Open To Buy Planning May 2026

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Open-to-buy (OTB) planning is a for retailers to determine how much inventory to buy while maintaining healthy cash flow . It calculates the difference between your desired inventory levels and what you already have on hand or on order. The Core Formula open to buy planning

To build an effective OTB plan, retailers like those using Shopify often follow these steps: 000 in sales

Open to Buy Planning: A Retailer's Guide to Inventory Success expect $700 in markdowns

The standard OTB calculation for a specific period (usually monthly) is:

: If you plan $30,000 in sales, expect $700 in markdowns, and want $50,000 in EOM stock with $60,000 already at the start, your OTB budget is $20,700 . Step-by-Step Implementation