Retailer Types

Types of Retailers

• Department Stores: Large establishments with a wide variety of products like clothing, electronics, and household goods.
• Supermarkets: Primarily focused on selling food and grocery items, possibly including household goods, health, and beauty products.
• Specialty Stores: Focus on specific product types like electronics, clothing, or beauty products.
• Discount Stores: Offer lower prices than traditional stores, often involving bulk purchasing or less expensive locations.
• Convenience Stores: Small stores in neighborhoods or along highways sell essential products, usually at higher prices.
• E-commerce Stores: Online retailers selling products through websites or mobile apps, offering convenience and lower overhead.
• Warehouse Clubs: Membership-based retailers selling bulk items at discounted prices, focusing on fewer brands and high-volume sales.
• Factory Outlets: Retailers selling products directly from manufacturers at discounted prices, typically due to overproduction or end-of-line products.
• Pop-up Stores: Temporary retail stores open for a short period to sell specific products, usually during seasonal events or holiday periods.
• Multi-channel Retailers: Operate physical stores and online platforms, providing a seamless shopping experience across different channels.
• Direct Selling: Retailers sell products directly to consumers through personal sales representatives, home parties, or one-on-one meetings.
• Thrift Stores: Retailers selling secondhand goods, frequently donations, at reduced prices and are popular for unique or vintage items.
• Variety and Assortment: Refers to the differences in merchandise offered by retailers.
• Variety (or breadth) is the number of different items a retailer offers.
• Assortment (or depth) is the number of different items offered in a merchandise category.

Services Offered By Retailers

• Retailers differ in services, with customers expecting services like displaying merchandise, accepting credit cards, parking, and convenient hours.
• Offering a wide variety of merchandise and services is appealing but costly for retailers.

Food Retailers

• Businesses selling food and beverages to consumers through channels like supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and online platforms.

Full-Line Discount Stores

• Offer a broad variety of merchandise with limited service and lower prices.

Category Stores

• Big box stores that offer a deep assortment but a narrow variety of merchandise.

Drug Stores

• Specialty stores that concentrate on health and beauty care products.

Extreme - Value Retailers

• Dollar stores that offer a broad variety but a shallow assortment of household goods, health and beauty care products, and groceries.

Off-Price Retailers

• Offer an inconsistent assortment of brand-name merchandise at significant discounts off the manufacturer's suggested retail price.

Online Grocery Retailers

• A key trend for supermarkets and its sector is addressed separately.

Components of Retail Marketing Mix

• Product: Includes the variety, quality, and branding, which must align with customer needs.
• Price: The cost to the customer considers discounts, pricing strategies, and competitor pricing.
• Place (Location): Where the product is available, including physical store location, online presence, and distribution channels.
• People: Encompasses the employees and customer service interactions that enhance the customer experience.
• Promotion: Strategies used to inform and attract customers to buy products.
• Process: Efficiency is a crucial element in manufacturing or service delivery.
• Physical Evidence: Tangible and visible elements representing the brand.

Retail Management

• Involves overseeing and managing all activities that help customers purchase goods and services from a retail store or platform.
• Website and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are important for online presence.
• Store operation: Managing physical or online store environment, including inventory, layout, and cleanliness.
• Customer Service: Ensuring a positive shopping experience through support and satisfaction.
• Inventory Management: Tracking and controlling stock levels to prevent overstocking or shortages.
• Merchandising: Selecting and presenting the right products to attract
• Sales Management: Driving revenue through promotions, staff performance, and customer engagement strategies.
• Staff Management: Recruiting, training, and motivating employees to deliver excellent service.
• Financial Management: Monitoring expenses, revenues, and profitability to achieve business goals.
• Marketing and Branding: Promoting the retail store through advertising, loyalty programs, and consistent brand identity.

Types of Merchandise

• Includes electronic & appliance stores, food & beverage stores, health & personal stores, gasoline stations, shoe stores, clothing stores, and jewelry stores.

Service Provider That Use Retailing Principles

• Retail firms primarily sell products to consumers, possibly offering services along with those products.
• Intangibility: Services are less tangible than products.
• Simultaneously Product And Consumption: Products are made in a factory, stored and sold by a retailer, and used by consumers in their homes.
• Perishability: Services are perishable and cannot be saved, stored, or resold, therefore service providers must match supply and demand.
• Inconsistency: Customers can be confident that all boxes of a product brand like Cheerios will be identical.

Types of Ownership

• Independent, Single Store Establishment: Retailing is one of the few sectors in most countries in which entrepreneurial activity is extensive.
• Many retail start-ups are owner-managed, allowing management to have direct contact with customers and respond quickly to their needs.
• Corporate Retail Chain: Operates multiple retail units under common ownership with centralized decision-making.
• Franchising: A contractual agreement in which a franchisor (the company) sells the rights to use its trademark, service mark, trade name, or other commercial symbols.