Retail

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Retail is the process of selling consumer goods or services to customers through various distribution channels for profit. Reseller meets the requests identified through the supply chain. The term "retailer" is usually applied where the service provider fills small orders from a large number of individuals, who are end users, not large orders from a small number of wholesale, corporate or government customers. Shopping generally refers to the act of buying a product. Sometimes this is done to get the final goods, including necessities such as food and clothing; sometimes it happens as a recreational activity. Shopping recreation often involves window shopping and browsing: it does not always result in a purchase.

The retail market and the shops have a very ancient history, dating from ancient times. Some of the earliest retailers are traveling salespeople. Over the centuries, retail stores have changed from little more than "crude booths" to sophisticated modern shopping centers.

Most modern retailers usually make strategic-level decisions including the type of store, the market to serve, the optimal range of products, customer service, support services, and overall store market position. Once a strategic retail plan is in place, retailers design a retail mix that includes products, prices, places, promotions, personnel and presentations. In the digital age, more and more retailers are trying to reach a wider market by selling through various channels, including bricks and cement as well as online retailing. Digital technology also changes the way consumers pay for goods and services. Retail support services may also include the provision of credit, shipping services, consulting services, styling services, and various other support services.

Retail stores occur in various types and in many different contexts - from strip shopping centers on residential streets to large indoor shopping malls. Shopping can limit traffic to pedestrians only. Sometimes shopping streets have partial or full roofs to create a more comfortable shopping environment - protecting customers from different types of weather conditions such as extreme temperatures, wind or rainfall. Non-store retail forms including online retail (a kind of electronic commerce used for business-to-consumer transactions ( B2C )) and orders by post.

Video Retail

Etimologi

Retail comes from the Old French word tailler , which means "cut, cut, divide, divide" in terms of sewing (1365). It was first recorded as a noun with the meaning of "small sales" in 1433 (from central France retail , "cut, broken, scrap, stripping"). As in French, the word, retail, in Dutch and German, also refers to the sale of a small quantity of goods.

Maps Retail

Definition and explanation

Retail refers to resale activity. Reseller is any person or organization who is a reseller who sells goods or services directly to consumers or end users. Some retailers can sell to business customers, and such sales are called non-retail activities. In some regions or territories, the definition of retail law provides that at least 80 percent of sales activity must be to the end user..

Retail sales often occur in retail stores or service companies, but may also occur through direct sales such as through vending machines, door-to-door sales or electronic channels. Although the notion of retail is often associated with purchasing goods, the term can be applied to service providers selling to consumers. Retail service providers include retail banking, tourism, insurance, private health care, private education, private security companies, law firms, publishers, public transport, and others. For example, tourism providers may have retail divisions that travel book and accommodation for consumers plus wholesale divisions that buy accommodation, hospitality, transportation and sightseeing blocks are then packaged into vacation tours for sale to retail travel agents.

Some retailers give their store badges as "wholesale outlets" that offer "wholesale prices." While this practice may encourage consumers to imagine that they have access to lower prices, while preparing to redeem the reduced prices for neighborhoods in narrow stores, in the strictest sense of the law, stores that sell most of their merchandise directly to consumers. , is defined as a retailer rather than a wholesaler. Different jurisdictions set parameters for the ratio of consumers to a business sale that defines a retail business.

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History

See also: History of merchants; History of market place; Marketing history

Retail in ancient times

The retail market has been around since ancient times. Archaeological evidence for trade, probably involving a barter system, dates back more than 10,000 years. As civilization grows, barter is replaced by retail trade involving the currency. Sales and purchases are estimated to have appeared in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) around the 7th millennium BC. Gharipour shows evidence of primitive shops and trading centers in Sialk Hills in Kashan (6000 BC), Catalk Huyuk in modern Turkey (7,500-5,700 BC), Jericho (2600 BC) and Susa (4000 BC). Open air, public markets are known in ancient Babylon, Assyria, Phenicia and Egypt. These markets usually occupy a place in the city center. Around the market, skilled craftsmen, such as metal workers and leather workers, occupy a permanent place in the alleys that lead to open markets. These artisans may have sold goods directly from their premises, but also prepared goods for sale on market day. In the ancient Greek market operated in the agora, an open space where, on market days, the goods are displayed on a temporary mat or temporary kiosk. In ancient Rome, trade took place in the forum. Rome has two forums; Forum Romanum and Forum Trajan. The latter is a vast expanse, consisting of several buildings with shops on four levels. The Roman Forum was arguably the earliest example of a permanent retail-front store. In earlier times, exchanges involving direct sales through merchants or traders and barter systems were commonplace.

The Phoenicians, renowned for their cruising skills, rained their ships across the Mediterranean, becoming a major trading force in the 9th century BC. The Phoenicians import and export wood, textiles, glass, and crops such as wine, oil, dried fruit and nuts. Their trade skills require colony networks along the Mediterranean coast, extending from modern Crete to Tangiers and to Sardinia. Phoenicians not only trade in real goods, but also play a role in transporting culture. The extensive Phoenician trade network requires large bookkeeping and correspondence. Around 1500 BC, Phoenicians developed a consonant alphabet that is much easier to learn that complicated scripts used in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Phoenician traders and merchants are largely responsible for spreading their alphabets across the region. The Phoenician inscription has been found on archaeological sites in a number of earlier Phoenician towns and Phoenician colonies around the Mediterranean, such as Byblos (now Lebanon) and Carthage in North Africa.

In the Greco-Roman world, the market primarily serves local peasants. Local producers, who are generally poor, will sell small surpluses from their respective farms, buy small farm equipment and also buy some luxury for their homes. Large producers such as large estates are attractive enough for traders to call directly at their farm gates, negating the need for producers to attend local markets. Very rich landowners manage their own distribution, which may have involved exports and imports. The nature of the export market in ancient times is well documented in ancient sources and archaeological case studies. The Romans preferred to buy goods from certain places: oysters from Londinium, cinnamon from certain mountains in Arabia, and place-based preferences encouraged trade across Europe and the Middle East. The market is also an important center of social life.

The emergence of retail and marketing in the UK and Europe has been studied extensively, but less is known about developments elsewhere. However, recent research shows that China is exhibiting a rich history of early retail systems. From early 200 BC, China's packaging and branding were used to signal family, place names and product quality, and use of government-imposed product branding was used between 600 and 900 CE. Eckhart and Bengtsson argue that during the Song Dynasty (960-1127), the Chinese developed a consumerist culture, where high levels of consumption could be achieved for ordinary consumers rather than just the elites. The emergence of consumer culture led to commercial investment in a carefully managed corporate image, retail sign, symbolic brand, trademark protection and sophisticated brand concepts.

Retail in Medieval Europe

In the Middle Ages of England and Europe, relatively few permanent stores could be found; instead of customers walking into merchant workshops where they discuss the option of direct purchase with merchants. In the 13th century London, sellers and clothing merchants are known to exist and wholesalers sell "small items and spices and medicines" but fish and other perishable goods are sold through markets, costermongers, hucksters, sellers circumference or other types of mobile vendors.

In more populous cities, a small number of stores began to emerge in the 13th century. In Chester, a medieval covered shopping area represents a great innovation that draws buyers from many miles around it. Known as "The Rows", this medieval shopping arcade is believed to be the first in Europe. Fragments from Chester's Medieval Row, believed to date from the 13th century, can still be found in Cheshire. In the 13th or 14th century, another arcade with multiple stores was recorded at Drapery Row in Winchester. The appearance of street names such as Drepery Row, Mercer's Lane and Ironmonger Lane in the medieval period indicates that permanent shops are becoming more common.

Medieval shops have little in common with their modern equivalents. At the end of the sixteenth century, shops in London were described as "crude booths" and the owners "cried as loudly as the travelers." Storefronts usually have a front door with two wider openings on either side, each covered with shutters. Shutters are designed to open so that the top forms a canopy while the bottom is equipped with legs that can serve as a shopboard. Cox and Dannehl suggested that the medieval shopper's experience was very different. Glass windows, which were rare during the medieval period, and did not become common until the eighteenth century, meant the store's interior was a dark place. Outside of the market, items are rarely displayed and service count is unknown. Buyers have relatively little opportunity to check merchandise before it is consumed. Many shops are paving the way where they serve customers.

Outside of big cities, most of the purchases that can be consumed are made through markets or fairs. The market is held daily in cities and towns that are more crowded or weekly in rarer rural districts. The market sells fresh produce; fruits, vegetables, baked goods, meat, poultry, fish and some ready-to-eat foods; while the exhibition is operated on a periodic cycle and is almost always associated with religious festivals. Fairs sold non-perishables such as farming tools, household appliances, furniture, carpets and ceramics. Market towns adorn the medieval European landscape while traveling traders supply densely populated or difficult districts. Other merchants and vendors operate side by side with other types of retail for centuries. The political philosopher, John Stuart Mill compares the convenience of the market/exhibit to the traveling merchant:

"The development of the exhibition and the market is the beginning to be aimed at, where consumers and producers may periodically meet, without intermediaries, and this plan answers pretty well for many articles, especially agricultural produce... but it is uncomfortable for buyers who have other jobs, and do not live in the immediate vicinity... and consumer desires must be given so long before, or have to remain so long not provided, which even before public resources recognize the establishment of shops, the supply of this desire falls universally into the hands of a traveling merchant: a traveling merchant, who may appear once a month, preferably for fair, which is only returned once or twice a year. "

Blintiff has investigated the early medieval market network of market cities across Europe, and shows that in the 12th century there was an increasing number of market towns and the emergence of merchant circuits as traders collected surpluses from smaller regional markets, different markets and resold. they are in larger centralized market cities. Market-places appear to have emerged independently outside Europe. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is often referred to as the oldest operating market in the world; its construction began in 1455. The Spanish conquistadors wrote sparkly about the market in America. In the 15th century Mexica (Aztec) market of Tlatelolco was the largest in the whole of America.

The UK market townships are set from a relatively early period. The United Kingdom awarded the charter to local Lords to create markets and exhibitions for cities or villages. This Charter will give the rulers the right to take the toll and also provide protection from the rival market. For example, once a charter market is provided for a given market day, the nearest competitor's market can not be opened on the same day. Across the British territory, the network of charter markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers a sensible choice in the markets they love to patronize. A study of the buying habits of monks and other individuals in England in medieval times, shows that consumers in that period were relatively intelligent. Purchase decisions are based on purchasing criteria such as consumer perceptions of the range, quality, and price of the goods. This informed decision about where to make a purchase and which market is superior. Today, traders and performers are jealously guarding the reputation of this historic market charter.

Braudel and Reynold have made a systematic study of European market cities between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. Their investigations show that in the regional district markets are held once or twice a week while daily markets are common in big cities. Gradually, permanent shops with regular trading days begin to replace the periodic market, while sellers fill the gap in distribution. The physical market is characterized by a transactional exchange and the economy is characterized by local trade. Braudel reported that, in 1600, goods traveled a relatively short distance - 5-10 miles of grains; cattle 40-70 miles; wool cloth and wool 20-40 miles. After the European era of invention, the goods were imported from south african fabrics from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and Southeast Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World.

The English essayist Joseph Addison wrote in 1711, describing the exotic origins of products available to the British people in the following terms:

"Our ship is loaded with Harvest of every Climate: Our Tables are stored with Spices, and Oils, and Grapes: Our Chamber is filled with Chinese Pyramids, and decorated with Japanese Work: Our Morning Draft comes to us from the remotest corners of the Earth: We repair our bodies with American medicine, and rest under the canopy of Indians. My friend Sir ANDREW calls the Vineyards of France Our garden, the Spice Islands is our bed, our Persian, our Silk Weavers , and China, Potters.Our nature does equip us with an empty Life Mind, but Traffick gives us a greater variety of what is beneficial, and at the same time gives us everything Comfortable and Ornamental. "

Luca Clerici has made a detailed study of the Vicenza food market during the sixteenth century. He found that there are many types of retailers operating outside the market. For example, in the trade of dairy cattle, cheese and butter are sold by members of two handicraft groups (ie, cheesemongers who are shop owners) and so-called 'sellers' (sellers selling various foodstuffs), and by other sellers not listed in any union. The Cheesemongers store is located in the town hall and is very profitable. Resellers and direct sellers increase the number of sellers, thereby increasing competition, for the benefit of consumers. Direct sellers, who bring results from the surrounding countryside, sell their goods through the central market and the prices of their goods at prices much lower than cheesemongers.

Retail in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries

In the 17th century, permanent shops with more regular trading hours began to replace the market and exhibit as major retail outlets. The provincial shopkeeper is active in almost every UK market town. The owner of this store sells general merchandise, such as a contemporary department store or a general store. For example, William Allen, a mercer at Tamworth who died in 1604, sells spices with feathers and cloth. William Stout of Lancaster sells sugar, tobacco, nails, and prunes in his shop and in the central market. His autobiography reveals that he spends most of his time preparing products for sale in the central market, which brings incoming customers into the city.

As the number of stores increases, they undergo a transformation. The jewelry of a modern store, which was not in the stores of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, gradually paves the way for store interiors and shop windows that are more familiar to modern buyers. Prior to the 18th century, typical retail stores did not have tables, storefronts, chairs, mirrors, dressing rooms, etc. However, the opportunity for customers to browse merchandise, touch and product feels becoming available, with retail innovations from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Glass is widely used since the early 18th century. The British commentator pointed to the speed of mounting glass, Daniel Defoe, writing in 1726, noting that "There were never such paintings and guilds, like glasses and glasses like shopkeepers as they are today."

Outside of major metropolitan cities, some stores are able to serve one type of customer exclusively. However, gradually retail stores are introducing innovations that will allow them to separate richer customers from "riff raff." One technique is to open a window to the path where customers can be served. This allows the sale of goods to ordinary people, without encouraging them to go inside. Another solution, which came into fashion from the late sixteenth century was to invite preferred customers to the back room of the store, where items were displayed permanently. Yet another technique that emerged around the same time was holding a display in a shopkeeper's private home for the benefit of wealthier clients. Samuel Pepys, for example, wrote in 1660, describing being invited to a retailer's house to see a wooden jack. The eighteenth-century English businessmen, Josiah Wedgewood and Matthew Boulton, both held extensive exhibits of their goods in their private homes or in the rented hall.

Savitt argues that in the eighteenth century, American merchants, who had operated as importers and exporters, began to specialize in wholesale or retail roles. They tend not to specialize in certain types of goods, often trade as general merchants, sell a variety of products. These merchants are concentrated in the big cities. They often provide high-level credit financing for retail transactions.

At the end of the 18th century, magnificent shopping centers began to emerge throughout Europe and in the Antipodes. Shopping place is a multi-vendor room, operating under a closed roof. Typically, the roof is built from glass to allow for natural light and to reduce the need for wax or electric lighting. Some of the earliest examples of shopping arcades appeared in Paris, due to the lack of sidewalks for pedestrians. Retailers, eager to attract window shoppers by providing a shopping environment away from the dirty streets, start building an imperfect arcade. Opened in 1771, ColiseÃÆ'Â © , located on the Champs Elysee, consists of three arcades, each with ten stores, all running from the central ballroom. For Paris, the location was considered too far and the arcade closed within two years of opening. Inspired by the Arabian markets, Galerie de Bois, a series of wooden shops connecting the tip of the Palais Royal, opened in 1786 and became a central part of Paris's social life.

The architect, Bertrand Lemoine, described the period, 1786 to 1935, as the l'ÃÆ'Ë † re des trajectory couverts (Arcade Era). In the capital city of Europe, shopping centers spread across the continent, reaching their heyday in the early 19th century: the Palais Royal in Paris (opened in 1784); Passage de Feydeau in Paris (opened in 1791) and Passage du Claire in 1799. Piccadilly Arcade in London (opened in 1810); Paris Passage Colbert (1826) and Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele (1878). Designed to appeal to a polite middle class, arcade retailers sell luxury goods at relatively high prices. However, the price is never deterrent, because this new arcade is a place to shop and see. The arcade offers buyers the promise of enclosed spaces from the chaos marking the noisy and dirty streets; warm and dry space away from elements, and a safe haven where people can socialize and spend their free time. When thousands of glass-covered arcades scattered throughout Europe, they became more magnificent and decorated with more ornaments. By the mid-nineteenth century, they had become a major center of fashion and social life. Promenading in this arcade became the popular nineteenth century of the 19th century for the emerging middle class. The Illustrated Guide to Paris in 1852 summarizes the attractiveness of the arcade in the following description:

"In talking about the inner boulevards, we have mentioned repeatedly about the arcades that are open to them.This arcade, a new invention of industrial luxury, is a glass roofed roof, marble-paneled corridor extending to all building blocks, whose owners have joined together for such companies.Covering both sides of this corridor, which gets their light from the top, is the most elegant shop, so the arcade is a city, a world in miniature, where customers will find everything they need. "

The Palais-Royal, which opened for Paris in 1784 and became one of Paris's most important markets, is generally regarded as the earliest example in a large shopping center. The Palais-Royal is a complex of parks, shops, and entertainment venues located on the perimeter of the external land, beneath the original colonnade. The area boasts about 145 boutiques, cafes, salons, hair salons, bookstores, museums, and many refreshment stalls as well as two theaters. Special retail outlets of luxury goods such as jewelry, feathers, paintings and furniture designed to attract rich elites. Retailers operating outside the Palais complex are among the first in Europe to abandon barter systems, and adopt fixed prices thereby saving their clients from the complexity of barter. Shops are fitted with long glass exterior windows that allow the growing middle class to shop at the window and enjoy the fantasy, even when they may not be able to afford high retail prices. Thus, the Palais-Royal became one of the first examples of a new style of arcade shopping, frequented by the aristocracy and the middle class. It developed a reputation as a sophisticated conversation site, revolving around salons, cafes, and bookstores, but also a place frequented by soldiers who were not on duty and a favorite of prostitutes, many of whom rented apartments in buildings. London's Burlington Arcade, which opened in 1819, positioned itself as an elegant and exclusive place from the start. Other famous nineteenth-century arcades include the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert in Brussels which was inaugurated in 1847, Istanbul ÃÆ' â € šÃ,§ Pasaj? opened in 1870 and Milan Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II was first opened in 1877. The shopping center is the forerunner of a modern shopping center.

While the arcade is a bourgeois province, a new type of retail business emerges to serve the needs of the working poor. John Stuart Mill wrote of the resurrection of a cooperative retail store, which he witnessed himself in the mid-nineteenth century. Stuart Mill places these cooperative stores in a wider cooperative movement that stands out in the industrial towns of Manchester and in the districts of Yorkshire and Lancashire. He documented one of the earliest cooperative retail stores in Rochdale in Manchester, England, "In 1853, the Store bought for £ 745, a freehold across the street, where they store and store their flour store, butcher meat, potatoes, and similar items. "Stuart Mill also quoted a contemporary commentator who wrote about the benefits of a cooperative shop:

"The buyer and the seller meet as friends, nothing goes beyond the borders on the one hand, and there is no suspicion on the other... The throng of humble workers, who never knew before when they give good food in their mouths, which every dinner is falsified, shoes that let the water in a month too fast, whose vests shine with demon dust, and whose wives are wearing calico who do not want to bathe, now buy in markets like millionaires, and as far as purity food goes, live like royalty. "

Retail in the modern era

The modern era of retail is defined as the period from the industrial revolution to the 21st century. In big cities, department stores emerged in the mid to late 19th century, and permanently shaped shopping habits, and the concept of service and luxury were redefined. The term, "department store" comes from America. In the 19th century England, these shops were known as emporia or warehouse shops. A number of major department stores opened in the United States, Britain and Europe from the mid-nineteenth century including; Harrod's of London in 1834; Kendall in Manchester in 1836; Selfridges of London in 1909; Macy's of New York in 1858; Bloomingdale in 1861; Sak in 1867; J.C. Penney in 1902; Le Bon Marchà ©  © France in 1852 and Galeries Lafayette of France in 1905. Other twentieth century innovations in retail include chain stores, mail-order, multi-level marketing (pyramid sales or network marketing, c. 1920s), party plans ( c. 1930s) and B2C e-commerce (cyber-peddling).

Many early department stores are more than just retail emporiums; not a place where buyers can spend their free time and be entertained. Some department stores offer reading rooms, art galleries and concerts. Most department stores have tea or dining rooms and offer a treatment area where women can enjoy manicures. The fashion show, which originated in the United States around 1907, became a major event for many department stores and celebrity appearances were also very influential. Themed events feature items from foreign beaches, which expose buyers to exotic cultures of the East and Middle East.

During this period, retailers worked to develop modern retail marketing practices. The pioneering merchants who contribute to modern retail marketing and management methods include: A. T. Stewart, Potter Palmer, John Wanamaker, Ward Montgomery, Marshall Field, Richard Warren Sears, Rowland Macy, J.C. Penney, Fred Lazarus, brother Edward and William Filene and Sam Walton.

Retail, using mail orders, came of age during the mid-19th century. Although catalog sales have been in use since the 15th century, this retail method is limited to several industries such as book and grain sales. However, improvements in transport and postal services, caused some entrepreneurs on both sides of the Atlantic to experiment with catalog sales. In 1861, Wysh Pryce Pryce-Jones shipping tractor cataloged to clients who could order flannel clothes which were then mailed. This allows Pryce-Jones to expand its client base across Europe. A decade later, US retailer Montgomery Ward also designed catalog sales and postal order systems. His first catalog, published in August 1872, consisted of a one-sheet price list in the middle price list (20-30 cm), with a list of 163 items for sale with the order instructions written by Ward. He also designed the "satisfaction or refund guarantee" applied in 1875. In the 1890s, Sears and Roebuck also used the postal order with great success.

Edward Filene, a supporter of the scientific approach to retail management, developed the concept of Automatic Bargaining Basement. Though Filene's basement is not the first 'cheap basement' in the US, the principle of 'automatic marking - generates the excitement it generates and proves to be very profitable. Under Filene's plan, merchandise must be sold within 30 days or already marked; after the next 12 days, merchandise is reduced by 25% and if it still does not sell after another 18 days, a further 25% price drop is applied. If the merchandise remains unsold after two months, it is awarded for charity. Filene is a pioneer in employee relations. He instituted profit sharing programs, minimum wages for women, 40-hour work weeks, health clinics, and paid vacations. He also played an important role in encouraging the Filene Cooperative Association, "perhaps the earliest corporate union of America". Through this channel he engages constructively with his employees in the process of collective bargaining and arbitration.

In the postwar period, an American architect, Victor Gruen developed the concept for a shopping center; a planned shopping complex complete with indoor plazas, sculptures, planting schemes, pipe music, and car parks. Gruen's vision is to create a shopping atmosphere where people feel very comfortable; they will spend more time in the environment, thereby increasing the chances of purcahsing. The first of these malls opened at the Northland Mall near Detroit in 1954. He went on to design about 50 such malls. Due to the success of the concept of the mall, Gruen is described as "the most influential architect of the 20th century by a journalist in the New Yorker."

Throughout the 20th century, trends toward the larger store footprint became visible. The average size of a US supermarket grew from 31,000 square feet (2,900 m ² ) square feet in 1991 to 44,000 square feet (4,100 m ² ) square feet in 2000 1963, Carrefour opens its first hypermarket in St Genevieve-de-Bois, near Paris, France. At the end of the twentieth century, stores used labels like "mega-store" and "warehouse" stores to reflect their ever-growing size. In Australia, for example, the popular hardware chain, Bunnings has shifted from smaller "home centers" (retail floor space under 5,000 square meters (54,000 sq.ft) to the store "shed (retail floor space between 5,000m square (54,000 Ã, sqÃ, ft) and 21,000 square meters (230,000 sqÃ, ft)) to accommodate more goods and in response to population growth and change consumer preferences. The trend of increasing retail space is not consistent across the country, and led to the beginning of the 21st century a 2-fold difference in per capita size between the United States and Europe.

As the 21st century begins to form, several indications suggest that major retail stores have been experiencing increasing pressure from online sales models and that the reduction in store size is very clear. Under competition and other issues such as business debt, there has been a business disruption called retail apocalypse in recent years where some retail businesses, especially in North America, are sharply reducing the number of their stores, or out of business entirely.

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Retail Strategy

The difference between "strategic" and "managerial" decision making is usually used to distinguish "two phases that have different goals and based on different conceptual tools.Regional planning concerns policy choices aimed at improving the company's competitive position, taking into account challenges and opportunities posed by a competitive environment.On the other hand, managerial decision making is focused on implementing specific targets. "

In retail, strategic plans are designed to define vision and provide guidance for retail decision makers and outline how product mix and service will optimize customer satisfaction. As part of the strategic planning process, it is common for strategic planners to conduct detailed environmental scans that seek to identify trends and opportunities in a competitive environment, market environment, economic environment and political-legal environment. Retail strategies are usually designed or reviewed every 3 - 5 years by the chief executive officer.

Strategic retail analysis usually includes the following elements:

* Market analysis

Market size, market level, market competitiveness, market appeal, market trends

* Customer analysis

Market segmentation, demographic, geographic and psychographic profiles, values ​​and attitudes, shopping habits, brand preferences, needs and wants analysis, media habits

* Internal analysis

Other capabilities, e.g. human resource capability, technological capability, financial ability, ability to produce economies of scale or economic scope, trade relations, reputation, position, past performance

* Competition analysis

Availability of replacements, competitor strengths and weaknesses, perceptual mapping, competitive trends

* Review the product mix

Sales per square foot, inventory turnover rate, profitability per product line

* Review distribution channels

Lead-times between placing order and delivery, distribution cost, intermediate cost efficiency

* Economic evaluation of the strategy

Cost benefit analysis of planned activities

At the end of retail analysis, retail marketers should have a clear idea of ​​which customer groups are targeted for marketing activities. Research studies show that there is a strong relationship between the store position and the socio-economic status of the customer. In addition, retail strategy, including quality of service, has a significant and positive relationship with customer loyalty. A marketing strategy effectively outlines all the key aspects of a company-targeted audience, demographics, preferences. In a highly competitive market, retail strategy creates long-term sustainability. It focuses on customer relationships, emphasizes the importance of added value, customer satisfaction and highlights how to position the store market position for customer target groups.

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Mixed retail marketing

See also product management; promotion mix; marketing mix; price; service design and retail design

Once the strategic plan is executed, the retail manager switches to a more managerial planning aspect. The retail mix is ​​designed for the purpose of coordinating day-to-day tactical decisions. The mix of retail marketing typically consists of six broad decision layers including product decisions, spot decisions, promotions, prices, personnel and presentations (also known as physical evidence). The retail mix is ​​loosely based on the marketing mix, but has been expanded and modified according to the unique needs of the retail context. Some scholars argue for a modified marketing mix with the inclusion of two new Pss, namely, Personnel and Presentation should be added to the marketing mix as this contributes to the customer's unique retail experience and is the main basis for retail differentiation. Yet other scholars argue that the Retail Format (ie retail formula) should be included. The most frequently cited mix of retail marketing quoted in textbooks is often called 6 Retail Ps (see diagram on the right).

Products

See Product management

The major product-related decisions that retailers face are the various products (what product lines, how many lines and what brands to carry); type of customer service (high contacts to self-service) and availability of support services (eg credit terms, shipping service, after-sales service). This decision depends on a careful analysis of market, demand, competition and reseller expertise and expertise.

Product range

Products refer to the combination of breadth and depth of the product. The main characteristics of various products of the company are:

(1) the length or number of product lines

the number of different products brought by the store

(2) the width

refers to the various product lines that the store offers. It is also known as the wide variety of products, the breadth of merchandise, and the width of the product line.:

(3) the depth or number of product variations in the product line

the number of individual items or styles brought in by the store

(4) consistency

how products relate to each other in the retail environment.

For retailers, finding the right balance between breadth and depth can be the key to success. The average supermarket can carry 30,000-60,000 different product lines (length or product variety), but may carry up to 100 types of toothpaste (product depth). Custom retailers typically carry fewer product lines, maybe only about 20 lines, but will usually have greater depth. Costco, for example, carries 5,000 different lines while Aldi has only 1,400 lines per store.

Large variety offers many benefits to consumers, especially increasing the choice and the possibility that consumers will be able to find the ideal product. However, for retailers, a greater variety of costs incur costs in terms of recording, managing inventory, prices and risks associated with waste due to spoiled, bought or unsold stock. Bringing in more stocks also exposes retailers to higher risks in terms of slow moving inventory and lower sales per square foot of storage space. On the other hand, reducing the number of product lines can result in cost savings through increased stock turnover by eliminating slow moving lines, running out of stock, increasing bargaining power with suppliers, reducing costs associated with waste and carrying inventories, and higher sales per square foot means more efficient use of space.

When determining the number of product lines to be carried, the retailer must consider the type of store, physical store storage capacity, durability, expected turnover for each line and customer needs and expectations.

Customer support and support services

Customer service is "the number of actions and elements that allow consumers to receive what they need or want from a retail establishment." Resellers must decide whether to provide a full service outlet or service outlet at a minimum, as there is no service in the case of vending machines; self-service with only basic sales assistance or full service operations like in many boutiques and specialty stores. In addition, retailers need to make decisions about sales support such as customer delivery and after-sales customer service.

Retail services may also include the provision of credit, shipping services, consulting services, exchange/return services, product demonstrations, special orders, customer loyalty programs, limited-scale trials, consulting services, and other support services. Retail stores often seek to differentiate along customer service lines. For example, some department stores offer the services of a stylist ; a fashion advisor, to help customers choose a fashionable wardrobe for the upcoming season, while smaller boutiques can allow regular customers to take home goods with approval, allowing customers to try items before making a final purchase. The various support services offered are known as the service type. At one end of the spectrum, self-service providers offer some basic support services. At the other end of the spectrum, full-service operators offer a variety of highly personalized customer services to enhance the retail experience.

When making decisions about customer service, the reseller must balance the customer's desire for full service to the customer's willingness to pay the cost of delivering support services. Self service is a very efficient way of providing services because retailers make use of the customer workforce to carry out many retail tasks. However, many customers appreciate full service and are willing to pay a premium for full service benefits.

Sales assistant roles typically include greeting customers, providing information regarding products and services, providing advice on products available from the current stock, answering customer inquiries, completing customer transactions and, if necessary, providing follow-up services necessary to ensure customer satisfaction. For retail store owners, it is very important to train personnel with the necessary skills necessary to provide excellent customer service. Such expertise may include product knowledge, inventory management, handling of cash and credit transactions, handling the exchange and return of products, dealing with difficult customers and of course, detailed knowledge of store policies. The provision of excellent customer service creates more opportunities to build lasting customer relationships with the potential to transform customers into a source of retail referrals or supporters. In the long run, excellent customer service provides businesses with a sustainable reputation and can lead to competitive advantage. Customer service is very important for several reasons. First, customer service contributes to the overall retail customer experience. Second, evidence suggests that retail organizations that train their employees in the right benefit of customer service are more than those who do not. Customer service training requires instructing personnel in a method of serving customers that will benefit the company and business. It is important to build bonds among customers known as customer relationship management.

Customer service type

There are several ways retailers can provide services to consumers:

• The counter service, where the goods are out of reach of the buyer and must be obtained from the seller. This type of retail is common for expensive small items (such as jewelery) and controlled items such as drugs and liquors. It was common before the 1900s in the United States and more common in certain countries like India.
• Click and Communicate, where the product is ordered online and picked up through the drive.
• Send to Store, where the product is ordered online and can be retrieved at the reseller's primary store
• Shipping, where the goods are shipped directly to the consumer's home or workplace.
• The order of letters from print catalogs was discovered in 1744 and is common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Order by phone is common in the 20th century, either from catalogs, newspapers, television commercials or local restaurant menus, for direct service (especially for pizza delivery), remaining in general use for food orders. Internet shopping - a form of delivery - has gone beyond phone bookings, and, across multiple sectors - like books and music - all other forms of purchase. There is an increasing competitive pressure to deliver consumer goods - especially those offered online - in a more timely manner. Major online retailers like Amazon.com continue to innovate and by 2015 offer one-hour delivery in certain areas. They also work with drone technology to give consumers more efficient delivery options. Direct marketing, including telemarketing and television shopping channels, is also used to generate phone orders. began to gain significant market share in developed countries in the 2000s.
• Sales from house to house, where sellers sometimes travel with goods for sale.
• Self-service, where items can be handled and checked before they are purchased.
• Digital delivery or Downloads, where intangible goods, such as music, movies, and electronic books and subscriptions to magazines, are sent directly to consumers in the form of information transmitted through cable or airwaves, and rearranged by controlled devices by consumers (such as MP3 players; see digital rights management ). Digital sales of models for 3D printing also fit here, as do types of media rental services, such as streaming.

Place

Place decisions mainly relate to consumer access and may involve location, space utilization and hours of operation.

Locations

Also see Site selection

Retail stores are usually located where optimal market opportunities - high traffic areas, central business district. Choosing the right site can be a major success factor. When evaluating potential sites, resellers often perform an analysis of the trading area ; detailed analysis designed to estimate potential patronage areas. Techniques used in the analysis of trade areas include: Radial studies (rings); Model of gravity and Drive time analysis.

In addition, retailers may consider a variety of qualitative and quantitative factors to evaluate to potential sites under consideration:

Macro factors

Macro factors include market characteristics (demographic, economic and socio-cultural), demand, competition, and infrastructure (eg availability of electricity, roads, public transport systems)

Micro factor

Micro factors include site size (eg parking availability), access to delivery vehicles

Channels

The main retail trend is the shift to multi-channel retail. To address the disruptions caused by online retail, many bricks and mortar retailers have entered the online retail space, by arranging the online catalog sales and e-commerce websites. However, many retailers are concerned that consumers behave differently when shopping online. For example, in terms of the choice of online platforms, buyers tend to select retailers online sites of their choice initially, but as they gain more experience in online shopping, they become less loyal and more likely to switch to other retail sites. Online stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and many consumers in Western countries have internet access both at the office and at home.

Pricing strategies and tactics

See also Pricing Strategy

A broad pricing strategy is usually set in the overall strategic plan of the company. In the case of chain stores, pricing strategies will be set by the head office. In general, there are six approaches to pricing strategies mentioned in the marketing literature:

Operational-oriented prices : where the goal is to optimize productive capacity, to achieve operational efficiency or to match supply and demand through varying prices. In some cases, the price may be set for a demarket.

Cost-oriented pricing: (also known as cost-oriented pricing or cost-based prices ) - in which marketers seek to maximize profits (ie, excess revenue over expenses) or simply to cover costs and break even.

Customer-oriented : where the goal is to maximize the number of subscribers; encourage cross selling opportunities or to recognize different levels in the customer's ability to pay.

Pricing based on value : (also known as image-based price ) occurs when a company uses a price to mark the market value or its peer price by position the desired value in the buyer's mind. The goal of value-based pricing is to strengthen the overall positioning strategy, e.g. premium price posture to pursue or maintain a luxurious image.

Price-oriented relationships : where marketers set prices to build or maintain relationships with existing or prospective customers.

Social-oriented prices : If the goal is to encourage or prevent certain social behaviors and behaviors. such as high rates of tobacco to prevent smoking.

Pricing tactics

When decision makers have determined a broad approach to pricing (ie, pricing strategies), they turn their attention to pricing tactics. The tactical price decision is a short-term price, designed to achieve certain short-term goals. The tactical approach to pricing can vary over time, depending on internal considerations (eg the need to remove surplus inventory) or external factors (eg response to competitive pricing tactics). Thus, a number of different pricing tactics may be used during a single planning period or in one year. Typically store managers have the necessary latitude to vary the price on each path as long as they operate within the parameters of the overall strategic approach.

Resellers should also plan customer's preferred payment mode - e.g. cash, credit, lay-by, Electronic Funds Transfer in Point-of-Sale (EFTPOS). All payment options require several types of handling and withdraw fees. If credit is to be offered, then the credit terms must be determined. If lay-by is offered, the retailer should consider the storage and handling requirements. If cash is the dominant mode of payment, retailers need to consider the requirements for small changes, the number of cash buoys required, the wage costs associated with handling large volumes of cash and providing safe storage for floating changes. Large retailers, who handle significant cash volumes, may need to hire a security services company to bring the day's results and ship a small change of supply. Small resellers, but more and more are beginning to receive newer payment modes including PayPal and Bitcoin. For example, Subway (USA) recently announced that it will receive Bitcoin payments.

Common pricing tactics used in retail include:

Discount price

The discounted price is where the marketer or retailer is offering a cheaper price. Discounts in various forms - such as quantity discounts, rebates, seasonal discounts, regular or random discounts, etc.

Daily low price (EDLP)

The daily low price refers to the practice of maintaining a low-priced low price - where consumers are not forced to wait for discounts or special offers. This method is widely used by supermarkets.

Very low pricing

Low pricing refers to the practice of offering high priced items for a certain period of time, followed by offering the same item at a low price for a given time. This practice is widely used by chain stores that sell household appliances. The main disadvantage of low-tack tactics is that consumers tend to become aware of the price cycle and their purchase time coincides with the low price cycle.

Loss leader

A loss leader is a product that has a price set below the operating margin. Loss leadering is widely used in supermarkets and retail outlets at low prices where it is intended to generate store traffic. Low prices are widely promoted and stores are ready to take small losses on individual goods, in the hope that it will cover that loss when customers buy margin items at other higher higher prices. In the service industry, the termination of losses may refer to the practice of filling the reduced price on the first order as an inducement and with the anticipation of charging a higher price on subsequent orders.

Bundling price

The bundling price (also known as product bundling) occurs where two or more products or services are priced as packages for a single price. There are several types of bundles: pure bundles where items can only be purchased as packages or mixed bundles where items can be purchased separately or as packages. The bundle price is usually less than when two items are purchased separately. Price grouping is widely used in the personal care sector for the price of cosmetics and skin care.

Price layer

Price layer is the use of a limited number of prices for all products offered by a business. The price layer is a tradition that begins in the old five stores and dimes, all of which cost 5 or 10 cents. In the price layer, prices remain constant but the quality or level of the product or service is adjusted to reflect changes in costs. The rationale behind this tactic is that this amount is seen as an appropriate price point for a wide range of products by potential customers. It has the advantage of ease of administration, but the disadvantage of inflexibility, especially at the time of inflation or unstable prices. The pricing layer continues to be used extensively in department stores where customers often record clothing or accessory shelves at prices at specified price points eg separate shelves from male bonds, where each rack is priced at $ 10, $ 20 and $ 40.

Promotional pricing

Promotional pricing is a temporary measure that involves pricing at a lower rate than is usually charged for goods or services. Promotional pricing is sometimes a reaction to unforeseen circumstances, such as when a decrease in demand leaves the company with excess stock; or when competitive activity makes a breakthrough into market share or profit.

Psychological price

Psychological pricing is a variety of tactics designed to have a positive psychological impact. The price tags using terminal digits "9", ($ 9.99, $ 19.99 or $ 199.99) can be used to mark the price of points and bring in goods at just below the customer's order price. Psychological prices are widely used in a variety of retail settings.

Personnel and staff

Because patronage in retail outlets varies, flexibility in scheduling is desirable. Employee scheduling software is sold, which, by using known patronage patterns of customers, is more or less reliable for predicting staffing needs for various functions at all times of the year, days of the month or week, and time of day. Usually the needs vary widely. Adhering to staff utilization for staffing needs requires flexible workforce available when necessary but not required to be paid when they are not, part time workers; per 2012 70% of retail workers in the United States are part-time. This can cause financial problems for the workers, who temporarily have to be available at any time if their hours are maximized, may not have enough income to meet their family and other obligations.

Sales and sales techniques

Also see Private sales

Resellers may use different techniques to increase sales volume and to improve customer experience:

Add-on, Upsell, or Cross-sell.

Upselling and cross selling are sometimes known as suggestive sales. When the consumer has chosen their primary purchase, the sales assistant may try to sell the customer on a premium brand or up-selling item or may suggest a complementary purchase (cross selling). For example, if a customer buys a non-stick frypan, the sales assistant may suggest plastic slicers that do not damage the non-stick surface.

Sell with value

Trained sales assistants find ways to focus on value rather than price. Selling value often involves identifying the unique features of a product. Adding value of goods or services such as free gifts or buy 1 get 1 free added value to customers when the store gets a sale

Know when to close a sale

Sales staff should learn to recognize when customers are ready to make a purchase. If the sales person feels that the customer is ready, then they can seek commitment and close the sale. Experienced sales staff soon learn to recognize certain verbal and non-verbal cues that signify the client's readiness to buy. For example, if a customer starts handling merchandise, this may indicate a buyer's interest. Clients also tend to use different types of questions during the sales process. Common questions like, "Does it come with another color (or style)?" shows only moderate levels of interest. However, when the client starts asking specific questions, such as "Do you have this model in black?" then this often indicates that the prospect is approaching readiness to buy. When a sales person believes that a potential buyer is ready to make a purchase, a close test may be used to test waters. Closing the experiment is just an attempt to confirm the buyer's interest in completing the sale. An example of trial closure, is "Do you need our team to install the unit for you?" or "Are you willing to take delivery next Thursday?" If sales staff are unsure about the readiness of prospects to purchase, they may consider using 'trial closing'. Salespeople can use several different techniques to close sales; including 'alternative closure', 'close assumption', 'close summary', or 'close special offer', among others.

Promotions

One of the unique aspects of retail promotion are the two brands that are often involved; brand stores and brands that make up the retail product range. Store-centered retail promotions tend to be 'image' oriented, raise store awareness and create a positive attitude toward the store and its services. Retail promotions that focus on products, are designed to foster a positive attitude toward a store-stocked brand, to indirectly encourage a favorable attitude toward the store itself. Some retail and promotional ads are partly or wholly funded by the brand and these are known as co-operative (or co-op) advertisements.

Resellers make extensive use of advertisements through newspapers, television and radio to drive store preferences. To sell or cross-sell, retailers also use various in-store sales promotion techniques such as product demonstrations, samples, point-of-purchase views, free trials, events, promotional packaging, and promotional pricing. In retail grocery, wobbler racks, trolley commercials, taste tests, and recipe cards are also used. Many retailers also use loyalty programs to encourage repeated patronage.

Presentations

See Merchandising; Pictures of la

Source of the article : Wikipedia