Overview
- Retailing involves a set of business activities that adds
value to the products and services sold to the final consumers for their
personal, family or household use.
- Retailers play a major role in the distribution system by
helping manufacturers to reach out to the customers and at the same time,
offering an array of value added services like breaking bulk, providing
assortment, holding inventory and providing information for their
customers.
- Retailing is poised to become one of the largest industries in
India and the size of the economic activity in this industry is bound to
have an impact not only on the consumers and manufactures but also the
entire economy.
- This chapter has discussed various factors that led to the
growth of retailing in India and benefits that it would provide.
- It also discussed various environmental issues that would have
an impact on the retailing industry.
What is Retail?
Retailing includes all activities involved in selling goods or services to the final consumers for personal, non-business use.
− Phillip Kotler
· Retailing is a set of business activities that adds
value to the products and services sold to consumers for their personal or
family use.
· A retailer is
a business that sells products and/or services to consumers for personal or
family use.
· Firms
that are retailers and wholesalers - sell to other business as well as
consumers such as Tesco.
· Retailers are
the final business within a supply chain which links manufacturers to
consumers.
·A Supply
Chain is a set of firms that make and deliver a given set of goods and
services to the ultimate consumer.
Retail
is the final stage of any economic activity. By virtue of this fact retail
occupies an important place in the world economy. In an attempt to understand
the scope of the term retail, various definitions of the term have been
examined.
According to Philip Kotle (2010), 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. Any organisation selling to final consumers whether it is a manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer is doing retailing It does not matter how the goods services are sold (by person, mail, telephone, vending machine or internet or where they are sold - in a store, on the street or in the consumer's home).
The word retail is derived from the French word ‘retaillier’, which means to cut off a piece or to ~k bulk. A retailer may be defined, as a 'dealer or trader who sells goods in small quantities' or 'one who repeats or relates'.
Retailing thus may be understood as the final step in the distribution of merchandise, for consumption by the end consumers. Put simply, a 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.
It is necessary to understand that in the complex world of trade today, retail would include only goods but also services, which may be provided to the end consumer. In an age where the customer is the king and marketers are focusing on customer delight, retail may be redefined as the first point of customer contact.
Functions of a Retailer:
Retailor provides the goods that customer needs, in a desired form, at a required time and place.
- A retailor does not sell raw material. He sells finished goods or services in the form that customer wants.
- A retailer buys a wide range of products from different wholesalers and offers the best products under one roof. Thus, the retailor performs the function of both buying and selling.
- A retailor keeps the products or services within easy reach of the customer by making them available at appropriate location.
The Rise of Retailer
In the not so distant past, manufacturers created a product, advertised it slickly and sold it through their distribution channel. The manufacturing companies enjoyed economic power, as they were significantly bigger in size as compared to the distributors or the retailers. They determined prices, the products that the retailer could stock and also the dealer and distributor margins. They would also independently advertise for their products. In case of a dispute with the distributor or retailer it would not be rare for the manufacturer to discontinue supplies. However, much has changed.
Today, retail has emerged as a separate function by itself. The environment in a large organized retail store is significantly different from that of a traditional or a mom and pop store.
Proximity to the Customer
Today, with the emergence of large supermarkets, hypermarkets and various other formats like the department stores, the retailer is the closest to the consumer. Most stores have their own policies and decide how to influence shoppers. In an age of global manufacturing and selling, the organization may be based in one part of the world and may actually retail its products in various other regions. The retailer is the first contact point that the consumer has with the product, and this fact has given the retailer tremendous power.
Technology
With the increasing use of technology and the use of the Point of Sale scanning systems at barcode, a wealth of information is now available to the retailer.
In my whole retailing career, I have stuck to one guiding principle: give your customers what they want…and customers want everything: a wide assortment of good quality merchandise, lowest possible prices, guaranteed satisfaction with what they buy, friendly knowledgeable service, convenient hours, free parking, and a pleasant shopping experience.
You love it when you visit a store that somehow exceeds your expectations and you hate it when a store inconveniences you, or gives you hard time, or just pretends you are invisible…
− Sam Walton (Founder, Walmart)
References
http://purepotential.org/careers-advice/introduction-to-retail/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20130607115409-12921524-how-did-we-get-here-a-short-history-of-retail
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