INTRODUCTION
Every business conducted for the purpose of selling or offering for sale any goods, wares, or merchandise, other than as a part of a "wholesale business" to the final consumer can be defined as retail business Retail is the second-largest industry in the United States both in number of establishments and number of employees. The U.S. retail industry generates $3.8 trillion in retail sales annually ($4.2 trillion if food service sales are included), approximately $11,993 per capita. The retail sector is also one of the largest worldwide.
Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer and the world's largest company with more than $312 billion (USD) in sales annually. Wal-Mart employs 1.3 million associates in the United States and more than 400,000 internationally. The second largest retailer in the world is France's Carrefour.
What Is Retailing?
Retailing is all the activities involved in selling goods and services directly to final consumers for their personal, non-business use.
The word retail is derived from the French word retailer, meaning to cut a piece off or to break bulk. A retailer buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells individual items or small quantities to the general public or end user customers, usually in a shop, also called store. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Marketers see retailing as part of their overall distribution strategy.
Types of Retailing
Retailing can be classified under two heads:
Store Retailing
Non-store Retailing
Store Retailing
Retail stores come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and new retail types keep emerging. They can be classified by one or more of several characteristics:
Amount of service
Product line
Relative prices
Control of outlets
Type of store cluster
1) Amount of