What is retail?

Retailers are the last stop in the commodity supply chain. All upstream suppliers are participants who value goods, while retail customers are consumers. Its characteristic is that the number of each commodity transaction is relatively small and the number of transactions is frequent. The goods sold are consumption materials, which are used for daily consumption after being purchased by individuals or social groups. After the transaction, the goods leave the circulation field and enter the consumption field.

definition

The word "retail" comes from the French verb "retailler", which means "chop up". It is a basic retail activity, that is, buying in large quantities and selling in small quantities. For example, convenience stores can buy canned beans in units of 24 boxes and then sell them in units of individual canned beans. But retail enterprises are not the only "bulk" commercial entities. Wholesalers can also buy in large quantities and sell in small quantities to consumers. But it is the consumer type that distinguishes retail enterprises from other distribution traders; Retail enterprises are characterized by selling to final consumers, while wholesalers sell to retail enterprises or other commercial institutions. Baker (1998) defines a retail enterprise as "any organization that sells goods to individuals or families and provides after-sales service". There is a tendency that retail mainly refers to the sale of tangible (material) products. However, it is necessary to admit that retail is a kind of sales that includes services. Service may be the main purchase of customers (such as haircut or air travel), or it may be part of the purchase of customers (such as delivery or training). Retail does not necessarily involve tangible goods. Mail order and telephone order, selling the Internet directly to consumers' homes or offices, and vending machines all belong to the retail category. Finally, there is not necessarily only one "retailer" in retail. Manufacturers, importers, non-profit companies and wholesalers play the role of retailers when selling goods or services to final consumers. On the other hand, the purchases made by manufacturers, wholesalers and other organizations for organizing use or resale do not belong to retail business.

Retail: all activities of selling consumer goods and related services to final consumers or social groups for their final consumption. This definition includes the following points:

1. Retail is an activity that provides goods and related services to consumers for final consumption. If a retailer sells car tires to customers and customers install tires on their cars, this transaction is retail. If the buyer is a car dealer, the car dealer assembles it in the car and then sells the car to consumers, it is not retail.

2. Retail activities not only sell goods to final consumers, but also provide related services. Retail activities usually provide various services related to commodity sales, such as delivery, maintenance and installation. In most cases, customers will also buy certain services when purchasing goods.

3. Retail activities don't have to be carried out in retail stores, but some facilities and methods that are convenient for customers can also be adopted, such as door-to-door sales, mail order, vending machines, online sales, etc. No matter how and where the goods are sold, the essence of retail will not change.

4. Retail customers are not only individual consumers, but also social groups that buy unproductive products. If the company buys office supplies for employees' office use; A school ordered flowers for a meeting room or a banquet. Therefore, when seeking customers, retail activity providers should not ignore group objects. In China, the average retail volume purchased by social groups is about 10%.