- The retail industry is enormous, and official total size of the industry varies widely from report to report and research firm to research firm. There are also varying segments of retail, such as chain drug stores, furniture, apparel, food and others. The Market Research website reports that the U.S. retail clothing industry includes 100,000 stores with combined annual revenue of more than $150 billion. Cosmetic, beauty supply and perfume stores account for $7 billion in annual sales and 10,000 stores. Consumer electronics stores have a combined $50 billion in annual sales and 24,000 stores. There are 120,000 stores in the convenience store segment, and they pull in an estimated $400 billion. Big box (or "category killers") also even blur these lines. These are just a few, and there are other notable retail segments in the U.S. and internationally. Add them up, and you see the influence that retail has on our economy.
- Retail businesses provide an integral part of the economy and may be influential on the rest of the value added chain. Goods and services flow from retail businesses to consumers, so they are on the front lines of influencing consumer behavior. Retail is not only store fronts, either. They often use multiple channels---catalog, online, phone and storefront---to service customers and provide them with products. Product manufacturers and other suppliers create a business-to-business market with the retailers. Retailers often dictate pricing strategies, forcing suppliers to comply or find business elsewhere.
- Although retailers may make big money each year, sales are cyclical. Apparel stores get a rush of sales from students just before the school year begins, so that they may impress their peers with the latest fashions. Most retailers do not begin turning a profit (going into the black) until the Friday after Thanksgiving for the Christmas shopping season. This is known as "Black Friday," or "Blitz Day." Retailers depend on this time frame to remain viable, so you will often see major sales trying to lure shoppers into the holiday spirit.
- Retail does not only exist in the U.S. and Western Europe. Trade agreements, global sourcing, transitioning economies and information sharing via the Internet are laying the groundwork for global retail markets. A report from A.T. Kearney took a snapshot of this development by comparing economic and political risk, market attractiveness, market saturation and time pressure of various countries. It identified Russia, India, China, Slovenia and Croatia as top emerging markets in the global retail industry.
- When you think of retail businesses, you may think of when you were in high school, working a part-time job with minimal responsibilities, uniforms and minimum wages. However, the retail business is much more dynamic than this misconception. Think of how a regular business works: You have supply chain, IT, merchandising/advertising, human resources, loss prevention and other operational issues. With the global scale of retail operations and close tie to the economic health of the nation, retail business is actually quite exciting.