Retailers

Overview

  • All activities directly related to the sale of products/services to consumers for personal use
  • Different from wholesalers who distribute to businesses, not consumers
  • Help reduce uncertainty experienced by other intermediaries bc they promote cash flow by taking small amounts of stock on a regular basis
  • Provide consumers w/ access to products, so need to find out what consumers actually want
  • Primary concern for consumers: convenience [speed + ease]
  • [Seiders et al 2000]: Convenience has 4 key elements

Access:easy to reach quickly in terms of location, hours of operation, parking, availability etc

Search: easy to identify what they want, relates to outlet layout, product displays, staff knowledge etc. EXAMPLE: Using colour-coded tags for different sized clothes

Possession: ease of obtaining products in terms of having merch in stock

Transaction: ease of purchase/return of products. Can use self-service checkouts, queue systems etc. Difficulty w/ the internet is that ppl have issues w/ returns + won't pay shipping costs

  • Operate in the high st. + are final link w/ consumer
  • Add value to marketing channel w location, branding, atmosphere, store personality etc
  • Important for manufacturers to have a good relationship w/ retailers bc they have relationships w/ customers: know which products/brands are popular, what they want etc

Others

Supermarkets

Department Stores

Category Killers

Discount Retailers

Convenience Stores

  • Product Assortment: Broad + deep. Layout of products is critical
  • Pricing: Minimise price competition
  • Customer Service: Wide array + Good quality
  • The wide array of customer service facilities rationalises higher prices + minimises price competition. These include clothing alterations, shoe repairs, home delivery etc

EXAMPLES: Debenhams, Harrods, El Corte Inglés

  • Online Retailing: Getting bigger + bigger
  • Stock as wide a range of products as they can, often split by category, in a single location = Convenience + Variety
  • Dominant institution for food retailing
  • Large self-service retailing environments
  • Operate largely on a self-service basis, w/ minimum customer service + centralised register/transaction terminals
  • Offer a range of grocery/household item that cater for convenience + last-minute purchase needs of consumers
  • Usually have long opening times, are family run + belong to a trading group
  • Are being threatened by larger supermarket chains, especially since the relaxation of opening times for bigger stores [e.g Sunday hours]
  • Designed to kill off the competition
  • Narrow but deep assortment of products, low prices + few/moderate customer services
  • EXAMPLES: Staples [Office supplies]; Ikea [Home furnishings]
  • Retail chain store that's dominant in its product category
  • End of line/Out of season stuff, or really cheap discount stores like Poundland
  • Positioned based on low prices combined w/ the reduced costs of doing business
  • Broad but shallow assortment of products, low prices + low customer service
  • EXAMPLES: Matalan in the UK; Target in the USA
  • Retailers negotiate extensively w/ suppliers to ensure low merchandise costs
  • Carry a variety of soft goods [clothing] + hard goods [appliances]

Limited Line Retailers

  • Narrow but deep product assortment + customer service varies from store to store
  • Specialise in a small number of related product categories
  • Product variety differs across different stores, + they may choose to concentrate on several related product lines, a single product line, or a specific part of one product line
  • EXAMPLES: bookstores, newsagents, butchers

Specialty Stores

  • Narrow + deep product assortment
  • Avoids price competition
  • Mostly standard customer service, but extensive in some
  • EXAMPLES: bridal boutiques, running shops
  • Caters to one specific retail market
  • Catalogue Stores: Becoming increasingly overtaken by online retailers

Mail Order: Buying of goods + services by mail delivery

Automatic Vending: Growing sector - not just chocolate/coffee, now includes computer accessories like charging cables