Retail is selling consumer goods or services to customers through multiple distribution channels to earn a profit. Retailers are meeting demand driven by the supply chain. The term “retailer” is commonly used when a service provider fulfills small orders from many end-users rather than large orders from a small number of wholesale, corporate, or government customers. Shopping usually refers to the purchase of buying products. This is sometimes done to obtain finished goods, including needs such as food and clothing; sometimes spent as leisure time. Leisure time shopping often involves window shopping and surfing; this does not always lead to a purchase.

Retail markets and shops have a very ancient history dating back to antiquity. Some of the early retailers were itinerant peddlers. Over the centuries, retail stores have evolved from a few grosser houses to the sophisticated malls of the modern era.

Most modern retailers typically make many strategic decisions at the level, including the type of store, the market it serves, the optimal range of products, customer service, support services, and the store’s overall market positioning. Once the strategic retail plan is in place, retailers offer a retail mix that includes the product, price, location, promotion, personnel, and presentation. In the digital age, an increasing number of retailers are looking to expand into broader markets by selling products through multiple channels, including bricks and mortar and online retailing. Digital technologies are also changing the way consumers pay for goods and services. Retail support services can also include loans, delivery services, consulting services, stylistic services, and a variety of other ancillary services.

Retail stores come in various types and contexts, from residential strip malls to large gated shopping malls. Shopping streets may only restrict pedestrian traffic. Sometimes, a shopping street has a partial or complete roof to create a more comfortable shopping environment that protects shoppers from various weather conditions such as extreme temperatures, wind, or rainfall. Forms of non-shop retailing include online retail (a type of e-commerce used for transactions between shoppers) and postal orders.

The word “retail” comes from the Old French verb tailler, meaning “to cut off, clip, pare, divide in terms of tailoring” (p. 1365). It was first written as a noun in 1433 with the meaning of “selling in small quantities” from the middle French verb in retail, meaning “a piece cut off, shred, scrap, paring.” The word retail (in English, French, Dutch, and German) refers to the sale of small quantities of goods to consumers (instead of wholesale).

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