Corporate entities in india   today face three major challenges and Opportunities:

    Globalization,

   Advances in technology and

    Deregulation.

 RETAILING  

Retailing includes all the activities involved in selling goods or services directly to final consumers for personal and non business use. A retailer or retail store is any business enterprise, whose sales volume comes primarily from retailing,

 TYPES OF RETAILERS

Retail Organizations exhibit great variety and new forms keep emerging.  Some major types of retailers are specialty store, department store, Supermarket, Convenience store, Discount Store, Off Price retailer etc., Some of the major stores considered for the study are described below:

 Department Store:

Several Product lines, with each line operated as a separate department managed by specialist buyers or merchandisers.

 Supermarket:

Relatively large, low – cost, low – margin, high volume, self – service operation designed to serve total needs for food, laundry and household maintenance products.

 Convenience Stores:

Relatively small store located near residential area, open long hours, seven days a week and carrying limited line of high turnover convenience products at slightly higher prices. Many have added takeout sandwiches, coffee and pasties.

 Discount Store:

Standard merchandise sold at lower prices with lower margins and higher volumes. True discount stores regularly sell merchandise at lower prices and offer mostly national brands. Discount retailing has moved into specialty merchandise stores, such as discount sporting – goods stores, electronics stores and books stores.

 TYPES OF SERVICE OFFERED BY THE RETAILERS

New store types emerge to meet widely different consumer preferences for service levels and specific services. Retailers can position themselves as offering any one of the four levels of service.

 1. Self Service:

Self service is the cornerstone of all discount operations. Many customers are willing to carry out their own locate – compare – select process to save money.

 2. Self Selection:

Customers find their own goods, although they can ask for assistance. Customers complete their transactions by paying a salesperson for the term.

 3. Limited Service:

These retailers carry more shopping goods, and customers need more information and assistance. The stores also offer services such as credit and merchandise – return privileges

 4. Full Service:

Sales people are ready to assist in every phase of the locate – compare – select process. Customers who like to be waited on prefer this type of store. The high staffing cost, along with the higher proportion of specialty goods and slower moving items and the many services, results in high – cost retailing.

 TYPES OF GOODS

            The vast array of goods consumers buy can be classified on the basis of shopping habits as follows:

 Convenience goods / FMCG’s:

Convenience goods can be further divided into the following as staples – these are goods consumers purchase on a regular basis. Impure goods – these are purchased without any planning or search effort. Eg; Candy bars, magazines etc. Emergency goods -  are purchased when a need is urgent eg umbrellas. Manufactures of emergency goods will place them in many outlets to capture the sale when the customer needs them.

Shopping Goods:

These are goods that the customer in the process of selection and purchase, characteristically compares on such bases as quality, price and style, Eg .  furniture, clothing, electronic appliances etc.

 Specialty Goods:

These are goods with unique characteristics or brand identification for which a sufficient number of buyers are willing to make a special purchasing effect. Eg .  cars , stereo components, jewellery etc.

 Consumer Buying Decision Process:

The steps involved are as follows:

    Need recognition

  Information research

   Evaluation of alternatives

  Purchase decision

    Post purchase decision

 The Indian retailing sector can be divided into unorganized and the organized retailing sector. Its characteristics can be presented as follows:

   Unorganized retailing sector

   Typically small retailers

   Evasion of taxes

   Difficulty in enforcing tax collection mechanisms

    No monitoring of labour laws

 Organized retailing sector

     Typically large retailers

     Greater enforcement of taxation mechanisms

    High level of labour usage monitoring

 Drawing out consumer insights and understanding ,shopper behaviour have always been a high priority for marketers; even though the efficacy of the traditional consumer research remains inconclusive marketers have ploughed ahead, investing money in data collection and analysis from a fragmented market.

Further the rise in new channels like organized retailing have given  marketers fresh hope in understanding  how consumers behave at the retail level and precisely what triggers them to choose a store / brand. Research tools track purchase behaviour and can help marketers alter packaging, pricing, promotion and develop new strategies to influence at the point of purchase.

 The future isn’t ahead of us. It has already happened” – Kotler on Marketing.