Safety Stock The extra inventory kept on hand to protect against out-of-stock conditions due to unexpected demand and delays in delivery.
Sale-Leaseback The practice of retailers building new stores and then selling them to real-estate investors who lease the property back to the retailers on a long-term basis.
Sales Forecasting Lets a retailer estimate expected future sales for a given time period.
Sales Opportunity Grid Rates the promise of new goods, services, procedures, and/or store outlets across a variety of criteria.
Sales-Productivity Ratio A method for assigning floor space on the basis of sales or profit per foot.
Sales Promotion Encompasses the paid marketing communication activities other than advertising, public relations, and personal selling that stimulate consumer purchases and dealer effectiveness.
Saturated Trading Area A geographic area having a proper amount of retail facilities to satisfy the needs of its population for a specific good or service, as well as to let retailers prosper.
SBD See Secondary Business District.
Scenario Analysis Lets a retailer project the future by examining the key factors that will affect its long-run performance and then preparing contingency plans based on alternate scenarios.
Scrambled Merchandising Occurs when a retailer adds goods and services that are unrelated to each other and to the firm's original business.
Secondary Business District (SBD) An unplanned shopping area in a city or town that is usually bounded by the intersection of two major streets. It has at least a junior department store, a variety store, and/or some larger specialty stores -- in addition to many smaller stores.
Secondary Data Those that have been gathered for purposes other than addressing the issue or problem currently under study.
Secondary Trading Area A geographic area with an added 15 percent to 25 percent of a store's customers. It is located outside a primary trading area, and customers are more widely dispersed.
Selective Distribution Takes place when suppliers sell through a moderate number of retailers. This allows suppliers to have higher sales than in exclusive distribution and lets retailers carry some competing brands.
Self-Fulfillment A life-style concept whereby people express their growing sense of uniqueness through goods and services purchases.
Selling Against the Brand The practice of retailers carrying manufacturers' brands and placing high prices on them so rival brands (such as private-label goods) can be sold more easily.
Selling Space The area set aside for displays of merchandise, interactions between salespeople and customers, demonstrations, and so on.
Semantic Differential A disguised or nondisguised survey technique, whereby a respondent is asked to rate one or more retailers on several criteria; each criterion is evaluated along a bipolar adjective scale.
Separate Store Organization Treats each branch as a separate store with its own buying responsibilities. Customer needs are quickly noted, but duplication by managers in the main store and the branches is possible.
Service Blueprint Systematically lists all the service functions to be performed and the average time expected for each one's completion.
Service Retailing Involves transactions between companies or individuals and final consumers where the consumers do not purchase or acquire ownership of tangible products. It encompasses rented goods, owned goods, and nongoods.
SERVQUAL Lets retailers assess the quality of their service offerings by asking customers to react to a series of statements in five areas of performance: reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles.
Simulation A type of experiment whereby a computer-based program is used to manipulate the elements of a retail strategy mix rather than test them in a real setting.
Single-Source Data Collection Occurs when a research firm develops a sample of consumer households, determines their demographic and life-style backgrounds by surveys, observes television viewing behavior by in-home cable hookups to the firm's computers, and monitors shopping behavior by having people make purchases in designated stores.
Situation Analysis The candid evaluation of the opportunities and potential problems facing a prospective or existing retailer.
Social Class An informal ranking of people in a culture based on their income, occupation, education, dwelling, and other factors.
Social Responsibility Occurs when a retailer acts in the best interests of society -- as well as itself. The challenge is to balance corporate citizenship with a fair level of profits.
Sole Proprietorship An unincorporated retail firm owned by one person.
Sorting Process Involves the retailer's collecting an assortment of goods and services from various sources, buying them in large quantity, and offering to sell them to consumers in small quantities.
Specialog Enables a firm to cater to specific needs of customer segments, emphasize a limited number of items, and reduce its catalog production and postage costs.
Specialty Store A general merchandise retailer that concentrates on selling one goods or service line.
Standardization A strategy of directly applying a domestic market retail strategy to foreign markets.
Standard Merchandise Classification A detailed list of common merchandise-reporting categories devised by the National Retail Federation. Its use lets retailers contrast their financial data with industry averages.
Stimulus A cue (social or commercial) or a drive (physical) meant to motivate or arouse a person to act.
Stock-to-Sales Method An inventory-level planning technique wherein a retailer wants to maintain a specified ratio of goods-on-hand to sales.
Stock Turnover Represents the number of times during a specific period, usually one year, that the average inventory on hand is sold. Stock turnover can be computed in units or dollars (at retail or cost).
Storability Product Groupings Classify and display products needing special handling and storage together.
Storefront The total physical exterior of a store. It includes the marquee, entrances, windows, lighting, and construction materials.
Store Loyalty Exists when a consumer regularly patronizes a particular retailer (store or nonstore) that he or she knows, likes, and trusts.
Store Maintenance Encompasses all the activities involved in managing a retailer's physical facilities.
Straight Lease Requires the retailer to pay a fixed dollar amount per month over the life of a lease. It is the simplest, most direct leasing arrangement.
Straight (Gridiron) Traffic Flow Presents displays and aisles in a rectangular or gridiron pattern.
Strategic Profit Model Expresses the mathematical relationship among net profit margin, asset turnover, and financial leverage. It can be used in planning or controlling a retailer's assets.
Strategy Mix A firm's particular combination of these factors: store location, operating procedures, goods/services offered, pricing tactics, store atmosphere and customer services, and promotional methods.
String An unplanned shopping area comprising a group of retail stores, often with similar or compatible product lines, located along a street or highway.
Supercenter A special type of combination store that blends an economy supermarket with a discount department store.
Supermarket A self-service food store with grocery, meat, and produce departments and minimum annual sales of $2 million. This retail category includes conventional supermarkets, food-based superstores, combination stores, box (limited-line) stores, and warehouse stores.
Supervision The manner of providing a job environment that encourages employee accomplishment.
Survey A research technique whereby information is systematically gathered from respondents by communicating with them.
Survey of Buying Power Reports current demographic data on metropolitan areas, cities, and states. It also provides such information as total annual retail sales by area, annual retail sales for specific product categories, annual effective buying income, and five-year population and retail sales projections.
Legal Statement
© Prentice-Hall, Inc.
A Simon & Schuster Company
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
