Shopping- A consumer Pyramid

This transformation of retail shopping from responsibility to pleasure is because of various factors in the economy. They are the expansion of visual media, satellite television, urban life styles, increased expenses on clothing, eating, and beauty and impulsive decisions.

Visual media is highly demonstrative, dominating and dictating through various channels. This has lot of influence and attraction on the individual tastes and preferences. Visual media picked up momentum because of the satellite television and networking systems. This has resulted into glamorous and universal urban life styles that are universal and have no place and area influences. Slowly the expense on clothing, eating and beauty have become very pronouncing, altogether the above changes are mainly due to increase in purchasing power, economic independence and impulsive decisions.

RM has proved excellent not only in disguised unemployment but also in tapping the underemployment areas of the economy. It also contributes to the excellent skilled and unskilled labor employment in the tertiary sectors.

This new emerging area of management has not only opened direct selling by the manufacturers but also enabled to read the pulse of the consumers. This way there is a perfect blend of product, pricing, marketing and the items displayed on the shelf. While the product range increases the choice of the consumers, the pricing becomes more competitive making marketing more challenging. The items displayed give not only information but also enhance the knowledge of the quality conscious consumers. In various ways RM is definitely a better choice for the educated set of consumers in the modern economic scenario.

Author is lecturer at Hyderabad