How to choose the name of my retail store?

Many of the world’s most popular businesses and companies started off with less than perfect names. Google, for instance, began as a company that used the name BackRub. Pepsi started off life under the moniker Brad’s Drink. IBM had the long winded Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation as their company name. And way back in 1889, there was a playing card company in Japan called the Marafuku Company. Marafuku went on to change its name twice, once in 1951 to the Nintendo Playing Card Company, and then again in 1963 to simply Nintendo.

Would these giants of industry have become as successful as they are now with their original names? Perhaps, but it is doubtful. Having a short, snappy, eye-catching name certainly helped to propel these companies to their current iconic status. 

Your shop name is the first impression your customers will have of your business, so it has to be just right. The name of your retail store can influence the direction of your marketing campaigns, it is a crucial aspect of your online visibility, adds credibility to your business, and helps you to stand out from your competitors. 

The name of your retail store should be instantly recognisable. It should provide your customers with a good idea of what you are selling. It should be short, simple, and easy to remember. Additionally, a good shop name will help to motivate employees. It may even become a valuable entity in its own right.

So, how should you start the process of coming up with a name for your business? When thinking about shop names consider the below points:

Make it timeless: Your name should be evergreen. That is, it should not be made up of any words or phrases that may become dated. Think about where you want your business to be in ten years and how you want your customers to perceive it in the future.

Keep it short and simple: Don’t choose an overly long, complicated name. Make sure the name you choose is short, catchy, and makes it easy for your customers to find you.

Keep your competitors in mind: Carefully considering what your competitors are trading under can help you to come up with ideas for your own business. But be careful! Make sure that the name you chose isn’t too similar to anyone else who is in the same retail niche as you. You need to be sure that your chosen business name isn’t already in use, or that it isn’t too close to an existing name. This could lead to legal action!

Think about your target market: Should you think about the difference between an online shop and a retail store when creating the names? Absolutely. Coming up with effective and stylish names for shops depends on what your market is and where they are located. Good brand ideas and names take their customers into consideration.

Are you trading locally as a clothing store? Or going online? Or both? Are your customers going to be located in your own country or also overseas? Finding names for a clothing brand that only trades locally is going to be a different process than finding an online shop name for a fishing tackle store that is aimed at customers across the globe.

Don’t be afraid to be creative: Thinking of cool names for a brand requires you to be a little creative. Don’t get stuck on any one type of idea. Try and come up with a wide range of different names and then choose the one you like best.

Make sure your name is available: If you choose a business name that is already taken, or is too close to an existing name, the owners of that name could take legal action against you. You can approach the business and ask them if you can become a subsidiary, or if you can buy their name outright. But, in general, it is always a good idea to make sure your chosen name is unique to your business!

Register your business name: Once you have come up with a great name and made sure that no one else is using it, you’ll need to have it registered. By registering your business name you will protect your brand identity and protect your business from fraud and misrepresentation.

So, now you have a good picture of what you should be focusing on, just how can you generate a bumper crop of shop name ideas? There are many ways that you can inspire your brain to come up with shop names. Try using some of the methods below:

Come up with an acronym: Maybe you have a great name, but it is far too long. Why not just take the initials and make an acronym out of it?

Mash-up your business name: Mash-ups are hugely popular in the business world. If you want a great name try taking two words and mashing them together. It’s worked great for businesses like Netflix, TripAdvisor, or Go Pro!

Use your own name: Stuck for fashion brand name ideas? Need clothing store names? Why not try what the top designers do and name your brand after yourself! Do you have a nickname? You could incorporate that into your business name.

Look to literature: Many top brands take their names from famous mythological figures, figures from history, or literary characters. Bluetooth, as well as being a great mash-up, is actually named after the Danish King Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson. Nike is synonymous with sporting goods, but it is also the name of the goddess of victory.

Play with spelling: Dropping or adding a letter is also a fantastic way of coming up with cool names for a brand or good shop names. Reebok, for instance, is named after an African antelope, the rhebok.

Branch out into other languages: Many businesses look to Latin for inspiration for their business names, and you can too! But don’t just stop there. If you have a business selling French clothing, for instance, try incorporating some French words into your boutique name ideas.

Look at a map: Whether you are opening up a bricks-and-mortar store or looking to expand across the globe, you can look at a map for your inspiration. Try thinking about the name of the town where you grew up, or the name of the place where you first got inspired to open up a retail store.

Use what you believe: If you want to inspire your customers, think about what you want your brand to represent and then choose words that reflect that.

Throw it all together: Mix it all up! Take the name of your hometown, your nickname, some Latin, your own name, or an inspiring word and mash them all up.

Try a random name generator: If all else fails, you can always get online and try a random word generator. Although you may not find the name you expect, this can be a good way of generating ideas for stylish names for shops.

Workshop your ideas: Make sure you try your shop names out on your friends, your family, and other business owners. Get as much input as possible so you have an idea of how your customers may react to your store name ideas.

Opening up a retail store isn’t always an easy journey. The Ankorstore team know just how much stress new entrepreneurs can be under. We began our Ankorstart program to provide retail business owners with expert advice and guidance. Check out Ankostart today for the support you need at the start of your business journey.