What is Retailing? What are Different Types of Retailers?

Retailing includes all the activities in selling products or services directly to the final consumers for their personal, non-business use. Retailers are businesses whose sales come primarily from retailing.

Types of Retailers

1. Specialty stores
   • Carry a narrow product line with a deep assortment such as apparel stores, sporting goods stores, furniture stores etc.
   • Eg: Bata
2. Department stores
   • Carry several product lines – typically clothing, home furnishing, household goods etc.
   • Eg: Lifestyle
3. Supermarkets
   • Relatively large, low cost, low margin, high volume, self service operation designed to serve the consumer’s total needs for grocery and household products.
   • Eg: Spencers
4. Convenience stores
   • Relatively small stores located near residential areas, open long hours, seven days a week, and carrying a imite line of high turnover convenience products at slightly higher prices.
5. Discount stores
   • Carry standard merchandise sold at lower prices with lower margins and higher volumes.
   • Eg: Brand Factory
6. Off-price retailers
   • Sell merchandise bought at less than regular wholesale prices and sold at less than regular retail prices.
   • Often leftover goods, overturns and irregulars obtained at reduced prices from manufacturers or other retailers.
7. Superstores
   • Very large stores traditionally aimed at meeting consumer’s total needs for routinely purchased food and non-food items.