Piyush & Dwarika defines

Retailing as an activity that ensures that customers derive maximum value from the buying process

Characteristics of Retailing
Retail Mix - Basic characteristic of Retail
i. Merchandise and/or Services offered
Retail Mix.flv ] [Lr2\Waitrose Russell Square

ii. Variety and Assortment of merchandise offered iii. The level of customer service iv. Price of the Merchandise

So, What WaitRose Merchandise Mix?

1. The merchandise offer - Bakery and Juices Retailers are classified based on type of Merchandise NAICS Retailer Code: 445
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/sssd/naics/naicsrch?chart_code=44&search=2012%20NAICS%20Search

2. Variety ( sauce, bread, cake, dairy) and Assortment ( Dif. Items in sauce category ) 3. The level of customer service ( 4. Price of the Merchandise

Why Japan Has The Best Customer Service In The World.flv

Terminologies
VARIETY No. of merchandise categories a retailer offers ( Breadth of Merchandise) ASSORTMENT No. of dif. items offered in a merchandise category. (Depth of Merchandise) STOCK KEEPING UNIT (SKU) : Each dif. Item of merchandise . ( List SKU of popular detergents in your kirana store)

References

Antony Welfare, The Retail Inspectors Handbook (http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/marketing-strategy/thefive-principles-of-retail) Managing Retail, by Piyush Kumar Sinha and Swarika Prasad Uniyal, Edition 2, 2012, P.No. 1