Retailing - a set of business activities that adds value to the products and services sold to consumers for their

personal or family use.

Retailer is a business that sells products and/or services to consumers for personal or family use.
Type of Retailers

1. Department stores are characterized by their very wide product mixes. That is, they carry many different types of
merchandise, which may include hardware, clothing, and appliances.
2. Specialty stores are retail establishments that focus on one or two specific categories of products. They are known for
having a very narrow product line. 
3. Supermarkets are one of the most common types of retail outlets. They are large, departmentalized, self-service stores
that specialize in food and some non-food items. 
4. Discount Stores As the name clearly suggests, discount stores give considerable discounts on the products that they
sell. Discount stores compete on the basis of low prices.
5. Hypermarkets or Super Stores Hypermarkets are one step ahead of supermarkets. These stores are huge in size and
have many different categories under their belt.
6. Warehouse Stores A retail store that sells limited stock in bulk at discounted rates is called a warehouse store.
Warehouse stores do invest heavily in visual merchandising and rely on lower prices attracting customers instead.
7. E-Commerce Stores Virtual stores that enable customers to shop from anywhere at any time are called e-commerce
stores. The order is placed through the store’s online portal, and products are delivered to the customer’s given address.
8. 8. Dollar Stores are a type of discount store. They offer products at meager rates. The only difference is that their prices
are fixed.

9. Drug stores are specialized stores that sell medicines. The newer drug stores though often sell many other things apart
from pharmaceuticals, forming their own niche of specialized stores.

Characteristics of Retailing
➔ Retailers are referred to as middlemen or intermediaries.
● Market orientation is a customer-centered approach to product design. It keeps growing by moving retail operations into
new markets. Markets are ever changing and characterized by risk and threat.
● Multi-channel Retailing is the process of using multiple channels for selling similar products across different
platforms. Retailers act as a connecting link between the producers/ wholesalers and customers.
● Innovative methods of thinking and planning Successful retailing requires innovative methods of thinking and
planning. New ideas are generated to take advantage of opportunities or to improve existing methods of marketing.
● Right environment A retailer has to create the right environment, offer additional advantages and value or loyalty
schemes in order to ensure that the customer is offered a comprehensive package of benefits.

Retail Methods of Operation 

❖ Store Design Retail store design is a branch of marketing and considered part of the overall brand of the store. Retail
store design and display factors into window displays, furnishings, lighting, flooring, music and store layout to create a
brand or specific appeal.
❖ Inventory management a critical element of the supply chain, is the tracking of inventory from manufacturers to
warehouses and from these facilities to a point of sale. The goal of inventory management is to have the right products in
the right place at the right time.
❖ Logistics in the retail industry typically refers to transporting items from suppliers to retail outlets, distribution centers, or
even customers. Due to the increasing digitization of retail, logistics is becoming a critical component of any successful
enterprise's foundation.
❖ Order fulfillment involves the assembly and shipment of a customer product order. Instead of a customer going to a
physical store to buy the items they want, they can visit your website and purchase the items they want.
❖ Customer service is about providing customers with relevant (and timely) assistance, to help them solve their problems
and to meet their needs and expectations.
❖ Payment processing is how businesses complete credit card and debit card transactions. Payment processing
services expedite card transactions, and payment gateways securely transmit data so money from a customer's issuing
bank can be transferred to a merchant's account.
❖ Returns is the process of a customer taking previously purchased merchandise back to the retailer, and in turn receiving
a refund in the original form of payment, exchange for another item (identical or different), or a store credit.
❖ Facilities management involves keeping the store area clean, safe, and attractive. Maintenance technicians can be
assigned to tasks such as cleaning floors, restrooms, and windows as well as assembling and maintaining product
displays.
Customer Buying Behavior - is the study of consumers and the processes they use to choose, use (consume), and dispose of
products and services including consumers’ emotional, mental, behavioral responses. Understanding consumer behavior is crucial for
businesses to create effective marketing strategies that can influence consumers’ decision-making processes.
4 Main Types of Consumer Behavior
1. Complex buying behavior occurs when an individual buys an expensive and infrequently purchased product, such as a
car, new home, or treadmill. Consumers are often highly involved with this type of purchase, and they take time to
research the significant differences between various brands. Complex purchases often involve a deep sense of buyer
commitment based on their associated costs.
2. Dissonance-reducing Buying Behavior Dissonance-reducing buying behavior occurs when a consumer is highly
involved in the purchase of an item, but they have a hard time pinpointing the difference between various brands.
3. Habitual buying behavior happens when consumers purchase something on a regular basis, but they are not
emotionally attached to a brand. The purchase of items such as bread, milk, eggs, and gasoline are possible examples of
habitual buying behavior.
4. Variety seeking buying behavior happens when individuals decide to buy a different product in the same product line,
such as a new brand of toothpaste, not because they were dissatisfied with their initial purchase, but because they want
to try something new. Other examples may include buyers opting for a new brand of cologne or a new type of hair styling
product.
Factor that Drives Consumer Behavior
● CULTURAL FACTORS Culture is not always defined by a person's nationality. It can also be defined by their
associations, their religious beliefs or even their location.
● Social factors such as buyers’ income level, where they live, and their family dynamic, may also play a role in the types
of products and services they spend their money on.
● Personal factors such as an individual’s gender and culture, and whether they understand how the product can be used
to solve a problem, such as how microwave - safe food containers can help with meal preparation, have also been proven
to affect which products and services consumers buy.
● PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS A person's state of mind when they are approached with a product will often determine
how they feel not only about the item itself but the brand as a whole.
Different Types of Buyers
❖ ANALYTICAL BUYER Motivated by logic and information, this buyer will look at all the data on competing brands and
products before making an informed decision.
❖ AMIABLE BUYER Warm and friendly, this buyer just wants everyone to be happy. That is why they are often paralyzed
by big decisions when there is the perception of a win/lose outcome.
❖ DRIVER BUYERS are most concerned with how others view them and whether they follow. The trendsetters, Drivers are
most concerned with their appearance rather than the relationships that are formed during a transaction.
❖ EXPRESSIVE BUYER Relationships are key to the Expressive Buyer. They cannot stand feeling isolated or ignored
during a transaction. Instead, they want to feel like your most important asset.