| A | B |
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| Assortment | The number of SKUs within a merchandise category. Also called depth of merchandise. |
| Breadth of merchandise | The number of different merchandise categories within a store or department (also called variety) |
| Catalog retailing | Nonstore retail format in which the retail offering is communicated to a customer through a catalog. |
| Category killers | A discount retailer that offers a complete assortment in a category and thus dominates a category from the customer’s perspective. Also called a category specialist. |
| Category specialist | A discount retailer that offers a complete assortment in a category and thus dominates a category from the customer’s perspective (also called category killers). |
| Closeout retailer | Off-price retailer that sells a broad but inconsistent assortment of general merchandise as well as apparel and soft home goods obtained through retail liquidations and bankruptcy proceedings. |
| Convenience store | A store that provides a limited variety and assortment of merchandise at a convenient location in a 2,000-to 3,000-square-foot store with speedy checkout. |
| Conventional supermarket | A self-service food store that offers groceries, meat, and produce with limited sales of nonfood items, such as health and beauty aids and general merchandise. |
| Department store | A retailer that carries a wide variety and deep assortment, offers considerable customer services, and is organized into separate departments for displaying merchandise. |
| Depth of merchandise | The number of SKUs within a merchandise category. Also called depth of merchandise (also called assortment). |
| Direct mail retailers | A nonstore retailer that communicates directly with customers using mail brochures and pamphlets to sell a specific product or service to customers at one point in time. |
| Direct response advertising | Advertisements on TV and radio that describe products and provide an opportunity for customers to order them. |
| Direct selling | A retail format in which a salesperson, frequently an independent distributor, contacts a customer directly in a convenient location (either at a customer’s home or at work) and demonstrates merchandise benefits, takes an order, and delivers the merchandise to the customer. |
| Drugstore | Specialty retail store that concentrates on pharmaceuticals and health and personal grooming merchandise. |
| Efficient customer response | The set of programs supermarket chains have undertaken to manage inventory and increase inventory turnover. |
| Electronic retailing | A retail format in which the retailers communicate with customers and offer products and services for sale over the Internet. |
| E-tailing | A retail format in which the retailers communicate with customers and offer products and services for sale over the Internet. |
| Extreme value food retailers | A supermarket offering a limited number of SKUs. Also called (limited assortment supermarkets) |
| Extreme value retailers | Small, full line discount stores that offer a limited merchandise assortment at very low prices |
| Factory outlet | Outlet store owned by a manufacturer |
| Franchising | A contractual agreement between a franchisor and a franchisee that allows the franchisee to operate a retail outlet using a name and format developed and supported by the franchisor |
| Full line discount store | Retailer that offers a broad variety of merchandise, limited service, and low prices. |
| General merchandise catalog retailers | Nonstore retailers that offer a broad variety of merchandise in catalogs that are periodically mailed to their customers. |
| Home improvement center | A category specialist offering equipment and material used by do-it-yourselfers and construction contractors to make home improvements |
| Hypermarket | Large (100,000 to 300,000 square feet) combination food (60 –70 percent) and general merchandise (30 –40 percent) retailer. |
| Infomercials | TV programs, typically 30 minutes long, that mix entertainment with product demonstrations and solicit orders placed by telephone from consumers. |
| Internet retailing | A retail format in which the retailers communicate with customers and offer products and services for sale over the Internet. |
| Limited assortment supermarket | A supermarket offering a limited number of SKUs. (Also called extreme value supermarkets) |
| NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) | Classification of retail firms into a hierarchical set of six-digit codes. |
| Multilevel network | A retail format in which people serve as master distributors, recruiting other people to become distributors in their network. |
| Off-price retailer | A retailer that offers an inconsistent assortment of brand name, fashion-oriented soft goods at low prices. |
| Outlet store | Off-price retailer owned by a manufacturer or a department or specialty store chain. |
| Party plan system | Salespeople encourage people to act as hosts and invite friends or co-workers to a “party” at which the merchandise is demonstrated. The host or hostess receives a gift or commission for arranging the meeting. |
| Power perimeter | The area around the outside walls of supermarkets that have fresh merchandise categories. |
| Pyramid scheme | When the firm and its program are designed to sell merchandise and services to other distributors rather than to end users. |
| Retail chain | A firm that consists of multiple retail units under common ownership and usually has some centralization of decision making in defining and implementing its strategy. |
| Services retailer | Organization that offers consumers services rather than merchandise. Examples include banks, hospital, health spas, doctors, legal clinics, entertainment firms, and universities. |
| SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) | The smallest unit available for keeping inventory control. In soft goods merchandise, an SKU usually means size, color, and style. |
| Specialty catalog retailer | A nonstore retailer that focuses on specific categories of merchandise, such as fruit (Harry and David), gardening tools (Smith & Hawken), and seeds and plants (Burpee). |
| Specialty store | Store concentrating on a limited number of complementary merchandise categories and providing a high level of service in an area typically under 8,000 square feet |
| Supercenter | Large store (150,000 to 200,000 square feet) combining a discount store with a supermarket |
| Television home shopping | A retail format in which customers watch a TV program demonstrating merchandise and then place orders for the merchandise by phone. |
| Value retailers | General merchandise discount stores that are found in either low-income urban or rural areas and are much smaller than traditional stores, less than 9,000 square feet. |
| Warehouse club | A retailer that offers a limited assortment of food and general merchandise with little service and low prices to ultimate consumers and small businesses. |
| Wholesale-sponsored voluntary cooperative group | An organization operated by a wholesaler offering a merchandising program to small, independent retailers on a voluntary basis. |
| Conversion rate | Percentage of consumers who buy the product after viewing it |
| Disintermediation | When a manufacturer sells directly to consumers, thus competing directly with its retailers |
| Electronic agent | Computer program that locates and selects alternatives based on some predetermined characteristics |
| Magalogs | Combination of magazine and catalog |
| Multichannel retailer | Retailer that sells merchandise through more than one channel |
| Online chat | A customer service offering that provides customers with an opportunity to click a button anytime and have an instant messaging, email or voice conversation with a customer service representative. |
| Share of wallet | The percentage of total purchases made by a customer in a store |
| Virtual communities | A network of people who seek information, products, and services and communicate with each other about specific issues. |
