What are the services offered by retailers to wholesalers and consumers ?

Or

List any six functions of retailers.

(i) Help in distribution of goods : A retailer’s most important service to the wholesalers and manufacturers is to provide help in the distribution of their products by making these available to the final consumers, who may be scattered over a large geographic area.

(ii) Personal selling : In the process of sale of most consumer goods, some amount of personal selling effort is necessary. By undertaking personal selling efforts, the retailers relieve the producers of this activity and greatly help them in the process of actualizing the sale of the products.

(iii) Enabling Large Scale Operations :

On account of retailer’s services, the manufacturers and wholesalers are freed from the botheration of making individual sales to consumers, in small quantities. This enables them to operate at relatively large scale, and thereby fully concentrate on their other activities.

(iv) Collecting Market Information : As retailers remain in direct and constant touch with the buyers, they serve as an important source of collecting market information about the tastes, preferences and attitudes of customers. Such information is considered very useful in taking important marketing decisions in an organization.

(v) Help in Promotion : From time to time, manufacturers and distributors have to carry on various promotional activities in order to increase the sale of their products. For example, they have to advertise about their products and offer short-term incentives in the form of coupons, free gifts, sales contests, and so on. Retailers participate in these activities in various way and, thereby, help in promoting the sale of the products.

(b) Services to Consumers : Services to consumers are as follows :

(i) Regular Availability of Products : The most important service of a retailer to consumers is to maintain regular availability of various products produced by different manufacturers. This enables the buyers to choose products according to their tastes from a wide variety and buy them when needed.

(ii) New Products Information : By arranging for effective display of products and through their personal selling efforts, retailers provide important information about the arrival, special features, etc. of new products to the customers. This serves as an important factor in the decision making process for the purchase of those goods.

(iii) Convenience of buying : Retailers generally buy goods in large quantities and sell these in small quantities, according to the requirements of their customers. Also, they are normally situated very near to the residential areas and remain open for long hours. This offers great convenience to the customers in buying products of their requirements.

(iv) Wide Selection : Retailers provide important after sales services in the form of home delivery, supply of spare parts and attending to customers. This becomes an important factor in the buyers’ decision for repeat purchase of the products.

(v) Provide credit facilities : The retailers sometimes provide credit facilities to their regular buyers. This enables the latter to increase their level of consumption and, thereby, their standard of living.