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Retailers (Overview ([Seiders et al 2000]: Convenience has 4 key elements,…
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
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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
- Online Retailing: Getting bigger + bigger
- Catalogue Stores: Becoming increasingly overtaken by online retailers
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Automatic Vending: Growing sector - not just chocolate/coffee, now includes computer accessories like charging cables
Supermarkets
- 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
Department 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
Category Killers
- 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
Discount Retailers
- 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]
Convenience Stores
- 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]
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
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- Mostly standard customer service, but extensive in some
- EXAMPLES: bridal boutiques, running shops
- Caters to one specific retail market