SKU:Stands for "Stock Keeping Unit," and is conveniently pronounced "skew.

" A SKU is a number or string of alpha and numeric characters that uniquely identify a product. For this reason, SKUs are often called part numbers, product numbers, and product identifiers. SKUs may be a universal number such as a UPC code or supplier part number or may be a unique identifier used by a specific a store or online retailer. For example, one company may use the 10 character identifier supplied by the manufacturer as the SKU of an external hard drive. Another company may use a proprietary 6-digit number as the SKU to identify the part. Many retailers use their own SKU numbers to label products so they can track their inventory using their own custom database system. When shopping online or at retail stores, knowing a product's SKU can help you locate the exact product at a later time. It will help you identify a unique product when there are many similar options, such as a TV model that comes in different colors, sizes, etc. If you know a product's SKU, you can typically locate the product online by typing the SKU in the online retailer's search box. If you visit a retail store and have questions about product you saw in an ad, knowing the SKU will help the salesperson find the exact product you are asking about. SKUs are typically listed in small print below the product name and are often preceded by the words "SKU," "Part Number," "Product ID," or something similar.

PRIVATE LABELS IN INDIAN RETAIL

BHARTI RETAIL: Bharti Retail, Walmarts joint venture partner in India, have bought eight private label in total including Great Value line of food (flour, dry fruits, spices, cereal, and tea) , George Apparel. The Private Label lines are going into the Cash & Carry format (BestPrice Modern Wholesale) and discount convenience (Easyday). Equate, a brand for pharmacy and health and beauty items, has been introduced only in the handwash category as of now in Easyday stores. Other Wal-Mart private labels introduced in India include Home Trends (home furnishing), Mainstays (plastic containers, kitchen accessories), Kid Connection (toys, clothing), ZENITH International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Faded Glory (footwear) and Athletic Works (athletic shoes, equipment). Astitva, a line for Indian ethnicwear.

ADITHYA BIRLA GROUP: More retail out lets from Adithya Birla Group offers Feasters brand (fruit squash, biscuits, fruit syrup, Instant Fruit Mix Powder, Noodles). More Brands (various grocers). 110 Per Cent (toilet cleaners, detergents, soaps,) and Paradise Room and Air Fresheners, AU79 (Deodorant) and Fresh-O-Dent toothpastes and toothbrushes. SHOPPERS STOP: Shoppers stop offers Kashish, Haute Curry, Vettorio Fratini and Elliza Donatein private labels in its products offerings. Life' T-shirts for men , while 'Stop' as ladies western wear. VISHAL MEGAMART: Vishal Megamart's offers salt and toothbrush under its `Vneed' brand. PANTALOON RETAIL INDIA LIMITED: Pantaloon Retail India Limited, offers "Fresh n Pure, Cleanmate, Tasty Treat, Caremate, Sach brands in food and FMCG. DJ&C, Kinghthood, John Miller brands in mens apparel. Tasty Treat in food segment. In the baby diapers segment Care Mate. In the Electronic Bazaar offers refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, fans, toasters, kitchen mixies in the brand name KORYO

Average Ticket Size:Average ticket size is referring to the average dollar amount of each credit card transaction. Average ticket size is always asked when you setup a new merchant account. If you dont process credit cards yes, simply make an estimate of what you believe the amount of the average credit card sale will be. Keep in mind that credit cards sale transactions are typically higher than for cash transactions. If you already processes credit cards, simply divide your total monthly MasterCard and Visa volume by the number of transactions to arrive at the average ticket size. Sometimes the average amount will be printed on your monthly merchant account statement.

Units Per Transaction - UPT

A sales metric often used in the retail sales sector to measure the average number of items that customers are purchasing in any given transaction. The higher the UPT, the more items customers are purchasing for every visit. Invest Units per transaction can be done on a day-by-day basis, or over a longer period and can be measured across individual stores and employees or company wide. The average UPT is calculated by simply

dividing the number of items purchased by the number transactions for the period.

Shrinkage:The loss of inventory that can be attributed to factors including employee theft, shoplifting, administrative error, vendor fraud, damage in transit or in store and cashier errors that benefit the customer. Shrinkage is the difference between recorded and actual inventory. According to the National Retail Security Survey, conducted by the University of Florida, shrinkage in the United States during 2009 represented 1.44% of retail sales. This percentage amounts to billions of dollars in lost inventory each year for U.S. retailers. Security guards, security tags and cameras are used by retailers in an effort to reduce shrinkage. According to the 2009 National Retail Security Survey, employee theft is the biggest contributor to shrinkage, approximately 43%, though employees are much less likely to be caught and apprehended than are shoplifters. In addition, the dollar value of employee theft incidents tends to be higher than shoplifting incidents.

Attrition:
The reduction in staff and employees in a company through normal means, such as retirement and resignation. This is natural in any business and industry. This type of reduction in staff is one way a company can decrease labor costs: the company simply waits for its employees to leave and freezes hiring. Such a method contrasts the more severe labor-reduction techniques, such as mass layoffs. Waiting for attrition is usually better for company morale.

SOP Definition
Why Operations Auditing & Benchmarking / SOP Definition Services? This service helps retailers define Standard Operating Procedures which in turn optimizes resource utilization. These procedures also integrate the retailers system and ensures smooth flow of

information. They also set the operational benchmarks and standards which the retail team strives to achieve. The broad areas that standard operating procedures cover are:

Retail Pro Operations / Store SOPs Buying and Merchandising SOPs Back end / Warehousing and logistics SOPs

Store Layout:Store layout is the term used to refer the interiors and the allocation or the plan in which the products are displayed in the store .It is quite imperative for the retailers to understand the customer and prepare a customer friendly layout. A customer friendly layout gives an impetus to the shopper to spend more time in the store hence increasing the chances of shoppers buying more merchandise. In the case of India many of the independent retailers do not have or have limited spaces for customer movement. Specially in smaller stores, one would find cash counter located at the store entrance. This treatment is common with so called 'Kinara Stores'. But on the other hand, many organized retailers provide adequate space within the store for shoppers and create layouts that facilitates a definite pattern of customer traffic .In other words, the layout creates 'Aisles' so that the shopper can move on a predefined path inside the store. Layout planning caters to decisions about nature of traffic flow, kinds of product, space available and maintenance of the space on a daily basis. Store layout is one of the many facets of Retail Atmospherics and it is significant as it plays a part in the cost incurred by the retail firm and also the general brand communication of the store.

Conversion Rate:
The percentage of visitors who take a desired action.

The desired action can take many forms, varying from site to site. Examples include sales of products, membership registrations, newsletter subscriptions, software downloads, or just about any activity beyond simple page browsing. A high conversion rate depends on several factors, all of which must be satisfactory to yield the desired results the interest level of the visitor, the attractiveness of the offer, and the ease of the process. The interest level of the visitor is maximized by matching the right visitor, the right place, and the right time. The attractiveness of the offer includes the value proposition and how well it is presented. It is worth noting that small, impulse items typically have a higher conversion rate than large, shopping items. The visitors ease of completing the desired action is dependent on site usability which includes intuitive navigation and fast loading pages.

Customer Loyalty Program:

Definition: A customer loyalty program is a structured and long-term marketing effort which provides incentives to repeat customers who demonstrate loyal buying behavior. Successful programs are designed to motivate customers in a business's target market to return often, make frequent purchases, and shun competitors. In retailing, these programs generally reward loyal customers with discounts, special offers, rebates, points, or prizes.

Retail value:
"Retail value" means:

(A) For items that bear a counterfeit mark and are components of a finished product, the regular selling price of the finished product in which the component would be utilized. (B) For all items that bear a counterfeit mark other than those described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and for all services that are identified by a counterfeit mark, the regular selling price of the item or service.

Average Transaction Size:

Let us try to understand the second important factor in the transaction matrix as it determines the level of business achieved per customer bill. Thus we shall define Average Transaction Size or Cash Memo size as: How much does the average customer spend in the store Average transaction size = Sales / Number of transactions (cash memos) This is a critical number as it measures our ability to sell more of what we have to customers we already have in the store. This figure should always be improving as then it will indicate the ability of the sales staff to upgrade its existing customers who are regular buyers in the store to new category of items of higher value or expose the buyers to items of different features and qualities.