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.

1. These shops relocated in fairly populous localities, where sufficient number of customers can be approached. The idea is to serve the customers at a point which is nearest to their residence or work place, rather than attracting them to a central place.

2. The manufacturing/procurement of merchandise for all the retail units is centralized at the head office, from where the goods are detached to each of these shops according to their requirements. This results in savings in the cost of operation of these stores.

Features of Departmental Store : 1. Larger size : It is a retail organisation run on a large scale.

2. Attractive appearance : It is an urban institution and is located in the heart of a big city so as to attract a large number of consumers.

3. Wide choice : It deals in wide variety of goods and seeks to provide all the requirements e.g., from “Pin to Plane” in one building.

4. Centralised purchase : All departments are under centralised management and control.

5. Elimination of Middlemen : It buys its entire requirements of merchandise directly from the manufacturers. Hence it is in a position to eliminate the middlemen.

6. Services and amenities : It provides several useful services and amenities such as bank, post office, reeding room, restaurant etc.

7. Free home delivery : It also provides free home delivery.

Special features of consumers cooperative stores :

1. Voluntary membership on the basis of common interest.

2. One member one vote irrespective of the capital contributed by members.

3. Cash sales and credit sales are there if the policy of stores.

4. Surplus earned by the stores is distributed among the members on the basis of purchase made by them.

5. The store is managed by the elected representatives of the member shareholders.

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.

1. Sale of operations : Wholesale trade is carried on a large scale. Hence, the amount of capital invested in wholesale trade is much higher than that in a retail trade.

2. Range of products : A wholesaler specializes in one type of commodity while a retailer has to keep a large variety of products to satisfy the varied requirements of the customers.

3. Link : A wholesaler is a link between producer/manufacturer and retailer while a retailer acts as a intermediary between the wholesaler and the ultimate consumer.

4. Location : A wholesaler need not have a showroom or shop in central place. He may has his godown in a corner of the city and may operate from his house or a small shop in the market where he may accept order and supply goods to the various retialers. While retailer generally has a shop or showroom in the heart of the city so that he can attract large number of customers.

5. Margin : The margin in case of a wholesaler is smaller as compared to a retailer since the former has high turnover as compared to the later.

6. Decoration : The wholesaler does not require any decoration of his shop or display of goods while incase of a retailers, decoration of shop, is must.

7. Quantity : In wholesale trade, buying and selling of goods is in large quantity while in ret6.ail trade it is comparatively in small lots.

8. Credit sales : The credit sale is a common feature in wholesale trade as compared to retail trade.