In commerce, a retailer buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a
wholesaler, and then sells individual items or small quantities to the general
public or end user customers, usually in a shop, also called store.
Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Marketers see retailing as part of their overall distribution strategy.
Shops may be on residential streets, or in shopping streets with little or no houses, or in a shopping center or
shopping mall. Shopping streets may or may not be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a shopping street has a partial or full roof to protect customers from precipitation.
Shopping is buying things, sometimes as a recreational activity. A cheap version of the latter is window shopping (just looking, not buying).
Kinds of retailers
A large shop is called a superstore or megastore. A shop with many different kinds of articles is called a
department store.
Many shops are part of a chain: a number of similar shops with the same name selling the same products in different
locations. The shops may be owned by one company, or there may be a franchising company that has franchising agreements with the shop owners (see also restaurant chain).
Some shops sell second-hand goods. Often the public can also sell goods to such shops. In other cases, especially in the case
of a nonprofit shop, the public donates goods to the shop to be sold (see also
thrift store). In give-away shops goods can be taken for free.
The term retailer is also applied where a service provider services the needs of a large number of individuals, such as
with telephone or electric
power.
For details on the various types of retailers see:
Retail pricing
The pricing technique used by most retailers is cost-plus pricing. This involves adding a markup amount (or percentage) to the retailers cost. Another common technique is manufacturers
suggested list pricing. This simply involves charging the amount suggested by the manufacturer and usually printed on the
product by the manufacturer.
In Western countries, retail prices are often so-called psychological prices or odd prices: a little less than a
round number, e.g. $ 6.95. In Chinese societies, prices are generally either a round number or sometimes some lucky number. This
creates price points.
Often prices are fixed and displayed on signs or labels. Alternatively, there can be price discrimination for a variety of reasons. The retailer charges higher prices to some
customers and lower prices to others. For example, a customer may have to pay more if the seller determines that he or she is
willing to. The retailer may conclude this due to the customer's wealth, carelessness, lack of knowledge, or eagerness to buy.
Price discrimination can lead to a bargaining situation often called
haggling — an argument about the price. Economists see this as
determining how the transaction's total surplus will be divided into consumer and producer surplus. Neither party has a clear advantage, because the threat of no
sale exists, whence the surplus vanishes for both.
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