Retail

Retail is the process of selling consumer goods or services to customers through multiple channels of distribution to earn a profit. Retailers satisfy demand identified through a supply chain management. The term "retailer" is typically applied where a service provider fills the small orders of many individuals, who are end-users, rather than large orders of a small number of wholesale, corporate or government clientele.

History

Retail markets have existed since ancient times. Archaeological evidence for trade, probably involving barter systems, dates back more than 10,000 years. As civilizations grew, barter was replaced with retail trade involving coinage.

Types of Retail Outlets

A retail outlet is a shop or store where retail goods are sold. They come in different types:

• Store retailing: This includes department stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs.
• Non-store retailing: This includes online retailing, direct selling, automatic vending.

Retail Pricing

The pricing technique used by most retailers is cost-plus pricing. This involves adding a markup amount (or percentage) to the retailers' cost.

Retail Strategy

The retail strategy is a marketing plan that details how a business intends to offer its products or services to consumers and influence their purchases.

See Also

• Wholesale
• Supply chain
• E-commerce
• Marketing