Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store A department store is a retail establishment which specializes in satisfying a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories. Department stores usually sell products including, boutique A boutique, from the French word for "shop," is a small shopping outlet, especially one that specializes in elite and fashionable items such as clothing and jewellery or kiosk In the Mediterranean Basin and the Near East, a kiosk is a small, separated garden pavilion open on some or all sides. Kiosks were common in Persia, India, Pakistan, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, there are many kiosks in and around the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul, and they are still a relatively common sight in, or by mail Mail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects, wherein written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser.^[1] Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals or businesses. In commerce Commerce is a division of trade or production which deals with the exchange of goods and services from producer to final consumer OR commerce is the exchange of goods and services from the point of production to the point of consumption to satisfy human wants. It comprises the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services,, a "retailer" buys goods or products The noun product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce '(to) lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced. Since 1695, the word has referred to "thing or things in large quantities from manufacturers Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to make things for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such finished goods may be used for manufacturing or importers The term "import" is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus an import is any, either directly or through a wholesaler Wholesaling, jobbing, or distributing is defined as the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services. In general, it is the sale of goods to anyone other than a standard consumer, and then sells smaller quantities to the end-user Economics and commerce define an end-user as the person who uses a product. The end-user or consumer may differ from the person who purchases the product. For instance, if a zookeeper purchases elephant food the purchaser of the product is different than the end-user of that product. Retail establishments are often called shops or stores. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to the end customer. In sophisticated supply chain. Manufacturing marketers Marketing is the process by which companies create customer interest in products or services. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business development. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves see the process of retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution Physical distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations (go-betweens) involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user strategy. The term "retailer" is also applied where a service provider services the needs of a large number of individuals, such as a public utility A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies. Common arguments in favor of regulation include, like electric power Electric power is defined as the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.

Shops may be on residential streets, shopping streets with few or no houses or in a shopping mall A shopping mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area – a modern, indoor version of the traditional marketplace. Shopping streets may be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a shopping street has a partial or full roof A roof is the covering on the uppermost part of a building. A roof protects the building and its contents from the effects of weather. Structures that require roofs range from a letter box to a cathedral or stadium, dwellings being the most numerous to protect customers from precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that is pulled down by gravity and deposited on the Earth's surface. The main forms of precipitation include rain, snow, ice pellets, and graupel. It occurs when the atmosphere, a large gaseous solution, becomes saturated with water vapour and the water. Online retailing, a type of electronic commerce Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, used for business-to-consumer An example of a B2C transaction would be a person buying a pair of shoes from a retailer. The transactions that led to the shoes being available for purchase, that is the purchase of the leather, laces, rubber, etc. as well as the sale of the shoe from the shoemaker to the retailer would be considered transactions (B2C) transactions and mail order Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer. The products are typically delivered directly to an address supplied, are forms of non-shop retailing.

Shopping Shopping is the examining of goods or services from retailers with the intent to purchase at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection and/or purchase. In some contexts it is considered a leisure activity as well as an economic one generally refers to the act of buying Trade is the voluntary, often asymmetric, exchange of goods, services, or money. Trade is also called commerce or transaction. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Later one side of the barter were the metals, precious metals , bill, paper money. Modern products. Sometimes this is done to obtain necessities such as food and clothing; sometimes it is done as a recreational Recreation is any activity performed during one's leisure or free time. Recreational activities are often done for amusement, enjoyment or pleasure and are considered to be fun. Almost any activity can be considered recreational when engaged in during one's free time activity. Recreational shopping often involves window shopping (just looking, not buying) and browsing and does not always result in a purchase.

Etymology

Retail comes from the French word retailler, which refers to "cutting off, clip and divide" in terms of tailoring (1365). It first was recorded as a noun with the meaning of a "sale in small quantities" in 1433 (French). Its literal meaning for retail was to "cut off, shred, paring".^[2] Like the French, the word retail in both Dutch and German (detailhandel and Einzelhandel respectively), also refers to the sale of small quantities of items.

Types of retail outlets

A marketplace A marketplace is the space, actual, virtual or metaphorical, in which a market operates. The term is also used in a trademark law context to denote the actual consumer environment, ie. the 'real world' in which products and services are provided and consumed is a location where goods and services are exchanged. The traditional market square The market square is a feature of many European and colonial towns. It is an open area where market stalls are traditionally set out for trading, commonly on one particular day of the week known as market day is a city square where traders set up stalls and buyers browse the merchandise. This kind of market is very old, and countless such markets are still in operation around the whole world.

In some parts of the world, the retail business is still dominated by small family-run stores, but this market is increasingly being taken over by large retail chains.

Retail is usually classified by type of products as follows:

• Food products
• Soft goods - clothing, apparel, and other fabrics.
• Hard goods ("hardline retailers") - appliances, electronics, furniture, sporting goods, etc.

There are the following types of retailers by marketing strategy:

• Supermarkets A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments. It is larger in size and has a wider selection than a traditional grocery store and it is smaller than a hypermarket or superstore - sell mostly food products;
• Department stores A department store is a retail establishment which specializes in satisfying a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories. Department stores usually sell products including - very large stores offering a huge assortment of "soft" and "hard goods";
• Discount stores A discount store is a type of department store, which sell products at prices lower than those asked by department stores and other traditional retail outlets. Most discount department stores offer a wide assortment of goods; others specialize in such merchandise as jewelry, electronic equipment, or electrical appliances. Discount stores are not - tend to offer a wide array of products and services, but they compete mainly on price;
• General merchandise store - a hybrid between a department store and discount store;
• Warehouse store A warehouse store, as opposed to a warehouse club, is a retail location with a limited variety of merchandise sold in bulk at a discount to customers. Unlike a warehouse club, warehouse stores do not require their patrons to obtain a membership nor do they require the payment of any fees - low-cost, often high-quantity goods piled on pallets or steel shelves; warehouse clubs A warehouse club is a retail store, usually selling a wide variety of merchandise, in which customers are required to buy large, wholesale quantities of the store's products, which makes these clubs attractive to both bargain hunters and small business owners. The clubs are able to keep prices low due to the no-frills format of the stores. In charge a membership fee;
• Variety store A variety store or price-point retailer is a retail store that sells inexpensive items, usually with a single price point for all items in the store. Typical merchandise includes cleaning supplies, toys, and confectionery. Formerly many variety stores had lunch counters for inexpensive meals. "Variety store" may also refer to a or "dollar store" - extremely low-cost goods, with limited selection;
• Demographic - retailers that aim at one particular segment (e.g., high-end retailers focusing on wealthy individuals).

Some stores take a no frills No-frills or no frills is a term used to describe any service or product for which the non-essential features have been removed to keep the price low. The use of the term "frills" refers to a style of fabric decoration. Something offered to customers for no additional charge may be designated as a "frill" - for example, free approach, while others are "mid-range" or "high end", depending on what income level they target.

Other types of retail store include:

• General store The general store or general merchandise store is a store that carries a general line of merchandise - a store which sells most goods needed, typically in a rural area;
• Convenience store A convenience store is a small store or shop that sells items such as candy, ice-cream, soft drinks, lottery tickets, cigarettes and other tobacco products, newspapers and magazines, along with a selection of processed food and perhaps some groceries. Stores that are part of gas stations may also sell motor oil, windshield washer fluid, radiator - a small store often with extended hours, stocking everyday or roadside items;
• Big-box stores Big box stores are larger stores compared to discount stores, and are for big businesses . A few examples of big box stores are WAL-MART Supercenter, Costco and Sam's Club encompass larger department, discount, general merchandise, and warehouse stores.

Retail pricing

The pricing Pricing is the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Pricing factors are manufacturing cost, market place, competition, market condition, and quality of product. Pricing is also a key variable in microeconomic price allocation theory. Pricing is a fundamental aspect of financial modeling and is one of the technique used by most retailers is cost-plus pricing Cost-plus pricing is a pricing method used by companies. It is used primarily because it is easy to calculate and requires little information. There are several varieties, but the common thread in all of them is that one first calculates the cost of the product, then includes an additional amount to represent profit. It is a way for companies to. This involves adding a markup Markup is the difference between the cost of a good or service and its selling price. A markup is added on to the total cost incurred by the producer of a good or service in order to create a profit. The total cost reflects the total amount of both fixed and variable expenses to produce and distribute a product. Markup can be expressed as a fixed amount (or percentage) to the retailer's cost. Another common technique is suggested retail pricing. This simply involves charging the amount suggested by the manufacturer and usually printed on the product by the manufacturer.

In Western countries, retail prices are often called psychological prices or odd prices. Often prices are fixed and displayed on signs or labels. Alternatively, when prices are not clearly displayed, there can be price discrimination, where the sale price is dependent upon who the customer is. For example, a customer may have to pay more if the seller determines that he or she is willing and/or able to. Another example would be the practice of discounting for youths or students.

Transfer mechanism

There are several ways in which consumers can receive goods from a retailer:

• Counter service, where goods are out of reach of buyers and must be obtained from the seller. This type of retail is common for small expensive items (e.g. jewelry) and controlled items like medicine and liquor. It was common before the 1900s in the United States and is more common in certain countries.^[which?]
• Delivery (commerce), where goods are shipped directly to consumer's homes or workplaces. Mail order from a printed catalog was invented in 1744 and was common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ordering by telephone is now common, either from a catalog, newspaper, television advertisement or a local restaurant menu, for immediate service (especially for pizza delivery). Direct marketing, including telemarketing and television shopping channels, are also used to generate telephone orders. Online shopping started gaining significant market share in developed countries in the 2000s.
• Door-to-door sales, where the salesperson sometimes travels with the goods for sale.
• Self-service, where goods may be handled and examined prior to purchase, has become more common since the 1920s.

Second hand retail

Some shops sell second-hand goods. In the case of a nonprofit shop, the public donates goods to the shop to be sold. In give-away shops goods can be taken for free.

Another form is the pawnshop, in which goods are sold that were used as collateral for loans. There are also "consignment" shops, which are where a person can place an item in a store and if it sells, the person gives the shop owner a percentage of the sale price. The advantage of selling an item this way is that the established shop gives the item exposure to more potential buyers.

Sales techniques

Behind the scenes at retail, there is another factor at work. Corporations and independent store owners alike are always trying to get the edge on their competitors. One way to do this is to hire a merchandising solutions company to design custom store displays that will attract more customers in a certain demographic. The nation's largest retailers spend millions every year on in-store marketing programs that correspond to seasonal and promotional changes. As products change, so will a retail landscape. Retailers can also use facing techniques to create the look of a perfectly stocked store, even when it is not.

A destination store is one that customers will initiate a trip specifically to visit, sometimes over a large area. These stores are often used to "anchor" a shopping mall or plaza, generating foot traffic, which is capitalized upon by smaller retailers.

Customer service

According to the book "Discovery-Based Retail"^[3] customer service is the "sum of acts and elements that allow consumers to receive what they need or desire from your retail establishment."

Retail Sales

The Retail Sales report is published every month. It's a measure of the consumer spending, an important indicator of the US GDP. Retail firms provide data on dollar value of their retail sales and inventories. 12000 firms in the final survey and 5000 in the advanced one. The advanced estimated data is based on a sub sample from the US CB complete retail & food services sample.^[4]

It's been published by the US Census Bureau since 1951.

Bibliography

• Krafft, Manfred; Mantrala, Murali K. (eds.) (2006). Retailing in the 21st century: current and future trends. New York: Springer Verlag. ISBN 3540283994.

See also

• List of department stores by country
• Point of sales
• Point of sales terminal
• Retail concentration
• Retail design
• Retail software
• Retailing in India
• Shopping mall
• Specialist store
• Stand-alone store
• Store manager
• Supermarket
• Tuangou
• Variety store
• Visual merchandising
• Wardrobing

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