Peer Review

When is the last time you went to your favorite retailer? What store was it? Is it a clothing store, or is it a grocery store? Maybe you prefer to shop online. Why? Have you wondered about the journey those products take before making it out to the shelves? There are so many aspects to the retail experience and process for us to examine and better understand. Just how wide is the scope of the retail industry? What drives the retail industry and what changes are on the horizon for the future that will make an impact to this industry? Let’s dig a little deeper into the scope and impact of retail to our economy and why it’s important for you to understand. We’ll put some numbers behind this information so you can see just how big this industry is and the far reaching implications of retailers such as Toys R Us closing its doors. Today you might be a part-time sales associate, a store manager who oversees a million-dollar store, or in one of the other many sectors of the business. However, tomorrow you could be one of the buyers in the corporate office trying to understand how to leverage your customer’s needs to drive sales. At each level you will make key decisions that will impact the retail environment that range from pricing, to assortment planning, and even human resources activities.

Open (Access) Textbook

Individual, team, in-class discussions, lecture.

Safari, Mozilla Firefox, PDF reader

This book serves as an introduction on retailing, taking the reader through the basics of the industry from its organizational structure through the basics of consumer behavior analysis, target marketing, retail planning and management, decision and growth strategies, and service delivery.

College Lower Division, College Upper Division, Professional

Management Principles, Marketing Principles