Importance of the RETAIL FUNCTION forthe Retailers, Consumers & the Economy

Retailing, involves the final activities and steps needed to place a product in the hands of the consumer or to provide services to the consumer. As the final link between consumers and manufacturers, retailers are a vital part of the business world. In fact, retailing is actually the last step in a supply chain that may stretch from the manufacturer to our home.Retailers add value to products by making it easier for manufactures to sell and consumers to buy.The Retail Industry is one of the most important sectors in the economy, providing over 15 per cent of all employment and including some of the largest and most admired companies worldwide. Traditionally, this sector comprised mostly small businesses who typically invested very little in research, however, these days the retail sector is a driver of technological and managerial change.Through the years retailing has evolved, competition has gotten stiff and therefore marketing has become more integral in the direct selling of wares. From specialty mom-and-pop shop to mass-merchants, the methods by which stores are getting their products into the hands of customers are evolving. Because customers have more choices, stores have to reach them with advertising, entice them with promotions, and secure them with branding hence the ever-growing need for marketing in retail outlets. In todays scenario customers do not want to spend much time and effort and want everything at ease, this purpose is being fulfilled.Along with providing convenience to the customers, it also serves as an important factor attracting consumers towards formal retailing mechanisms such as hypermarts and departmental stores is the shopping experience. The organized retail format promises consumers better quality and better shelf-life for products due to their excellent storage facilities and anti-tampering checks.These shopping outlets allow consumers to explore their choices and touch and feel products in the comfort of a glitzy and energetic environment, something a kirana or mom and pop stores have never been able to offer. Thus consumers are more satisfiedafter getting a chance to freely choose and compare products and then purchase them, leading to increase in their purchasing which eventually enhances the sale, benefitting the retailer. Organised retailing is the key to potential growth for stores that build their brand to the point where they can sell merchandise at a premium price.Doing so is more cost effective: they can reduce the costs associated with buying other brand names, source cheaper goods from private manufacturers and reap higher profits. As an added bonus, stores benefit from consumer loyalty to their stores and their products. Retail expansion is of strategic importance for the continued rapid growth and consumer acceptance of any retail brand . As more and more international brands are entering the market, consumers have rising expectations when it comes to the shopping experience that brands provide. One such retail brand is adidas, which has recognized this trend by providing retail training to franchisees and store staff for also in the past. adidas launched adidas

Retail University. With the aRU, adidas aims to take its retail efforts to the highest level of professionalism and excellence. Several hundred staff at various locations world wide will follow a structured training process covering topics such as customer service, selling skills, visual merchandising and shop management for better acceptance by its customers that help in gaining a better market share eventually enhancing companys performance. A retail analyst from their Indian operations head office in gurgaon, clearly mentioned in a conversation about the increase in sale, growing demand and acceptance of the brand and its successful ventures after the aRU implementation. With the growth of organized retailing, there has been an increase in the rate of employment potential in every nation. Providing direct employment in retail, also drives the growth of a number of activities in the economy which in turn open up employment opportunities to several people. Retail sector is a sunrise industry in India and is presently the largest employer after agriculture, the prospect for growth is simply huge. According to a study the size of the Indian Retail market is currently estimated at Rs. 704 crores( financial year-2009-2010) which accounts for a meager 3 % of the total retail market. As the market becomes more and more organized the Indian retail industry will gain greater worth.The NSSO data also indicated that there was an additional employment of 4.44 million was added in this sector, showing an annual employment growth of 2.7 per cent per annum.. The Retail sector in the small towns and cities has increase by 50 to 60 % pertaining to easy and inexpensive availability of land and demand among consumers. The growth in the retail sector is also caused by the development of retail specific properties like malls and multiplexes.Canada Is one of the most competitive and prosperous countries in the world, as defined by gross Domestic product (GDP) per capita. China too is has attracted several global retailers in recent times, employing 7% people of the country. In U.S. retail is the second-largest industry, by number of businesses and number of employees. Retail stores constitute 20% of U.S. GDP & is the 3rd largest employer segment there.According to the National Retail Federation, 1 in 5 American workers are employed in the retail industry. The Department of Labor estimates that after this rapid expansion of retailing, 700,000 new jobs have been created in this sector. That's 13% of all new jobs in the United States. At present, more jobs are provided in retailing than the entire U.S. manufacturing sector. "Wal-Mart, the number one positioned global retailer is driving productivity, which has been crucial to the U.S. economy turning around," says Louis Galambos, a professor of business history at Johns Hopkins University. Thus Retail function has become an integral part for the retailer, the consumer and eventually the national as well as global economy. From a retailers point of view the retail function in the industry is important to keep consumers updated on new available products as well as promotion of incentive sales for customer growth and retentions , that eventually refers to increase in sale, and equity, which are the ultimate motives for any company. With the ever changing customer needs, retailing

helps them find variety providing them a delighted shopping experience, without much effort. Considering the present scenario, where the consumers buying power has increased, has somehow lead to a demand of a more convenient and easy lifestyle, as retailing provides them access to goods from manufacturers directly to their homes, it is turning to b a very important part saving time of consumers and providing them ease. Retailing also plays a major role in the economy of any nation, providing employment to a large chunk of population, along with increasing sales that raises the nations GDP and helps it develop into a more prosperous nation.

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Reference
Book Retail Management Levy &Weitz Internet http://www.indiaretailforum.in/ http://www.imagesretail.com/ http://www.cnbc.com/id/40989307/Top_10_Global_Retailers
www.indiaretailing.com www.adidas.com