Retail businesses sell items or services to customers for their consumption, use, or pleasure. They typically sell items and services in-store but some items may be sold online or over the phone and then shipped to the customer. Examples of retail businesses include clothing, drug, grocery, and convenience stores. it is one of the most profitable retail business in today’s environment. It does not require any specific skill and the investment also is moderate. You can initiate it in any residential area. This business requires a lot of hard work and dedication.
Retail businesses sell items or services to customers for their consumption, use, or pleasure. They typically sell items and services in-store but some items may be sold online or over the phone and then shipped to the customer. Examples of retail businesses include clothing, drug, grocery, and convenience stores. Retail business in India accounts for 10% of GDP and 8% of employment. Retail business is the most profitable business in India with low and moderate investments. So people with low or moderate capital investments can focus on small or medium retail stores for a high-profit margin business in India.
A retail sale occurs when a business sells a product or service to an individual consumer for his or her own use. The transaction itself can occur through a number of different sales channels, such as online, in a brick-and-mortar storefront, through direct sales, or direct mail. The aspect of the sale that qualifies it as a retail transaction is that the end user is the buyer.
Types of Retail Businesses
There are a millions of retail establishments in the India, from stores to restaurants to salons to gas stations, pest control providers, and auto mechanics. Those businesses employ close to millions of people, making retail the nation’s largest private sector employer.
There are four major categories of retailers:
Hardlines– things that tend to last a long time, such as appliances, cars, and furniture.
Soft goods or consumables– things like clothing, shoes, and toiletries.
Food– things like meat, cheese, produce, and baked goods.
Art – things like fine art, as well as books and musical instruments.
Within those categories you’ll also find different types of retail stores. Some of the most common types include:
Department Stores – the oldest, and often largest, place for consumers to shop for a variety of products under one roof. Target and Macy’s are examples.
Big Box Store – major retailers that specialize in one type of product, such as electronics. Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond are examples.
Discount Stores – department stores that stock discounted items and lower priced brands. Walmart and Kmart are examples.
Warehouse Stores – these no frills warehouses often require you to be a member to access their low prices. BJs and Costco are examples.
Mom-and-Pop Stores – smaller, often niche stores run by small business owners. These are your corner stores and local storefronts.
E-tailers – online retailers that sell via the internet and have products delivered to your door. They typically do not have physical stores. Amazon and etsy are examples.
Retail Finances
The retail supply chain generally consists of four players: manufacturers who produce the goods, wholesalers or distributors who buy from manufacturers and resell to retailers, and retailers who buy from wholesalers and then sell to consumers. At each step in the chain there is a markup, or profit margin, built in to the purchase. Manufacturers calculate their cost of making a product and then add on a profit percentage before selling to wholesalers. Wholesalers do the same thing, adding a profit percentage to what they paid for the products. And retailers add their own profit margin to the cost of the product before selling it to their end customer, the user.
Point of Sale
To complete a sale, retail stores have traditionally had customers bring their purchases to a cash register, where a clerk tallies the total cost and rings up the sale. Today, some supermarkets have self-check-out lanes, where customers can scan their items and check out using a credit card or cash. Customers buying online shop on their computer screens, click to select the products they want, and then type in their credit card information to complete the sale.