Practical Work, Project and Internal Assessment
The practical component checks whether you can actually perform retail tasks and explain them, not just recall theory. Marks come from the practical file or portfolio, demonstrations, the project report, the field visit or role play, and the viva. Follow your school's mark split as notified in the syllabus.
Skills you may be asked to demonstrate
- Complete a billing cycle: greet, scan, confirm the amount, accept payment, count change back, hand over the bill.
- Arrange a shelf to a planogram with correct price tags and front-facing stock.
- Demonstrate a product using feature–advantage–benefit.
- Handle a complaint in a role play: listen, acknowledge, offer a solution, close.
- Count stock and fill a stock sheet accurately.
- Set up a small display with correct signage.
Project report structure
Title page, certificate, acknowledgement, objectives, introduction and industry overview, methodology (survey or observation), data tables and charts, findings, conclusion, suggestions, bibliography and annexures such as the questionnaire or observation sheet.
Worked example
Project: 'Customer preference for payment modes in a local supermarket.' Reasoning for a defensible report: state the objective; choose observation of 200 billing transactions over five days as the method, because it avoids recall error; prepare a simple tally sheet with columns for cash, card and UPI; present the table and a bar chart; then interpret - for example, if UPI dominates small bills, recommend a dedicated UPI QR at each counter. The sample size and the instrument make the finding credible.
Field visit
Seek permission in advance, carry an observation checklist (format, layout, billing, display, staff roles), take photographs only with consent, and write the report against the checklist.
Traps that cost marks
Copying a project from the internet and being unable to answer viva questions on your own methodology; unlabelled tables; and describing a practical skill without the correct terminology.