Retailing
includes all the activities involved in selling goods
or services directly to final consumers for personal,
nonbusiness use. Retailers can be understood in
terms of store retailing, nonstore retailing, and
retail organizations.
Like products, retail-store types pass through stages of growth
and decline. As existing stores offer more services
to remain competitive, costs and prices go up, which
opens the door to new retail forms that offer a mix of
merchandise and services at lower prices. The major types
of retail stores are specialty stores, department stores,
supermarkets, convenience stores, discount stores,
extreme value or hard discount store, off-price retailers,
superstores, and catalog showrooms.
Although most goods and services are sold through stores,
nonstore retailing has been growing. The major types
of nonstore retailing are direct selling (one-to-one selling,
one-to-many party selling, and multilevel network
marketing), direct marketing (which includes ecommerce and Internet retailing), automatic
vending, and buying services.
Although many retail stores are independently owned, an
increasing number are falling under some form of corporate
retailing. Retail organizations achieve many economies
of scale, greater purchasing power, wider brand
recognition, and better-trained employees. The
major types of corporate retailing are corporate chain
stores, voluntary chains, retailer cooperatives, consumer
cooperatives, franchise organizations, and merchandising
conglomerates.
The retail environment has changed considerably in recent years;
as new retail forms have emerged, intertype and
store-based versus nonstore-based competition has increased,
the rise of giant retailers has been matched by the
decline of middle-market retailers, investment in technology
and global expansion has grown, and shopper marketing inside stores has
become a priority.
Like all marketers, retailers must prepare marketing plans
that include decisions on target markets, channels, product
assortment and procurement, prices, services, store
atmosphere, store activities and experiences,
communications, and location.
Wholesaling includes all the activities in selling goods or
services to those who buy for resale or business use.
Wholesalers can perform functions better and more
cost-effectively than the manufacturer can. These functions
include selling and promoting, buying and assortment building,
bulk breaking, warehousing, transportation,
financing, risk bearing, dissemination of market information,
and provision of management services and
consulting.
There are four types of wholesalers: merchant wholesalers;
brokers and agents; manufacturers’ and retailers’ sales
branches, sales offices, and purchasing offices; and
miscellaneous wholesalers such as agricultural assemblers
and auction companies.
Like retailers, wholesalers must decide on target markets,
product assortment and services, price, promotion, and place.
The most successful wholesalers are those who adapt their
services to meet suppliers’ and target customers’
needs.
Producers of physical products and services must decide on
market logistics—the best way to store and move
goods and services to market destinations; to coordinate the activities of
suppliers, purchasing agents, manufacturers,
marketers, channel members, and customers. Major gains in logistical efficiency have
come from advances in information technology.
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