Retail Industry Facts and Overview

Retail Industry Definition:

The retail industry is a sector of the economy that is comprised of individuals and companies engaged in the selling of finished products to end users in the general public.

Two Types of Retailers in the Industry:

Store Retailers – Those engaged in the sale of products from physical locations which warehouse and display merchandise with the intent of attracting customers to make purchases on site.

Non-Store Retailers – Those engaged in the sale of products using marketing methods which do not include a physical location. Examples of non-store retailing include:

• Infomercials
• Direct Response television advertising
• Catalogue Sales
• In-Home Demonstrations
• Vending Machines
• Home Delivery
• E-commerce
• Multi-Level Marketing

Size of the US Retail Industry:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total sales for the U.S. Retail Industry in 2007 (including food service and automotive) was $4.48 trillion.

Types of Businesses in the Retail Industry:

Generally, any business that sells finished merchandise to an end user is considered to be part of the retail industry. Sales figures and economic data is sometimes reported separately for restaurants and automotive-related businesses, but by definition they are considered to be members of the retail industry as well.

Retail Employment:

According to the US Department of Labor, Nearly 15.5 million people worked in the US Retail Industry in Q4 2007. That number has dropped to 15.3 million as of May, 2008.

How to get a Retail Job Despite the Summer Sales Slump

Global Retailing:

Of the world’s 10 largest retailers, six of the companies are from the US and four are from European countries. These top ten had combined sales of $978.5 billion in 2007, according to international consulting group, Deloitte.

Top Retailers by Country

Retail Industry Outlook:

As was precited in the Deloitte report, “2008 Industry Outlook: A look around the corner,” U.S. retailing is challenging due to fears about the housing market, tightening credit, not to mention high gas prices and cost of living increases.

The report recommends that retailers focus on these strategies in order to survive (and possibly thrive) in 2008:

• Lean inventories and strong cash flow
• Lower payroll
• Increase share of wallet with existing customers
• Improve the customer experience and customer loyalty
• Use multichannel shopping (in-store, kiosk, online)
• Reintroduce coupons
• Create private label brands