Fundamentals of Retailing and Retail Formats
What retailing covers
Retailing sells goods or services to final consumers for personal or household use. A retailer breaks bulk, builds assortment, holds stock, provides service and creates place and time utility. The exam tests format classification, retail vocabulary and the retailer's functions, not just definitions.
Core format rules
- Department store: many categories, departmental billing, service-led.
- Supermarket: food and grocery focus, self-service, trolleys, moderate size.
- Hypermarket: very large, food plus broad non-food, shared checkout.
- Convenience store: long hours, limited lines, high convenience price.
- Specialty store: narrow category with deep assortment.
- Discount store: low price, limited service.
- Non-store: e-commerce, marketplace and direct selling.
Worked example
A 3,000 sq m store stocks groceries, apparel, electronics and homeware under one roof with a shared checkout. Classify it as a hypermarket, not a supermarket, because the non-food range is broad and the size and assortment exceed a supermarket. If it stocked only food and daily household items, supermarket would fit better.
Traps that cost marks
Do not confuse wholesale with retail: wholesale sells to businesses for resale. A mall is a collection of stores, not a retail format by itself. Self-service alone does not define a supermarket. Do not classify by brand name; classify by assortment, size, service level and pricing policy.