Retailers provide important services to consumers and wholesalers as they act as middle-men between them.
Services to consumers:
- Ready or quick supply : The most important service of a retailer to consumers is to maintain regular availability of various products so that the buyers can buy the products whenever they need.
- Wide variety : Retailers generally keep stock of a variety of products and different manufacturers. This enables the consumers to make their choice out of a wide selection of goods.
- Guiding customers : By ananging the effective display of products and through their personal selling efforts retailers should provide the information of products to the customers.
- Demonstration and after sales services : It can be done in the form of home delivery, supply of spare parts and attending to customers.
- Home delivery : It is an important part of after sale services and for a buyers decision for repeat purchase of the products.
- Convenient location : They are suitated very near to the residential areas and remain open for long hours which makes great convenience to the customers.
Services to wholesalers and manufacturers : - Ready market: Retailers deal with individuals so the manufacturers and whole-salers will not make individual sales.
- Providing information : By undertaking personal selling efforts retailers relieve the producers of this activity of individual selling.
- Risk bearing : Retailers participates in the promotional activities of the product so that the product becomes popular and then it is less risk for the manufacturers.
- Distribution of goods to distant places : Retailers helps in distribution of goods to the final consumers and thus provide place utility.