Retail is sale of goods and services by individuals or businesses to the ultimate consumers or end users. A retailer basically breaks down the large quantities of goods or products purchased from manufacturers and wholesalers into smaller units and sells to the consumers for a profit. Retailing can be done either at a fixed location like stores or shopping malls, door-to-door, or over the internet (e-commerce).

Retail in India contributes to around 15% of its GDP with an estimated worth of around US$ 500 billion. With 1.2 billion people, India is one of the fastest growing retail markets in the world. Until 2010, organized retailing was almost absent from rural and small town of India with organized retailing comprising of just 4% of the market. Organized retailing flourished after the Government of India announced FDI in the retail sector for single and multi brand retail. As of 2012, organized retail constitutes to around 7% of the total retail market and is expected to reach to 10.2% by 2016.

Careers in Retail Industry:

India is a largely untapped and unorganized retail market with lot of foreign players moving in to start their business. Indian retail offers a substantial advantage to tremendous growth opportunities. The demand for work force is always high in retail sector and is expected to rise further due to increasing number of retail stores, supermarkets and hypermarkets. For working in a retail company, you must possess exquisite customer handling skills and good communication skills. And remember the paradigm on which retail industry works 'Customer is the King'.