Retailers typically don't manufacture their own items. They purchase goods from a manufacturer or a wholesaler and sell these goods to consumers in small quantities. Retailing is the distribution process of a retailer obtaining goods or services and selling them to customers for use.

How do retail stores operate?

What is retail and how does it work?

The retailer sells goods directly to the end-user (the consumer) for personal use, and retail transactions are typically small-scale. Most retailers do not manufacture their own products. Retailers purchase from wholesalers in volume and sell these products to the public as individual units.