E-commerce is the activity of electronically buying or selling products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. E-commerce is the largest sector of the electronics industry and is in turn driven by the technological advances of the semiconductor industry.
The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice for the customer, and indicates the options for the customer to make payment. It is also the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. After receiving payment, the merchant may issue a receipt, as proof of transaction, which is usually printed but can also be dispensed with or sent electronically.
Shoplifting, shop theft, retail theft, or retail fraud is the theft of goods from a retail establishment during business hours, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items from the store and leave the store wearing the clothes. The terms shoplifting and shoplifter are not usually defined in law. The crime of shoplifting generally falls under the legal classification of larceny. Shoplifting is distinct from burglary, robbery, or armed robbery. In the retail industry, the word shrinkage can be used to refer to merchandise lost by shoplifting, but the word also includes loss by other means, such as waste, uninsured damage to products and theft by store employees.
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the retailer directly or by searching among alternative vendors using a shopping search engine, which displays the same product's availability and pricing at different e-retailers. As of 2020, customers can shop online using a range of different computers and devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones.
Sephora is a French multinational retailer of personal care and beauty products with nearly 340 brands, along with its own private label, Sephora Collection, and includes beauty products such as cosmetics, skincare, fragrance, nail color, beauty tools, body lotions and haircare.
Retail loss prevention is a set of practices employed by retail companies to preserve profit. Loss prevention is mainly found within the retail sector but also can be found within other business environments.
A music store or musical instrument store is a retail business that sells musical instruments and related equipment and accessories. Some music stores sell additional services, such as music lessons, music instrument or equipment rental, or repair services.
The term mobile commerce was originally coined in 1997 by Kevin Duffey at the launch of the Global Mobile Commerce Forum, to mean "the delivery of electronic commerce capabilities directly into the consumer’s hand, anywhere, via wireless technology." Many choose to think of Mobile Commerce as meaning "a retail outlet in your customer’s pocket."
Jysk A/S is a Danish retail chain, selling household goods such as mattresses, furniture, and interior décor. Jysk is the largest Danish retailer operating internationally with over 3,100 stores in 51 countries. Jysk was founded by Lars Larsen, who opened the first store on Silkeborgvej in the Danish city of Aarhus in April 1979. It is owned by the founder Lars Larsen's family through the holding company Lars Larsen Group which also owns wholly or partly the furniture chains ILVA, IDÉmøbler, IDdesign, Bolia.com, and Sengespecialisten. The logo displays a goose, which has a historical thread to the brand. Due to the Scandinavian design for its products, it is also called the Danish IKEA in a small format.
An electronic shelf label (ESL) system is used by retailers for displaying, typically on the front edge of retail shelving, product pricing on shelves that can automatically be updated or changed under the control of a central server.
PFSweb, Inc. is a provider of business-to-business (B2B) and direct-to-consumer (DTC) order fulfillment and customer service for eCommerce. The company was founded in 1994 in the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas. In 2023, the company was acquired by GXO Logistics in an all-cash deal worth approximately US$181 million. PFSweb's corporate headquarters were relocated to Allen, Texas in March 2012 with call center operations moved to downtown Dallas, Texas.
In retail, a product return is the process of a customer taking previously purchased merchandise back to the retailer, and in turn receiving a refund in the original form of payment, exchange.
Partsearch Technologies, a Manhattan-based company started in 2001, had compiled an online catalog of more than eight million spare parts for electronics, appliances, and other items. It offers repair technicians and consumers a single place to find obscure parts and commonly lost items such as batteries.
Omnichannel is a neologism describing a business strategy. According to Frost & Sullivan, omnichannel is defined as "seamless and effortless, high-quality customer experiences that occur within and between contact channels".
Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) was a company created by a consortium of U.S. retail companies to develop a merchant-owned mobile payment system, which was to be called "CurrentC." The joint venture was announced on August 15, 2012.
Retail apocalypse refers to the closing of numerous brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains, beginning around 2010 and accelerating due to the mandatory closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Immersive commerce is an extension of e-commerce that focuses on improving customer experience by using augmented reality, virtual reality and immersive technology to create virtual smart stores from existing brick and mortar locations.
Pyaterochka is a Russian chain of convenience stores managed by X5 Retail Group. The chain opened its 15,000th store in the city of Zelenograd, Russia, in May 2019.
Perekrestok is Russia’s largest supermarket chain managed by X5 Retail Group.
Robomart is an American technology company headquartered in Santa Monica, California that builds autonomous smart shops for cafes, ice cream parlors, and quick-service restaurants. The company’s white label platform gives retailers the option to expand their footprint at a significantly lower cost than traditional brick-and-mortar real-estate.
