Retailer

A retailer is a business that finds, buys and gathers products or services from multiple suppliers and sells them to consumers.

Retailers provide value by offering consumers a wide selection of products and services in one place. They also offer competitive prices by buying products and services in large quantities at reduced unit costs.

To make a profit, retailers mark up the prices of the products and services they sell.

More about retailers

Retailers may sell their goods out of a physical location or online (or both). Canada has different types of retailers.

• Mass-market retailers sell affordably priced products that appeal to a wide variety of consumers (Canadian Tire, Hudson’s Bay, Simons, Amazon and eBay).
• Luxury retailers sell products to consumers at higher prices. These retailers typically offer higher-quality products and better customer service (Holt Renfrew, Harry Rosen, Saks Fifth Avenue and Marie Saint Pierre)
• Big box retailers operate large retail stores that offer a variety of products to customers (Wall-Mart, Costco, IKEA and Best Buy). These retailers are able to price their products lower than other retailers because they buy and sell in large quantities.