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Marketing Basics - Kotler Philip

Types of retailers

In the United States, there are millions of retailers in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Moreover, new forms of retailing constantly appeared, incorporating certain features of old forms, for example, the modern K-Mapt chain store combines the features of a supermarket and a discount store. Since different consumers like different forms of trade, the simultaneous existence and prosperity of enterprises with different levels of consumer services is possible. In fig. 71, four levels of service are presented, and trading establishments are usually practiced at these levels.

Self-service retailers began to grow rapidly in the country as a result of the depressed state of the economy in the 1930s. Today, representatives of all walks of life use the services of a retail self-service store, especially when purchasing everyday goods and some pre-selected goods. Self-service is the basis of any trade at a discount. For the sake of economy, many consumers are ready to independently engage in the search, comparison and selection of goods.

Retailers with free selection of goods have sellers who can be contacted for assistance if desired. The client completes the transaction, approaching the seller and paying with him for the purchase. The overhead of stores with free selection of goods is slightly higher than that of self-service stores, due to the need to maintain additional staff.

	Reduction in the number of services			Service growth
	Self catering	Free selection of goods	Limited service	Full service
	Minimum number of services Trade in basic consumer goods Trade in consumer goods	Limited number of services. Price attractiveness. Trade in basic consumer goods Trade in consumer goods	A small variety of services Trading pre-selection goods	Wide variety of services Fashion trade Trade in special goods
	Retail Warehouse Stores Grocery & Grocery Stores Discount Stores Posttorg Companies Vending machines	Discount stores Haberdashery shops	Peddling Department Stores Phone Sales Haberdashery	Specialized Stores Department Stores

Fig. 71. Classification of retailers by indicators of the volume of services for consumers

Limited-service retailers, such as those found on Sears chains, provide customers with a higher level of assistance from sales staff, as these stores sell more pre-selection products and require more information. In addition, in these stores consumers are offered services in the form of selling on credit and taking back purchased goods, which are usually absent in stores with a more limited level of service. So the operating costs of these stores are higher.

Full-service retailers, such as fashion department stores, have sellers who are ready to personally help the buyer at all stages of the search, comparison and selection of goods. Consumers who want to be “served” prefer just such stores. Higher maintenance costs for staff, a higher percentage in their range of special goods and slow-moving goods (fashion products, jewelry, movie cameras), a more liberal approach to the practice of returning purchased goods, using various credit schemes, providing free delivery of purchases, technical servicing durable goods at home and providing customers with additional amenities in the form of lounges and restaurants - all this turns out to be like a magician Zin high overhead. It is not surprising, therefore, that over the past few decades, the number of full-service retailers has been steadily declining.

In describing the types of retail enterprises, we will classify them on the basis of several initial parameters: the offered product range, the relative attention to prices, the nature of the trading service, the store's affiliation and the type of concentration of the stores. Types of retail outlets are listed in table. 16, and their description is given below.

Table 16 Different ways of classifying retailers