for your retail store. Most of your goals will likely focus on increasing sales to earn more revenue, but that’s not all marketing can help you accomplish.

Creating SMART goals — specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound goals — is essential. Whether you want to increase sales through your ecommerce store or sell more of a specific item, you need a specific goal in mind.

One example of a SMART goal for retail marketing budgets could be: “We want to increase online sales by X percent over the next three months.”

Setting goals will help you allocate your budget to the strategies that drive the most sales and revenue.

2. Evaluate your current strategy and retail market

Look at your existing marketing strategy and see what channels are already bringing in revenue. These strategies have proven themselves to be effective, and they should make up the bulk of your budget.

You can also look at other retailers to see what strategies they are using. When asked to rank marketing channels by return on investment (ROI), here’s how other retail respondents answered:

Consider your specific niche during this step as well. There are tons of retailers out there, but they don’t all offer the same product. Look at what other companies with the same offerings are doing to promote themselves.

Discover: What’s Trending in Retail Marketing for 2025?

3. Outline how much you can spend

The next step is to define your budget and decide how much you should spend on marketing. When calculating your costs, be sure to account for:

• Marketing channels
• Your digital marketing provider
• Any marketing technology

Depending on your market, you might have seasonal fluctuations or changes. You should focus on promoting products relevant to your buyer’s journey, and your budget should reflect that.

4. Track and review your budget periodically

The final step to creating a marketing budget is evaluating it regularly. Track, measure, and change your budget as needed throughout the year to stay competitive in your strategy and optimize your budget.

FAQ for retail marketing budgets

Learn more about retailer marketing budgets with our FAQ!

Want more guidance on your marketing budget?

If you still aren’t sure how to get the most out of your marketing budget, WebFX will help.

We know how to find the best channels for your company based on your needs, goals, and industry. Our team has hours of experience in retail, giving you better results that help you stand out from others in your industry. With our help, you can maximize your ROI for higher brand visibility and more sales.

Contact us online or call 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about optimizing your marketing budget!

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