Retail Formats
What this domain tests
A format is the combination of assortment, price positioning, size and service level a retailer offers. Exam questions usually give you a store description and ask you to name or justify the format, or ask you to compare store-based and non-store retailing.
Store-based formats
- Convenience store: small (roughly 500–2,000 sq ft), long hours, narrow but fast-moving assortment, priced slightly higher, located near residential areas.
- Supermarket: food and grocery led, self-service, 2,000–10,000 sq ft, thin non-food.
- Hypermarket: very large (over 25,000 sq ft), grocery plus apparel, electronics and home under one roof, high volume, low margin, often on city outskirts with parking.
- Department store: several distinct departments (apparel, cosmetics, home), each managed as a mini store, service-led, high street or mall location.
- Specialty store: narrow assortment, deep within one category (sarees, sports goods, books).
- Category killer: big-box specialty with dominant depth and aggressive pricing in one category.
- Cash and carry: membership-only wholesale for traders, not open to the general public.
- Factory outlet: surplus and end-of-season stock at discount.
Non-store and ownership formats
Non-store: e-commerce, catalogue and mail order, direct selling, vending machines, teleshopping. Ownership: independent, chain, franchise, cooperative and leased department.
Worked example
A 40,000 sq ft air-conditioned store on the outskirts of a city sells groceries, apparel, small appliances and household goods under one roof, with trolleys, a food court and free parking. Name the format. Reasoning: size above 25,000 sq ft, multi-category assortment, self-service and destination location point to a hypermarket - not a department store, because department stores are apparel and lifestyle led with counter service, and not a supermarket, which is grocery only.
Traps that cost marks
Judging format by size alone and ignoring assortment and service level; treating a cash and carry store as a supermarket; calling a single-category large store a hypermarket.