1. Paddlers and hawkers : Paddlers and hawkers are probably amongst the oldest form of retailers in the market place who have not lost their utility even during the modern days. They are small producers or petty traders who carry the products on a bicycle, a hand cart, and move from place to place to sell their merchandise at the door-steps of the customers. They generally deal in non-standardized and low-value products such as toys, vegetables and fruits, fabrics etc. They are also found in streets of residential areas, place of exhibitions or meals, and outside the schools, during the lunch break.

2. Market Traders : Market traders are the small retails who open their shops at different places on fixed days or dates, such as every Saturday or alternate Saturdays, and so on. These trades may be dealing in one particular line of merchandise, say bricks or ready made garments, toys or crockery, or alternatively, they may be general merchants. They are mainly catering to lower-income groups of customers and deal in low-priced consumer items of daily use.

3. Street traders (Pavement Vendors) : Street traders are the small retailers who are commonly found at places where huge floating population gathers, for example, near railways stations and bus stands, and sell consumer items of common use, such as stationary items, eatables, ready-made garments, newspapers and magazines.

4. Cheap jacks : Cheap jacks are such petty retailers who have independent shops of a temporary nature in a business locality. They keep on changing their business from one locality to another, depending upon the potentiality of the area. However, the change of place is not as frequent as in the case of hawkers or market traders. They also deal in consumer items and provide service to consumer in terms of making the products available where needed.