Retailers operating in areas set to be most affected by the 2012 Olympic Games are being invited to attend free workshops on how to prepare for travel disruption and take advantage of the estimated £700m sales opportunity.

The drop-in sessions, which are being organised by Transport for London (TfL) and the London 2012 organising committee, will also offer advice on optimising deliveries and offering flexible working during the Games.

More than 50 free workshops will be rolled out across the country from August. 

An online planning tool has also been developed to help businesses. It asks questions about staff and business travel, customers, visitors, suppliers and deliveries. After answering the questions, the travel planning tool provides suggested actions and the considerations businesses will need to take into account.

Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: "Millions of additional trips are expected in the Capital during the summer of 2012, and the transport network will be severely affected. TfL is working with London 2012 to offer a range of free advice to businesses of all types and sizes, to ensure their staff, customers and suppliers can get around, and they can receive important deliveries during the Games."

Meanwhile, Natalie Chapman, the Freight Transport Association's head of London policy, reminded retailers and wholesalers that the Games would be ongoing for a matter of months, rather than a couple of weeks. "It'll be like a three-month Christmas," she told delegates at the FWD's annual conference last week. "There will be peak but unpredicatable footfall and longer opening hours."