Retailing includes all the activities involved in selling goods or services directly to final consumer for their personal, non business ose. It does not matter how the goods or services are sold (by person, mail, telephone) or where they are sold( in a store, on the street, or in the consumer’s home).
Retailers can be various types:-
Non store retailers
a)Store retailer:- Store retailers includes:-
a) Specialty store:- A specialty store carries a narrow product line with a deep assortment within that line examples of specialty retailers are apparel stores, sporting goods stores.
b) Department store:- A department store carries several products lines, typically clothing, home furniture and household goods.
c)Super market:-A supermarket is a relatively large, low cost, low margin high volume self service operation designed to serve the consumer’s total need for food and household-maintains product.
d) Convenience store:- Convenience stores are relatively small stores that are located near residential areas; are open long house and seven days limited line of high turnover convenience products.
B) Non store retailing includes:-
a) Direct Selling:- It involves oral presentation in a conversation with one or more prospective purchases for the purpose of making sales.
b) Automatic vending:- Automatic vending through coined operated machines has been a major port would war-II growth area. Automatic vending has been applied to a considerable variety of merchandise including impulse goods with high convenience value (soft drinks, candy). Vending machines offer customers the advantages of twenty four hour selling, self service and unhanding merchandise.
Retail marketing decisions:-
Target market decision::- A retailer’s most important decision concerns the target. Should the store focus on upscale, mid- scale or downscale shoppers? Do the target shoppers want variety, assortment depth or convenience?
Product assortment and service decision:- Retailers have to decide on three major product variable that help position their store to their target market, namely product assortment, service mix and store atmosphere.
The retailers product assortment must match the shopping expectations of the target market. The retailer has to decide on product assortment breadth and depth. Retailers must also decide on the service mix to offer customers. The old “mom and pop” grocery stores offered home delivery, credit, services that today’s supermarket have corpulently eliminated.
The store’s atmosphere is a third element in its product arsenal. Every store has a physical layout that makes it hard or easy to move around. Every store has a “look”; one store is dirty, another is charming, a third is palatial, a fourth is somber. T store must embody a planned atmosphere that suits the target market and draws them towards purchase.
Price decision:- The retailer’s price are key positioning far for and must be decided in relation to the target market, the product and service assortment mix and competition. All retailers would like to charge high mark ups and achieve high volumes; but usually the two do not go together .most retailers fall into the high markup highs volume group (mass merchandisers and discount stores)
Promotion Decision:- the retailer must use promotion today that support and reinforce its image positioning. Fine stores will place full page tasteful ads in magazines and train their safes people to greet customers. Discounter will use less trained people to and use tow cost promotional tools to generate traffic.
Place Decisions :- retailers are ;accustomed to saying that the key to success in retailing is “location”. For example customers primarily choose the bank that is nearest to them Department – store chains, oil companies and last food franchisers exercise great case in selecting location.