Market Around Us

By market, we usually mean a marketplace that is a place where the numbers of buyers and sellers meet and conduct buying and selling activities. It is a system that enables buyers and sellers to exchange goods and services. It may be an open area as a building where they meet to do this. This action of buying and selling goods or services is called Trade.

Types of Markets

There are different types of markets. There are weekly markets neighbourhood shops and supermarkets and malls. Weekly markets are held once a week on a specified day in a particular area. They are often seen in rural areas, small towns and the outskirts of big cities. Weekly markets do not have permanent shops, they sell all kinds of things ranging from vegetables to clothes and utensils at much lower rates than are usually available in bigger shops.

Neighbourhood markets consist of all those shops that cater to the immediate needs of the people of the locality neighbourhood such as grocery shops that sell milk, eggs, and bread, other grocery shops that sell readymade garments, hardware stationery vegetables etc. They also have tailors, cobblers, roadside, eateries, restaurants, etc. Though such shops may not offer much choice they are convenient for the people of the neighbourhood.

These days smaller markets and shops in towns and cities are being replaced by supermarkets and malls. They are big, air-conditioned shopping complexes that have shops selling a variety of goods and services. One advantage of supermarkets is the availability of most things under one roof.

Channels of Distribution

The process of marketing involves two channels of distribution direct and indirect channel

Direct Channels:

Indirect channels a producer sells a good directly to the consumer. there are no middlemen or intermediaries involved in this process. This is done by using the services of door-to-door salesmen and retailer showrooms.

The producers employ salesmen who go door to door telling customers about the product. they motivate and persuade people to buy their products. One such example of sales of pens in a moving bus by a salesman.

sometimes the producers open their shops to sell their products directly to consumers. An example in this context is reliance fresh, Bata shoes, etc.

Indirect Channels

In indirect channels, producers sell their goods through intermediaries and middlemen.

1. Wholesalers: It is the wholesaler who buys the goods in bulk from producers and sells them in small quantities to the retailers. wholesalers are people engaged in the bulk buying and selling of goods. The wholesaler has no direct link with the consumer. wholesalers thus required to buy store and supply goods. They have to keep sufficient stock, give goods on credit to retailers or advance money to producers. They even resort to promotional activities. They have to keep themselves informed of changes in demands and preferences of the market which they have to inform the producers. They have to inform the producers. they even bear the risk of spoilage or change in preference of the goods.

2. Retailers: A retailer is a person who takes goods from wholesalers and sells those goods to consumers. They are the ones who are directly linked to the consumer. to encourage consumers to buy goods, a retailer even resorts to discounts on purchases. They give goods on credit to the consumer. Their main aim is to retain the consumers. At times, producers sell goods directly through retailers. So, retailers are the main link with consumers.

Types of Trade

Buying and selling goods and services in a country is called international trade or home trade. It includes two forms of trading- wholesale and retail

1. Wholesaler trade: the goods that are produced in the factories are first bought by traders known as wholesale traders. The wholesale trader picks up the goods from the factory or forms in bulk. For example, a wholesale trader in grain in quintals and not in a few kilos. She /he stores these large quantities in her/his godowns. There are wholesalers traders for all kinds of goods they sell their goods to other traders in markets known as wholesale traders.

2. Retailers: In the wholesaler market, goods are sold in bulk to traders known as retailers. They buy these goods to sell at their own shops. These shops could be your neighbourhood shops, shops in the complex or the weekly shops it is from the retailers that the final customer buys the goods

Retailers are not just shopkeepers selling products in a shop, there are various types of retailers in India. There are two categories of retailers.

1. Itinerant retailers & Fixed shop retailers

Retailers who do not have a fixed place from where they operate are called Itinerant retailers. They move from place to place in search of customers. Retailers who have a fixed place where they sell their goods are called Fixed shop retailers. They deal in different products ranging from electronics goods to eatables.

Factors affecting people’s access to the market

1. Retail market and wholesale markets are available around the year. Whenever there is a need to buy a certain product, the markets provide the customers with the items. There is a balance between the demand and supply of various goods

2. People prefer markets in the close vicinity of their area people’s access to markets also depends of the conveniences of the people access to market also depends on the convenience of the goods available.

3. In modern days people prefer to buy goods on easy instalments through finances it affects the markets as people prefer to buy on credit and pay in easy instalments.

4. Consumer satisfaction is very important for these manufacturers also offer good quality includes products as they also give top priority to consumers’ satisfaction.

5. To facilitate the availability of commodities within the reach of every section of the society price must be regarded properly. A consumer would be away from the markets if the prices are too high or not competitive.