Retail is the process of selling consumer goods and/or services to customers through multiple channels of distribution to earn a profit. Demand is created through diverse target markets and promotional tactics, satisfying consumers' wants and needs through a lean supply chain. In the 2000s, an increasing amount of retailing is done
online using electronic payment and delivery via a
courier or
postal mail. Retailing includes subordinated services, such as delivery. The term "retailer" is also applied where a service provider services the small orders of a large number of individuals, rather than large orders of a small number of
wholesale,
corporate or government clientele. Shops may be on residential streets, 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 create a more comfortable shopping environment protecting customers from various types of weather conditions such as extreme temperatures, winds or
precipitation. Online retailing, a type of
electronic commerce used for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions and
mail order, are forms of non-shop retailing.
