Retail comes from the French word retailer, 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”. Retail is the final stage of any economic activity. By virtue of this fact, retail occupies an important place in the world economy. According to Philip Kotler, Retailing includes all the activities involved in selling goods or services to the final consumers for personal, non-business use. A retailer or retail store is any business enterprise whose sale volume comes primarily from retailing. These are the final business entities in a distribution channel that …show more content…
Put simply, any firm that sells products to the final consumer is performing the function of retailing. It thus consists of all activities involved in the marketing of goods and services directly to the consumers, for their personal, family or household use. In an age where customer is the king and marketers are focusing on customer delight, retail may be redefined as the first point of customer contact.
The distribution of finished products begins with the producer and ends at the ultimate consumer. Between two of them there is a middleman – the retailer. Retailing is the set of business activities that adds value to the product and services sold to the consumers for their personal or family use. Often retailing is being thought of as the sale of products in the stores, but retailing also involves the sales of services: overnight lodging in a hotel, a haircut, a car rental, or home delivery of Pizza. Retailing encompasses selling through the mail, the internet, and door-to-door visits – any channel that could be used to approach the consumer. Retailing is responsible for matching individual demands of consumer with supplies of all the
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These stores used to cater to the local people. Eventually the government supported the rural retail and many indigenous franchise stores came up with the help of Khadi & Village Industries Commission. The economy began to open up in the 1980s resulting in the change of retailing. The first few companies to come up with retail chains were in textile sector, for example, Bombay Dyeing, S Kumar's, Raymond’s, etc. Later Titan launched retail showrooms in the organized retail sector. With the passage of time new entrants moved on from manufacturing to pure retailing. The evolution of retailing in India can be better understood
Heller, L. (2001). Discount Contribution Keeps Expansion on Target. DSN Retailing Today. V 40 i23, p. 20.
The beginning rick-and-mortar retail industry dates to as early as the late 1700s. The first department store, Harding, Howell & Co were targeted to “newly affluent middle class women” (A History of the Department Store, n.d.). The first department store to be opened in North America was in 1852 named Marshall Field’s (A History of the Department Store, n.d.). For centuries brick-and-mortar retail stores have grown significantly and have opened millions of stores across the world. They have essentially defined the retail industry and inspired the introduction of e-commerce. Macy’s is one of the largest brick-and-mortar retail stores in the United States and has demonstrated strong market share in the department store industry,
Over the summer I experienced my first real job in retail. It was fun because I didn’t have to always stand behind the cash register and deal with customers. I could be working at customer service one day and apparel the next day. While there were pros to having that job there were also cons. If I had to work in apparel I knew that I would be working hard the entire shift, and depending on what manager was in that day and what shift I got would determine how that day would end. For example, if I had to work in customer service during a closing shift I knew I would probably be in the front by myself for about half of time I worked and would be there longer than I planned. In all my experience with working in retail I have dealt with three
Department stores that may want to develop or expand private labels to replace lagging national brands should be aware of the downfalls as well as the benefits.
Classification of retail stores have corresponded in many procedures, and over the years, the retail stores have changed to correspond to the fluctuating
The retail industry is as old as human civilizations, and it’s worth noting the retail sector is much better geared to change than most sectors. Over the past couple of decades there has been a wide range of changes in the retailing business. The retail sector dates back to the early 1800’s when the first local corner store sold common household items and basic groceries. As its name states, the corner store was just that, stores strategically placed on corners on high foot traffic areas for easy access. As society started to grow so did the need for new consumer goods and how a consumer would reach those goods. Department stores became popular simply because they were able to offer an assortment of categories and a variety of items within those categories all under one roof. The first two cities to start developing large scale department stores were New York City, and Chicago. In New York in 1846, the first building was built offering a variety of goods at fixed prices that were shipped from Europe. Department stores moved away from the idea of bartering and all items sold were considered fixed. However, department stores did offer discounts and coupons as a way to get customers in the door. In 1862, the largest department store was built during this time in New York City. The department store was on a full city block with eight floors and nineteen departments of dress goods, furnishing materials, carpets, fine china, toys and sports equipment. All these items were arranged around a central glass-covered court. The glass windows quickly became a staple in the department stores design. The act of window shopping was introduced and quickly all department stores had floor to ceiling windows advertising the newes...
Levy, Michael, Barton A. Weitz, and Dhruv Grewal. Retailing Management. ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2014. Print.
Berman, B., & Evans, J.R. (2013). Retail management: A strategic approach (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Retailers like supermarkets that act as intermediary in selling goods manufactured from secondary sector businesses to the consumers.
12. Raman, K., and Naik, P.A., (2005), Integrated Marketing Communications in Retailing, [online] Available at: http://ramanassoc.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/IMC_in_Retailing.26100503.pdf, Accessed on: 1st April 2014
Retail Merchandising Retail merchandising is a management system of strategic planning and tactical control, directed toward the financial enhancement of an inventory and the profitable distribution of that inventory to the retail consumer. Merchandising enables retailers to make the best use of space and layout. It creates part of the communication process with consumers and focuses on layout, design, traffic flow and display advantage points. It links in with the overall development of a company’s corporate image and strategies, and fits with the organisation’s objectives to enhance and promote image. The primary goal of retail merchandising is to influence the potential customers to purchase a particular merchandise product at a particular retail store.
The Indian retail industry has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast-paced industries due to the entry of several new players. It accounts for over 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and around 8 per cent of the employment. India is the world’s fifth-largest global destination in the retail space.
The distribution channels enhance marketing of goods through reduction in the number of transactions that is required for the availability of the goods to the final customers. Two major ways are involved in this case, the breaking bulk and the creation assortments (Katsikeas, 2014). In breaking bulk, the retailers and the wholesalers buy large sum of goods from the companies and sell them bit by bit to the various customers in different places. Other values associated with distribution are negotiations, promotion of goods and matching of the offers to meet every need of the
The nature of the business of retailing puts retailers at a assumed risk of incurring costs because products are bought with the assumption that consumers will purchase. Additionally there are external factors that may also pose risks such as natural disasters, theft, spoilage and fire. In other circumstances retailers also extends financial credit to customers in the form of credit sales which facilitates the smooth transition from retailers to the marketplace. Retailers are in constant contact with customers which gives them the opportunity to research and study buyer’s behaviour. This involves collecting information about changes in customer preferences, perception and shifts in the demand curve. Through advertising within their stores retailers are able to exhibit and introduce existing and new products to the marketplace. Ultimately retailers are in the business of selling products to customers to achieve their goals of generating
People are always going to go shopping. A lot of our effort is just: 'How do we make the retail experience a great one? '” - Philip Green