The five principles of retail (2024)

The five principles of retail (1)

If you are running a retail business - whether bricks and mortar or online - there are five core principles you need to adhere to. From customer care to the four Ps, Antony Welfare, author of The Retail Handbook, explains what you need to know

1. The customer is the most important person in your business

The main retail principle to master is: the customer is king. They should be at the centre of your business, and everything you do must revolve around customer needs. Knowing your customers, and focusing on them in everything you do, will help you grow your business.

2. Retail is detail

So, you need to address and improve your understanding of your customer. To do this, every retailer must focus on the detail and get things right the majority of the time. Mistakes happen, but you must learn from them and don't repeat sloppy errors. Customers will allow you some mistakes, but too many will turn them away.

3. Understand the four Ps

This is a very old principle but it still has validity. The four Ps - Product, Price, Place, Promotion - are the basic foundations of a successful retail business.

Product

You need products that your customers want to buy, and a product range that will satisfy your customers' needs and desires. The products must also deliver a profit for you to have a successful business.

Price

Price must be consistent across your range and meet all requirements for your business. You need to price your product range at the correct level for the customers to be able to buy your products, and for them to gain value from them. This could mean pricing high or low - this very much depends upon your customer offering.

Place

You need to provide the right place for your customers to purchase your product, be that a physical store, an ecommerce website - or a combination of the two.

Promotion

Once you have a product - at the right price, in a place where the customer can access it - you need to tell them about this and promote your business and your products.

4. Go the extra mile for your customer

Providing great customer service starts with understanding and knowing your customer; however, knowing them is just the start of the journey. To be successful you must deliver world-class customer service - continually going the extra mile, each time delivering just a little more than the customer expects.

Doing this each time you and your team interact with your customers will win them over and make them loyal over a long period of time.

5. Location, location, location

Historically, location has been one of the most important factors in retail success, and to this day it will have a major impact on the performance of a physical store.

The best location will be dictated by your brand and product strategies. However, location is becoming less of an issue than it once was, mainly because of the internet. The journey from retail to e-tail has been quick, and we need to embrace the changing landscape and ensure we understand its effects on our customers.

With new technologies emerging all the time, it will continue to change opportunities in the world of retail. Can you afford to be left behind?

Written by Antony Welfare.

The five principles of retail (2024)

FAQs

What are the five principles of retail? ›

The five principles of retail
  • The customer is the most important person in your business. The main retail principle to master is: the customer is king. ...
  • Retail is detail. ...
  • Understand the four Ps. ...
  • Go the extra mile for your customer. ...
  • Location, location, location.

What are the 5 P's of retail management? ›

The 5 Ps of product, price, promotion, place, and people are the holy grail of business for retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) enterprises.

What are the 5 components of retail strategy? ›

There are 5 components in a retail strategy: scope, goals and objectives, resource deployment, a sustainable competitive advantage, and synergy. These 5 components help bring new customers to a business or help increase how much each customer already purchases.

What are the 5s of retail? ›

Building on previous studies on retail operations, Pal and Byrom (2003) further developed the 'five S's' (stock, space, staff, standards, and systems) of retail operations, which provides managers with a useful guiding framework that can be exploited in the retail operations process. ...

What is the order of the 5 principles of sales process? ›

Here I'm going to break down the 5 basic principles of selling:
  • Selling is all about relationships. ...
  • The sale is not about your product, but their problem. ...
  • Price and value go hand in hand. ...
  • There is no sale unless you can close it. ...
  • Those who listen, win.
Jun 29, 2017

What are the five functions of a retailer briefly explain? ›

Answer: Functions of Retailers – Merchandising, Warehousing, Selling, Risk-Bearing, Grading, Packing, Grant of Credit, Guide to Wholesaler, Advertising and Salesmanship. As a middleman between the wholesaler/manufacturer and the consumer/user in the market, the retailer performs many functions.

What are the P's of retail? ›

As noted earlier, the four Ps of marketing are product, pricing, place, and promotion. The retail marketing mix adds two more: people and presentation.

What are the PS of retail? ›

In any Marketing 101 class, you learn about the four P's of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. These core principles address the who, what, where, and how of selling a good or service. Analysts also typically add a fifth P, people, for businesses in service sectors.

What are the 5 Ps of strategy in strategic management? ›

To help businesses navigate this complex landscape, he developed his 5 Ps of Strategy – five distinct approaches that can be used to develop a robust and practical strategy. Mintzberg's 5 Ps of Strategy include Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position, and Perspective.

What are the 4 pillars of retail management? ›

These pillars serve as the foundation for creating a positive shopping experience and maximizing customer satisfaction.
  • Here are the four pillars:
  • Product:
  • Price:
  • Place:
  • People:

What are the 4 principles of retail marketing? ›

The four gold standards of retail marketing are product, price, place, and promotion.

What are the three 3 most important things in retailing? ›

The three most important items to consider in retail strategy that factor directly into value are pricing, location, and merchandise (see Figure 18.10). Because retailers sell goods and services often produced by another company, communication with channel members is another important topic.

What are main 5S? ›

By implementing a lean 5S system - sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain - organizations can create a clean, well ordered, and disciplined work environment. Many companies implement only the first three steps, hoping the last two will automatically follow.

What are the 5S targets? ›

5S: This is a 5 step Lean methodology: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain. ...

What is the Kaizen 5S framework? ›

Kaizen 5S framework

A 5S framework is a critical part of the Kaizen system and establishes an ideal physical workplace. The 5Ses focus on creating visual order, organization, cleanliness and standardization to improve profitability, efficiency, service and safety.

What are the 7 P's of retail? ›

As you can see, the 7 Ps (product, price, promotion, place, people, physical evidence, and processes) create a guide to marketing that allows you to better reach your customers and make sales.

What are the 6 P's of retailing? ›

These include product, pricing, place, and promotion. The retail marketing mix adds two more “Ps” to the mix: people and presentation. These elements represent the value of sales associates and other staff in retail settings, as well as the importance of aesthetics and design in retail locations.

What are the 7 R's of retail? ›

The broad scope of these efforts is reflected in the 7R's of Merchandising: Relationship, Revenue, Retention/Rewards, Retail, Redemption, Recovery, and Regulatory.

What are the 4 P's of retail management? ›

The four Ps are: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Find out what is involved and how these concepts relate to retail management by reading the following extracts in Box 1.

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