Retail facts for kids

A cheese store where you can buy products.

The Apple store in San Francisco lets customers experience Apple products with a big video wall, user stations, and free Wi-Fi.

Retail is all about selling things like products or services directly to people who will use them. When you buy a new toy, clothes, or even a haircut, you're buying from a retailer! Retailers are the businesses or people who sell these items or services. They get products from big companies or factories and then sell them in smaller amounts to many different customers. Think of it like this: a farmer grows apples, a wholesaler buys a huge truckload of apples, and then a grocery store (the retailer) sells those apples one by one to you and your family.

Shopping is simply the act of buying things. Sometimes we shop for things we need, like food or clothes. Other times, shopping can be a fun activity, like when you look around stores without planning to buy anything – this is called window shopping.

How Retailers Work

Most modern retailers make important choices about their business. They decide what kind of store to have, like a small shop or a big department store. They also choose which customers they want to serve and what products to sell. Good customer service is also super important!

The Retail Mix

Once a retailer knows their main plan, they think about the "retail mix." This is like a recipe for how they sell things. It includes:

• Product: What items are they selling?
• Price: How much do things cost?
• Place: Where is the store located, or how do people buy online?
• Promotion: How do they tell people about their products (like ads)?
• Personnel: The people who work in the store and help customers.
• Presentation: How the store looks and feels inside.

Shopping in the Digital Age

Today, more and more retailers sell things in many ways. You can still go to a physical store (sometimes called "bricks and mortar"), but you can also shop online! This is called online retailing or e-commerce. It means you can buy things from your computer or phone. New technologies also make it easier to pay for things, like using your phone or a special card. Retailers might also offer extra help, like delivering items to your home or giving advice on what to buy.

Types of Retail Stores

You can find retail shops in many different places. They can be in small shopping areas on regular streets or in huge indoor shopping malls. Some streets are even just for people walking, with no cars allowed, making it a nice place to shop. Sometimes, a shopping street might have a roof to protect shoppers from bad weather, like rain or extreme heat.

Besides physical stores, there's also online shopping and mail order, where you order items from a catalog and they are sent to your home.

Images for kids

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  A grocery and cosmetics store in Tangier, Morocco.

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  Galeries de bois at au Palais-Royal, one of the earliest shopping arcades in Europe.

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  Retailers make many strategic decisions – like the type of store and what products to sell.

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  Retailers think about their overall image and how they want customers to see their brand.

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  The retail marketing mix, also known as the 6 Ps of retailing.

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  Sometimes prices end in '9' (like $9.99) to make them seem cheaper.

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  A famous question from McDonald's: "Would you like fries with that?" This is a way to sell more items.

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  Modern technology stores often look very clean and open.

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  The way a store looks, its displays, and how it's set up are all part of the "retail servicescape." Pictured: Harrods food court.

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  People who shop for fun are called recreational shoppers. Pictured: Shoppers in a Dutch lace shop in the 17th century.

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  Apple's concept stores let customers try out products and get help.

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  U.S. Monthly Retail Sales from 1992 to 2010.

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  The two biggest supermarket chains in Switzerland, Migros and Coop, are owned by their customers.

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  Japan has the most vending machines per person in the world.

See also

In Spanish: Minorista para niños