{"id":214,"date":"2018-09-24T15:05:03","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T15:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-osintrobus\/chapter\/the-competitive-world-of-retailing\/"},"modified":"2018-10-12T15:27:39","modified_gmt":"2018-10-12T15:27:39","slug":"the-competitive-world-of-retailing","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-osintrobus\/chapter\/the-competitive-world-of-retailing\/","title":{"raw":"The Competitive World of Retailing","rendered":"The Competitive World of Retailing"},"content":{"raw":"
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  1. What are the different kinds of retail operations?<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nSome 15 million Americans are engaged in retailing. Of this number, almost half work in service businesses such as barbershops, lawyers\u2019 offices, and amusement parks. Although most retailers are involved in small businesses, most sales are made by the giant retail organizations, such as Walmart<\/span>, Target<\/span>, and Macy\u2019s<\/span>. Half of all retail sales come from fewer than 10 percent of all retail businesses. This small group employs about 40 percent of all retail workers. Retailers feel the impact of changes in the economy more than many other types of businesses. Survival depends on keeping up with changing lifestyles and customer shopping patterns. In recent years, online retailing trends have significantly impacted retailing organizations, providing more opportunity for smaller retailers and more competition for larger retailers.\r\n
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    Types of Retail Operations<\/h3>\r\nThere is a great deal of variety in retail operations. The major types of retailers are described in (Figure)<\/a><\/strong>, which divides them into two main categories: in-store and nonstore retailing. Examples of in-store retailing<\/em> include Walmart<\/span>, Target<\/span>, Macy\u2019s<\/span>, and Neiman Marcus<\/span>. These retailers get most of their revenue from people who come to the store to buy what they want. Many in-store retailers also do some catalog and telephone sales.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Table 12.1<\/caption>\r\n
    Retailing Takes Many Forms<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Types of In-Store Retailing<\/th>\r\nDescription<\/th>\r\nExamples<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n
    Department store<\/strong><\/td>\r\nHouses many departments under one roof with each treated as a separate buying center to achieve economies of buying, promotion, and control<\/td>\r\nMacy\u2019s, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale\u2019s, Kohl\u2019s<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Specialty store<\/strong><\/td>\r\nSpecializes in a category of merchandise and carries a complete assortment<\/td>\r\nToys \u201cR\u201d Us, Zales Jewelers<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Convenience store<\/strong><\/td>\r\nOffers convenience goods with long store hours and quick checkout<\/td>\r\n7-Eleven, Circle K<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Supermarket<\/strong><\/td>\r\nSpecializes in a wide assortment of food, with self-service<\/td>\r\nSafeway, Kroger, Winn-Dixie<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Discount store<\/strong><\/td>\r\nCompetes on the basis of low prices and high turnover; offers few services<\/td>\r\nWalmart, Target<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Off-price retailer<\/strong><\/td>\r\nSells at prices 25 percent or more below traditional department store prices in a spartan environment<\/td>\r\nTJ Maxx, HomeGoods<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Factory outlet<\/strong><\/td>\r\nOwned by manufacturer; sells closeouts, factory seconds, and canceled orders<\/td>\r\nLevi Strauss, Dansk<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Catalog store<\/strong><\/td>\r\nSends catalogs to customers and displays merchandise in showrooms where customers can order from attached warehouse<\/td>\r\nIkea<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Types of Nonstore\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>Retailing\r\n<\/strong><\/td>\r\nDescription<\/strong><\/td>\r\nExamples<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Vending machine\r\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\r\nSells merchandise by machine<\/td>\r\nCanteen<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Direct selling\r\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\r\nSells face-to-face, usually in the person\u2019s home<\/td>\r\nAvon, Amway<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Direct-response marketing\r\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\r\nAttempts to get immediate consumer sale through media advertising, catalogs, pop-up ads, or direct mail<\/td>\r\nK-Tel Music, Ronco<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Home shopping networks\r\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\r\nSelling via cable television<\/td>\r\nHome Shopping Network, QVC<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Internet retailing (e-retailing)\r\n<\/strong><\/strong><\/td>\r\nSelling over the internet<\/td>\r\nBluefly.com, landsend.com, gap.com, Amazon.com, Wayfair.com, Dell.com<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\nNonstore retailing<\/em> includes vending, direct selling, direct-response marketing, home shopping networks, and internet retailing. Vending uses machines to sell food and other items, usually as a convenience in institutions such as schools and hospitals.\r\n
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    Atmosphere and Retail Image<\/h3>\r\n

    In considering retailing as a distribution strategy (place in the 5Ps), it is important to understand that place includes more than channel members or logistics. It also includes atmospherics\u2014the image of the actual retailing store (or, in the case of nonstore retailing, the platform from which the product is offered, such as a website or vending machine). An important task in retailing is to create this image. Marketers combine the store\u2019s merchandise mix, service level, and atmosphere to make up a retail image. Atmosphere<\/em> refers to the physical layout and d\u00e9cor of the store. They can create a relaxed or busy feeling, a sense of luxury, a friendly or cold attitude, and a sense of organization or clutter.<\/p>\r\n

    These are the most influential factors in creating a store\u2019s atmosphere:<\/p>\r\n\r\n