Retail & Trade

The retail trade industry is responsible for the display and sale of new or used goods to consumers for personal or household consumption. The retail trade division includes motor vehicle retail, fuel retailing, food retailing, and other forms of store-based retail.

In the past the sector has seen a rapid reduction in the number of department stores and the rise of supermarkets and shopping centers. More recently, there has been a rise of convenience shopping, online trading, and the growth of franchising. As it has grown the retail trade industry has had to remain flexible to cope with economic challenges, technological advances, consumer trends, new retail formats, globalization and increasing competition.

The industry is characterized by a high degree of casual, part time and seasonal employment. It is estimated that more than half of the adult population is either currently working, or has worked at some time in their life, in the retail industry.

The world retailing industry is becoming increasingly competitive, forcing companies to take an innovative approach to attract consumers and encourage long-term loyalty. Department stores, for example, are increasing consumer footfalls by replacing more expensive brand-name products with less expensive private-label products. There are many market segments that are fuelling the growth of this industry. For example, the world multi-line retail industry, specialty retail market (products encompassed in the specialty retail industry include computer and electronics, automotive retail, home furnishing retail, apparel retail and specialty stores.), the convenience store industry and the global e-commerce industry are all expected to grow significantly in the next few years especially in emerging markets such as Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

The global e-commerce industry is boosted by wider internet penetration, with about 2.5 billion people using the internet in 2012. Business to consumer e-commerce growth in the U.S. is forecast to slow over the years to come while growth in other regions will gain momentum, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, where sales are estimated to reach approximately 69 billion U.S. dollars. Key players operating in the global retail market include House of Fraser, Galeries Lafayette, Arnotts, Fenwick, Bloomingdale’s, John Lewis, GALERIA Kaufhof, Arcandor, Debenhams, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Stockmann, Marks & Spencer, Beales, Sears, DWW Woolworth Germany, El Corte Inglés, Dillard's, Roebuck & Company, The Bay, Nordstrom and Maxeda.