Q.Do you observe any difference in the retail business of yesterday and the times to come. Prepare a brief write-up and discuss it in class.

Prepare a short write-up comparing:

• Retailing of yesterday: dominated by itinerant traders (hawkers, market traders) and small fixed shops (general stores, speciality shops) built on personal contact, credit, and doorstep service. …

What the task asks. Prepare a brief write-up on the differences you observe between the retail business of yesterday and the retail business of the times to come, then discuss it in class.

A model approach — contrast the two eras using the chapter's retailer types:

Retailing of yesterday:

• Dominated by itinerant retailers — peddlers and hawkers, market traders, street traders and cheap jacks — who took goods to the customer's doorstep.
• Small fixed shop retailers such as general stores and speciality shops served the neighbourhood.
• Business ran on personal contact and rapport — the shopkeeper knew regular customers by name.
• Credit to regular buyers was common.
• Emphasis was on service and convenience to the local customer, with limited variety.

Retailing of the times to come:

• Growing importance of large-scale retailers — departmental stores (wide variety under one roof), chain stores / multiple shops (branded standardised goods across many localities), and supermarkets (self-service, low-margin, wide variety).
• Rise of non-store retailing — mail order houses and vending machines — where personal contact is minimal.
• Shift towards self-service, cash sales and standardised branded goods with rapid turnover.
• Emphasis on wide selection, one-stop shopping and promotion, serving larger and more varied customer segments.

Points to bring out in the write-up:

• The move from personal, credit-based, small-scale trade to impersonal, cash-based, large-scale retailing.
• The trade-off: modern formats offer variety, convenience under one roof and lower prices from scale, but lose the personal touch and credit that itinerant and small shops offered. …