Think: What does retail mean to you? What experience do you have of retail? How careers are in retail? What is the difference between wholesale and retail?
10.1.1 What is the Definition of Retail?
According the Oxford Dictionary, retail means: The sale of goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale. In other words, retail is the process of selling consumer goods and/or services to customer through multiple channels of distribution.
People used to collect goods as a means to satisfy their survival needs. Later with the invention of money, the course of events has changed and has taken on an economical dimension. With mass production, modernization and technology the meaning of retail changed. It moved from local businesses to bigger stores, shopping malls and new means of marketing. In today’s world, the attitude of “The customer has to buy whatever I sell” which had prevailed until the 60s, has changed into that of “I have to sell whatever the customer wants”.
People often think that retail is all about selling goods in the stores. However, it is a wider sector which also includes the sales of various services. Accommodation in a hotel, having your hair cut, having a medical examination or a pizza delivery are only a few examples of retail services.
10.1.2 How is Retail Different from Wholesale?
Think: Give some examples of manufacturers, wholesale and retail.
As mentioned above, retail offers and sells goods and services to the end user through stores or other channels, and also provides them with after-sales services.
Wholesale is all the activities that include re-selling products and services to other companies, using them for end production and/or conducting organizational activities. Wholesalers are companies that sell most of the products to retailers or other companies or organizations. The wholesaler collects, sorts and classifies products. A manufacturer hands its goods over to the wholesaler or to the retailer directly after producing them.