Retail Industry Outlook

With the ever changing times we can see the evolution happening. Things which was a luxury till yesterday are a necessity today. With the growth in income and an increase in the purchasing power of the people the out look of people has changed towards a lot of things.

One of the major industries thriving today is the retail industry. It has witnessed a massive growth of the economy. With the changing trends and the policies we see more and more of retail in out day to day life.

Earlier how it worked was that a manufacturer would sell the goods to the whole seller, who in turn would sell to it to the retailers on a margin of profit, which later would be added to the costs. By the time the product finally reaches the consumers it sells at almost double the cost.

The prime reason behind it was that there were no large scale manufacturers, and thus the cost of production would be high, the high cost was passed on to the wholesalers and subsequently the brunt was borne by the consumers who landed up paying a high price for a cheap product.

With the reigns of our external and internal trade policies being let loose much has come to our astonishment. Now what happens is either these large scale manufacturers manufacture goods or consumer articles on their own or they get the smaller manufacturers to work for them. This reduces the cost of production for these large scale manufacturers. Who now instead of selling their goods only in the primary markets to the wholesalers sell it directly in the secondary market to the consumers? So their profit margins are increased and since they have a cost reduction they pass on the benefit to us the consumers. So we land up paying less for the same article. Both are happy. This is the concept behind going retail.

Another aspect of the retail is not only the profits or savings but also the quality of goods, earlier since there were few manufacturers they had a monopoly. So the consumers had no choice as to quality of goods but to take whatever was available. With the major players of the market going retail the range available is a much wider one. Now the consumers have a choice and they are the ones who rule the markets.

Also the retailers or the retail outlets now provide you with various additional facilities to induce the customers to buy at a particular store. Facilities like home delivery, discounts and gifts.

These all incentives do come with a little price attached to them, but a little loss if it leads to a whopping loyal customer base, is worth taking the risk. Once customers become loyal to a particular brand, they stick to it and later they don't even mind paying a little extra for their brand