Shopping is the examining of goods In macroeconomics and accounting, a good is contrasted with a service. In this sense, a good is defined as a physical product, capable of being delivered to a purchaser and involves the transfer of ownership from seller to customer, say an apple, as opposed to an (intangible) service, say a haircut. A more general term that preserves the or services A service is the intangible equivalent of a good. Service provision is often an economic activity where the buyer does not generally, except by exclusive contract, obtain exclusive ownership of the thing purchased. The benefits of such a service, if priced, are held to be self-evident in the buyers willingness to pay for it. Public services are from retailers Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals or businesses. In commerce, a "retailer" with the intent to purchase Trade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. 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 traders instead at that time. Shopping is an activity of selection In the context of evolution, certain traits or alleles of genes segregating within a population may be subject to selection. Under selection, individuals with advantageous or "adaptive" traits tend to be more successful than their peers reproductively—meaning they contribute more offspring to the succeeding generation than others do and/or purchase Purchasing refers to a business or organization attempting for acquiring goods or services to accomplish the goals of the enterprise. Though there are several organizations that attempt to set standards in the purchasing process, processes can vary greatly between organizations. Typically the word “purchasing” is not used interchangeably with. In some contexts it is considered a leisure Leisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of work and essential domestic activity. It is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing homework, household chores, and day-to-day stress. The activity as well as an economic An economy consists of the economic system of a country or other area, the labor, capital and land resources, and the economic agents that socially participate in the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of that area. A given economy is the end result of a process that involves its technological evolution, one.
Contents |
Shopping in ancient societies
Shopping can be traced back to many civilisations in history. In ancient Rome Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world, there was Trajan's Market Trajan's Market is a large complex of ruins in the city of Rome, Italy, located on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, at the opposite end to the Colosseum. The buildings and structures present a living model of life in the Roman capital and a glimpse at the continuing restoration in the city which reveals new treasures and insights about Ancient Roman with tabernas A taberna was a single room shop covered by a barrel vault within great indoor markets of ancient Rome. Each taberna had a window above it to let light into a wooden attic for storage and had a wide doorway. A famous example is the Markets of Trajan in Rome, Italy built in the early 1st century by Apollodorus of Damascus that served as retailing units. Shopping lists A shopping list is a list of items needed to be purchased by a shopper. Consumers often compile a shopping list of groceries to purchase on the next visit to the grocery store. The list may be compiled immediately before the shopping trip or incrementally as shopping needs arise throughout the week. The shopping list itself may be a scrap piece of are known to be used by Romans as one was discovered by Hadrian's wall Hadrian's Wall is a stone and timber fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall in what is now Scotland. Hadrian's Wall is the better known of the dated back to 75–125 AD Anno Domini and Before Christ (abbreviated as BC or B.C.) are designations used to label years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The calendar era to which they refer is based on the traditionally reckoned year of the conception or birth of Jesus, with AD denoting years after the start of this epoch, and BC denoting years before the start of and written for a soldier.[1]
The shopper
Florida woman shopping at a Mall, as a member of a "shoptilyoudrop" clubTo many, shopping is considered a recreational and diversional activity in which one visits a variety of stores with a premeditated intent to purchase a product.
"Window shopping" is an activity that shoppers engage in by browsing shops with no intent to purchase, possibly just to pass the time between other activities, or to plan a later purchase.
To some, shopping is a task of inconvenience and vexation. Shoppers sometimes go though great lengths to wait in long lines to buy popular products as typically observed with early adopter An early adopter or lighthouse customer is an early customer of a given company, product, or technology; in politics, fashion, art, and other fields, this person would be referred to as a trendsetter. The term originates from Everett M. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations shoppers and holiday shoppers.
More recently compulsive shopping is recognised as an addiction The term addiction is also sometimes applied to compulsions that are not substance-related, such as problem gambling and computer addiction. In these kinds of common usages, the term addiction is used to describe a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences, as deemed by the user himself. Also referred as shopping addiction, "shopaholism" or formally oniomania Oniomania is a term for the compulsive desire to shop. Oniomania is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as compulsive shopping, compulsive buying, shopping addiction or shopaholism. All of these are considered to be either clinical addictions or impulse control disorders, depending on the clinical source:, these shoppers have an impulsive uncontrollable urge to shop. The term "retail therapy Retail therapy is shopping with the primary purpose of improving the buyer's mood or disposition. Often seen in people during periods of depression or transition, it is normally a short-lived habit. Items purchased during periods of retail therapy are sometimes referred to as "comfort buys."" is used in a less serious context. The nonprofit organization Debtors Anonymous Debtors Anonymous is a twelve-step program for people who want to stop incurring unsecured debt. Collectively they attend more than 500 weekly meetings in nine countries. Those who compulsively incur unsecured debt are said to be engaged in compulsive debting and are known as compulsive debtors provides free support groups for shopping addiction or oniomania Oniomania is a term for the compulsive desire to shop. Oniomania is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as compulsive shopping, compulsive buying, shopping addiction or shopaholism. All of these are considered to be either clinical addictions or impulse control disorders, depending on the clinical source: and other money related addictions.
Shopping venues
Shopping hubs
A larger commercial zone Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries . The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another. Zoning may be use-based , or it may regulate building height, lot coverage, and similar characteristics, can be found in many cities, downtowns Downtown is a term primarily used in North America to refer to a city's core or central business district, usually in a geographical, commercial, and community sense or Arab Arab people or Arabs (العرب al-ʿarab) are a panethnicity of peoples of various ancestral origins, religious backgrounds and historic identities, whose members, on an individual basis, identify as such on one or more of linguistic, cultural, political, or genealogical grounds. Those self-identifying as Arab, however, rarely do so with it as city souks A souq is a commercial quarter in an Arab or Berber city. The term is often used to designate the market in any Arabized or Muslim city. It may also refer to the weekly market in some smaller towns where neutrality from tribal conflicts would be declared to permit the exchange of surplus goods. In Modern Standard Arabic the term refers to markets. Shopping hubs, or shopping centers A shopping mall, shopping centre or shopping precinct 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, are collections of stores; that is a grouping of several businesses A business is a legally recognized organization designed to provide goods or services, or both, to consumers, businesses and governmental entities. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies. Most businesses are privately owned. A business is typically formed to earn profit that will increase the wealth of its owners and grow the business.
Window shopping in Toronto Toronto is the largest city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America. Toronto is at the heart of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and is part of a densely populated region in 1937Typical examples include shopping malls 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, town squares A town square is an open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, Platz , plaza (from Spanish), piazza (from Italian), place (from French), and "maydan" (from Persian and Arabic), flea markets A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent. The flea market vendors may range from a family that is renting a table for the first time to sell a few unwanted and bazaars A bazaar (Persian: بازار, Turkish: pazar, Hindi: बाज़ार, Greek: παζάρι , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The word derives from the Persian word bāzār, the etymology of which goes back to the Middle Persian word.
Stores
Stores are divided into multiple categories of stores which sell a selected set of goods or services. Usually they are tiered by target demographics based on the disposable income Disposable income is total personal income minus personal current taxes. In national accounts definitions, personal income, minus personal current taxes equals disposable personal income. Subtracting personal outlays (which includes the major category of personal consumption expenditure) yields personal (or, private) savings of the shopper. They can be tiered from cheap to pricey.
Some shops sell secondhand goods. Often the public can also sell goods to such shops. In other cases, especially in the case of a nonprofit A non-profit organization is an organization that does not distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses them to help pursue its goals. Examples of NPOs include charities (i.e. charitable organizations), trade unions, and public arts organizations. Most governments and government agencies meet this definition, but in shops, the public donates goods to these shops, commonly known as thrift stores A charity shop, thrift shop, thrift store, hospice shop , resale shop (when not meaning consignment shop (U.S.)), op shop (Australia/N.Z.) (from "opportunity shop"), or second-hand shop (Malaysia) is a retail establishment operated by a charitable organization for the purpose of fundraising in the USA or charity shops A charity shop, thrift shop, thrift store, hospice shop , resale shop (when not meaning consignment shop (U.S.)), op shop (Australia/N.Z.) (from "opportunity shop"), or second-hand shop (Malaysia) is a retail establishment operated by a charitable organization for the purpose of fundraising in the UK. In give-away shops Give-away shops, swap shops, freeshops, or free stores are stores where all goods are free. They are similar to charity shops, with mostly second-hand items — only everything is available at no cost. Whether it is a book, a piece of furniture, a garment or a household item, it is all freely given away, although some operate a one-in, one-out– goods can be taken for free. In antique shops, the public can find goods that are older and harder to find. Sometimes people are broke and borrow money from a pawn shop A pawnbroker is an individual or business that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The word pawn is derived from the Latin pignus, for pledge, and the items having been pawned to the broker are themselves called pledges or pawns, or simply the collateral using an item of value as collateral In lending agreements, collateral is a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan. The collateral serves as protection for a lender against a borrower's default - that is, any borrower failing to pay the principal and interest under the terms of a loan obligation. If a borrower does default on a loan , that. College students are known to resell books back though college textbook bookstores Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers or bookmen. Old used items are often distributed though surplus stores A surplus store sells items that are used, or purchased but unused, and no longer needed. The surplus is often military, government or industrial excess. The idea is related to a thrift store, though the latter is primarily consumer leftovers. A surplus store may also sell items that are past their use by date.
Many shops are part of a shopping center that carry the same trademark A trademark or trade mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities (company name) and logo A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. Logos are either purely graphic or are composed of the name of the organization (a logotype or wordmark). An example of an abstract mark is the blue octagon representing Chase Bank, while an using the same branding A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business[page needed]. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, color combination or slogan. The word brand began simply as a way to tell one person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp. A legally protected brand name is called a trademark. The word brand, same presentation, and sell the same products but in different locations. The shops may be owned by one company, or there may be a franchising Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-french derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb company that has franchising agreements with the shop owners often found in relation to restaurant chains Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses.
Various types of retail stores that specialize in the selling of goods related to a theme include bookstores Bookselling is the commercial trading of books, the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers or bookmen, boutiques 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 and timber flooring, candy shops "Candy Shop" is the second single by rapper 50 Cent featuring R&B singer Olivia. The song was written by 50 Cent and Scott Storch for 50 Cent's second commercial album The Massacre . Scott Storch, who also produced the track, took influence from Middle Eastern music, liquor stores In the United States and Canada liquor store is a name for a type of convenience store that specializes in the sale of alcoholic beverages in the countries where its consumption is strongly regulated. In alcoholic beverage control states, liquor stores often sell only distilled spirits or sometimes sell distilled spirits and wine but not beer. ABC-, gift shops A gift shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold are usually—but not always—fairly trivial, often including coffee mugs, stuffed animals, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collections and other souvenirs, hardware stores, hobby stores, pet stores, pharmacys, sex shops and supermarkets.
Other stores such as big-box stores, hypermarkets, convenience stores, department stores, general stores, dollar stores sell a wider variety of products not horizontally related to each other.
History of modern shopping
Fairs and markets have a long history that started when man felt the need to exchange goods. People would shop for goods at a weekly market in nearby towns. Then shops began to be permanently established. Shops were specialized , e.g. a bakery, a butchery, a grocer. Then supermarkets appeared.
There have been three major phases in the shopping / trading world in the last 100 years. In a way, these link up into a full circle.
1. Customers would be served by the shopkeeper, who would retrieve all the good on their shopping list. Shops would often deliver the goods to the customers' homes.
2. Customers have to select goods, retrieve them off the shelves using self service, and even pack their own goods. Customers deliver their own goods.
3. Customers select goods via the internet. The goods are delivered to their homes as in phase one.
Home shopping
With modern technology such as television and telephone and the Internet, users could be described as home shopping through online retail stores. Electronic commerce and business-to-consumer electronic commerce systems in combination of home mail delivery systems make this possible. Typically a consumer could make purchases through online shopping, shopping channels, mail order, etc. Sometimes peddlers and ice cream trucks pass through the neighborhoods offering services and goods. Also, neighborhood shopping takes place through various garage sales found in United States. Online shopping has completely redefined the way people make their buying decisions; they have access to a lot of information about a particular product which can be looked at and evaluated, at any given time. Online shopping allows the buyer to save the time which would have been spent traveling to the store or mall.
Shopping time
Regulation
Some business have shopping hours but some are open round the clock. Some nations regulate the operation of businesses for religious reasons and do not allow shopping on particular days or dates.
Shopping seasons
Shopping seasons are periods where a burst of spending occurs—typically near holidays in the United States, where Christmas shopping is the biggest shopping spending season. Some famous target dates are Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Some religions regard such spending seasons against their religion and dismiss the practice. Many question the over-commercialization and the response by stores who downplay the shopping season often cited in the Christmas controversy or War on Christmas.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) also highlights the importance of back-to-school shopping for retailers which comes second behind holiday shopping, when buyers often buy clothing and school supplies for their children.[2] In 2006, Americans spend over $17 billion on their children, according to a NRF survey.[citation needed]
Pricing and negotiation
The pricing technique used by most retailers is cost-plus pricing. This involves adding a markup amount (or percentage) to the retailers cost. Another common technique is manufacturers suggested list 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: a little less than a round number, e.g. $ 6.95. In Chinese societies, prices are generally either a round number or sometimes some lucky number. This creates price points.
Often prices are fixed and Price discrimination can lead to a bargaining situation often called haggling, a negotiation about the price. Economists see this as determining how the transaction's total surplus will be divided into consumer and producer surplus. Neither party has a clear advantage, because the threat of no sale exists, whence the surplus vanishes for both.
See also
- Personal shopping system
- Price Comparison Service (Internet Shopping)
References
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shopping |
- ^ "Roman shopping list deciphered". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2001-03-05. http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s253805.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-23.
- ^ "Back-to-school sales' mixed grades". CNNMoney.com (CNN). 2007-08-09. http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/09/news/economy/July_retailsales/index.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
Categories: Retailing | Consumer behaviour
|
Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:15:11 GMT+00:00
list The Press Association Emmerdale has issued an apology after a shopping list containing "inappropriate" terms appeared on screen. A blackboard featuring the words "jam rags" - a ... Emmerdale causes outrage over crude and offensive shopping list in the Dingles ... Daily Mail Emmerdale Apologises For Vulgar Shopping List OntheBox (blog) Emmerdale fans shocked by crude shopping list NewsLite stv.tv - FemaleFirst.co.uk - Register
593px x 590px | 138.70kB
[source page]
Insert photo caption or credit here Do you love to shop Do you enjoy critiquing a dining experience Then mystery shopping may be the perfect work from home opportunity for you Becoming a
Stephanie
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:11:27 GM
This weeks edition of . Shopping. and Goodies is amazing. My favorite fashionistas are scooping funky shoes, fashionable tees, dramatic eyeshadow, adorable children's clothing, Jolie's Versace dress, Vintage . Shopping. , fabulous giveaways ...
Q. I missed the shopping festival but I'm comming to Malaysia around the 10th. Can someone please guide me how Ramadan is in Malaysia ? Also let me know how the prices are after the shooping festival is over. Thanks.
Asked by Abbas Malik - Wed Aug 29 05:41:14 2007 - - 5 Answers - 0 Comments
A. i believe that the food will be cheaper. maybe 20cent less..depends on where you go... the food in KL are quite expensive as there's many foreigners and tourists so they tend to be a little more expensive at times. if you're asking about other objects, the prices will be pretty much the same...and again, the price varies from place to place depending on the popularity of the place. :)
Answered by Tokio Hotel - Wed Aug 29 05:50:54 2007
