The Evolution of Retail: From Small Shops to Online Delivery Services

Retail is the sale of goods, usually in small consumable quantities from a fixed location such a departmental store, a kiosk, or even a boutique. The retail business has grown in bits and bounds to even involve other services such as free delivery. It involves individual purchase or businesses. Over the years, the retail business has been a subject of middlemen. In most cases, they buy goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, but through wholesalers then selling the same to consumers, usually in small quantities.

They are at the end of the supply chain, and quite often bear the pain of high prices.

Nevertheless, retail is an important segment in the supply chain without which goods and services will not reach customers. In a marketplace, there exists various retail shops, each with a unique service. In various parts of the World, the retail business is still dominated by small stores, which are mostly family-owned with a small capital.

Get quality help now

writer-marian

Verified writer

Proficient in: Business

4.8 (309)

“ Writer-marian did a very good job with my paper, she got straight to the point, she made it clear and organized ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Retails are mostly classified accordance to their line of operation. These may include food products, hard goods such as appliances and electronics, as well as soft goods such as clothing and fabrics products. In terms of specialization, there are a number of retail outlets.

These include the following: Departmental Stores. These are very large stores which sell a wide range of good goods. They usually have a large assortment of goods with relatively average prices. Besides that, they employ workers, hence provide considerable quality of customer service? Discount Stores These are stores with a wide range of products on offer.

Discount stores are more or less focused on price cuts by offering discount to customers. They resemble departmental stores in a manner of ways? Supermarkets. Supermarkets are spread across major towns in most countries.

Unlike the first two, supermarkets mostly deal in fats moving consumable products like food. They have price tags and in most cases do not offer discounts. They also employ people hence are able to provide better services. ? Warehouse Stores. These ones usually deal in low-cost but often high quality goods that are piled in shelves. ? E-tailers They are not very common, especially in developing countries. They are mostly online based retail shops that operates through the Internet. After a customer has made a purchase, the good will be delivered using the address he used while making transactions.

Just like many other businesses, retail business also involves making profits. The pricing in retail is by cost-plus pricing. This is where the retailer adds some amount on top of the actual buying price. In most cases, this is pre-determined by government policies, thereby ensuring that consumers are not exploited. Unlike other payers in the supply chain, retailers do not incur cost of promoting their products. This is usually done by the manufacturer. However, retail business is characterized by stiff competition which calls for better customer service in order to remain in business.

A retail business which is not able to retain its existing customers can not effectively compete with other players. One way of attracting and retaining costumers is by designing display. A well displayed retail shop is a sure way of gaining competitive edge over others who have not done so. Another technique use by retail businesses is facing, whereby customers will be lured by fascinations rather than real things. Whichever the case, retail is a lucrative business that can rake in millions if well taken care of.