The document provides an introduction to retailing. It discusses that retailing involves selling goods and services to consumers for personal use and is the last stage of distribution from suppliers to consumers. While retail sales are at record highs, the industry is facing challenges from new technologies and competition from online retailers. Retailers must resolve key issues like how to better serve customers while earning a profit and how to coordinate strategies across channels as customer expectations increase. A strong retail strategy is needed to address these challenges and apply retailing principles in a systematic way.

1. Introduction to Retailing
Dr. Gopal Thapa
Tribhuvan University

2. Retailing
 Retailing encompasses the business activities
involved in selling goods and services to
consumers for their personal, family, or household
use.
 It includes every sale to the final consumer—
ranging from cars to apparel to meals at
restaurants to movie tickets.
 Retailing is the last stage in the distribution
process from supplier to consumer.
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3. Retailing is at a complex crossroad
 On the one hand, retail sales are at their highest
point in history.
 Walmart is the leading company in the world in
terms of sales, but Amazon.com, predominately an
online retailer with few physical stores as of this
writing has an annual growth rate of 25 percent
compared to 1 percent for Walmart.
 New technologies are improving retail
productivity.
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4.  There are many opportunities to start a new
retail business—or work for an existing one—
and to become a franchisee.
 Global retailing possibilities abound,
especially for pure-online retailers that can
replicate their business models globally
without the capital costs of store-based
retailing.
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5. Retailing is at a complex
crossroad
 There are many opportunities to start a new retail
business—or work for an existing one—and to
become a franchisee.
 Global retailing possibilities abound, especially
for pure-online retailers that can replicate their
business models globally without the capital costs
of store-based retailing.
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6. Retailing is at a complex
crossroad
 On the other hand, retailers face numerous
challenges.
 The rise of the U.S. dollar against major
currencies in recent years has had a major
impact on retailers, their suppliers, and
consumers around the world.
 Many consumers are bored with shopping for
products or do not have much time for it and
are spending more for experiences.
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7. Retailing is at a complex
crossroad
 Some locales have too many stores, and
retailers often spur one another into frequent
price cutting (and low profit margins).
 Customer service expectations are high at a
time when more retailers offer self-service,
automated systems, and omni-channel
ordering and pick-up services
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8. Retailing is at a complex
crossroad
 Although online E-commerce accounts for only
7.1 percent of U.S. retail sales, today it is growing
at a faster rate and displacing sales revenues at
stores.
 Some retailers are still handling with their omni-channel
strategy in terms of capital and human resource
investments for in-store versus digital formats;
coordinating merchandising, pricing, and logistics across
channels; and the relative emphasis to place on image
enhancement, customer information and feedback, and
sales transactions.
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9. Retailing is at a complex
crossroad
 The widespread proliferation of mobile and social
media technologies has been difficult for many
retailers to adapt to in their strategies all over the
world.
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10. The key issues that retailers must
resolve
 How can we better serve our customers while earning a
fair profit?
 How can we stand out in a highly competitive environment
where consumers have so many choices?
 How can we better coordinate our merchandising, pricing,
and service strategy across all our channels when costs,
profit margins, and target segments differ across the
channels?
 How can we grow our business while retaining a core of
loyal customers?
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11. The key issues that retailers must
resolve
 Retail decision makers can best address these
questions by fully understanding and applying the
basic principles of retailing in a well-structured,
systematic, and focused retail strategy.
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12. Can retailers flourish in today’s
tough marketplace?
 Just look at your favorite restaurant, gift shop, and
food store.
 Look at the success of retailers such as
Amazon.com, Alibaba.com, The Burger King &
Crunchy Fried Chicken, Big Mart, Bhat bhateni
Super Store etc.
 What do they have in common?
 A desire to please the customer and a strong
market niche
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13. Framework of Retailing
 There is a tendency to think of retailing as
primarily involving the sale of tangible (physical)
goods.
 However, retailing also includes the sale of
services and digital goods.
 Sales in many physical goods—product categories
such as books, movies, and music—are now
dominated by their digital applications in the
format of downloads.
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14. Framework of Retailing
 Obviously, retailing does not have to involve a
store.
 Mail and phone orders, direct selling to consumers
in their homes and offices, Web transactions,
kiosks, and vending machine sales all fall within
the scope of retailing.
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15. Framework of Retailing
 In fact, retailing does not even have to include a
“retailer.”
 Manufacturers, importers, nonprofit firms,
wholesalers, and individual artisans on online
platforms, such as Alibaba.com, act as retailers
when they sell to final consumers.
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16. Importance of Retailing
 Retailing is an important field to study because of:
 Its impact on the economy,
 Its functions in distribution,
 Its relationship with firms selling goods and
services to retailers for their resale or use.
 Its broad range of career opportunities
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17. Retail Strategy
 A retail strategy is the overall plan guiding a retail
firm.
 It influences the firm’s business activities and its
response to market forces, such as competition and
the economy.
 Any retailer, regardless of size or type, should
utilize following six steps in strategic planning:
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18. Steps in Retail Strategic Planning
1. Define the type of business in terms of the
goods or service category and the
company’s specific orientation (such as full
service or “no frills”).
2. Set long-run and short-run objectives for
sales and profit, market share, image, and
so on.
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19. Steps in Retail Strategic Planning
3. Determine the customer market to target on the
basis of its characteristics (such as gender and
income level) and needs (such as product and
brand preferences).
4. Formulate an overall, long-run plan that gives
general direction to the firm and its employees.
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20. Steps in Retail Strategic Planning
5. Implement an integrated strategy that combines
such factors as store location, product assortment,
pricing, and advertising and displays to achieve
objectives.
6. Regularly evaluate performance and correct
weaknesses or problems when observed
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