Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals or businesses. In commerce, a "retailer" buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells smaller quantities to the end-user. Retail establishments are often called shops or stores. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Manufacturing marketers see the process of retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution strategy. The term "retailer" is also applied where a service provider services the needs of a large number of individuals, such as a public utility, like electric power.

Shops may be on residential streets, shopping streets with few or no houses or in a shopping mall. Shopping streets may be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a shopping street has a partial or full roof to protect customers from precipitation. Online retailing, a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions and mail order, are forms of non-shop retailing.

Shopping generally refers to the act of buying products. Sometimes this is done to obtain necessities such as food and clothing; sometimes it is done as a recreational activity. Recreational shopping often involves window shopping (just looking, not buying) and browsing and does not always result in a purchase.

Noun

retail (uncountable)

1. The sale of goods directly to the consumer; encompassing the storefronts, mail-order, websites, etc., and the corporate mechanisms, branding, advertising, etc. that support them, which are involved in the business of selling and point-of-sale marketing retail goods to the public.

   She works in retail.

2. (colloquial) Retail price; full price; an abbreviated expression, meaning the full suggested price of a particular good or service, before any sale, discount, or other deal.

   I never pay retail for clothes.

retail (not comparable)

1. (Can we verify this sense?) Of, or relating to the sale of goods or services directly to individual consumers.
   • 1997, “December 28”, Deseret News:

     "This is a very retail approach for us," Czerw said. "But when you buy one out of every six home loans in the US, you are going to have a constant flow ..."

   • 1999 December 12, NAEDINE JOY HAZELL, “TRAVEL INSIDER; Airport Malls Redefine 'Shopping on the Fly'”, Los Angeles Times:

     The future for Bradley International Airport near Hartford, Conn., also looks very retail. Plans call for $156 million to expand the main terminal,

   • 2010 September 17, “Sarah Palin's visit to Iowa keeps fans guessing”, Des Moines Register:

     But even with her level of celebrity, it would be very hard to win a race without engaging voters in a very retail way.

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