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What is retail: we understand together

by JAKE

Retail is a principle of organizing trade, according to which supermarkets, hypermarkets, online stores buy goods in bulk and then sell them at a premium in their outlets. Retail is synonymous with retail.

In this video, Dmitry Potapenko talks about how to manage retail sales.

Let’s look at the features of retail.

Retail Features

  1. Placement of a retail outlet in a favorable location
  2. Easy search for the necessary goods
  3. The use of commercial equipment
  4. Using Marketing Techniques
  5. Self service
  6. Automation of accounting, procurement and storage of goods

The main sign of retail is a wide variety of goods and services that can be purchased in one place. Often people buy more products at one outlet than they planned due to sales promotion techniques . For buyers, retail is attractive due to the fact that in such stores you can find many options for goods, make a more informed choice and purchase exactly what you want.

Retail differs from other principles of organizing trade in the following ways, which allow you to sell large volumes of goods at retail prices.

  • Placement of a retail outlet in a favorable location . In retail, the choice of the location of the outlet is made with high accuracy and calculation. For example, jewelry stores or points where expensive goods are sold are located in the city center and in areas where the wealthiest people live.
  • Easy search of necessary goods . In supermarkets, products are placed by categories, groups and brands, which makes navigation through the outlet intuitive for customers. Online stores use similar techniques: convenient filtering and searching for goods by a word.
  • The use of commercial equipment . Special equipment that is used in retail allows you to combine several functions. For example, refrigerators maintain the required temperature for storing drinks, ice cream, dairy products and convenience foods and at the same time serve as a showcase.
  • Using marketing techniques . Retailers effectively use promotions and discounts, as well as promotional materials – price tags, shelf talkers , wobblers and other POS materials to draw attention to certain products.
  • Self-service . Through the use of marketing techniques, customers can serve themselves. This speeds up the buying process and requires less staff.
  • Automation of accounting, procurement and storage of goods . Computer programs allow you to save time and money on accounting and warehouse accounting. In this way, companies optimize their business processes and simplify logistics.

Let’s look at the varieties of this type of trade.

Retail types

  1. Grocery retail
  2. street retail
  3. Non-grocery retail
  4. Online retail
  5. Network retail

There are the following main types of retail.

  • Grocery retail . Trade in a variety of foodstuffs over a large area, such as supermarkets and hypermarkets. This is the most stable retail area, which works even in a crisis, because food products are essential goods. During the lockdown associated with the coronavirus pandemic, almost all retail outlets were closed, except for pharmacies and stores that sell food products (including for animals).
  • Street retail . Markets and small, highly specialized shops, which are often located on the first floors of busy city streets. They compete with supermarkets due to exclusive products, breadth of assortment and proximity to customers.
  • Non-grocery retail . Stationery, sports, cosmetics and other non-grocery stores. However, large grocery stores often include such products in their assortment as related products.
  • Online retail . Retail trade is carried out on the Internet. A point of sale can be an online store or a page on social networks, where the buyer chooses the product he is interested in, pays for it, and receives it by mail.
  • Network retail . Chains of stores that are united by a single trading concept and owner. Often, the system for purchasing and accounting for goods, together with logistics, is the same for all outlets, which makes it possible to reduce costs and sell similar goods at a price lower than that of competitors.

Congratulations, you have become familiar with the concept of retail and know what types of retail exist.