Non-store retailing is the selling of goods and services outside the confines of a retail facility. It is a generic term describing

retailing Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

taking place outside of shops and stores (that is, off the premises of fixed retail locations and of markets stands). The non-store distribution channel can be divided into direct selling (off-premises sales) and distance selling, the latter including all forms of

electronic commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...

. Distance selling includes mail order, catalogue sales, telephone solicitations and automated vending. Electronic commerce includes

online shopping 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 r ...

, internet trading platforms, travel portals, global distribution systems and teleshopping. Direct selling includes party sales and all forms of selling in consumers' homes and offices, including even garage sales. Non-store retailing, sometimes also labelled ''home shopping'', is consistently achieving double-digit growth, and slowly taking a bigger share of overall retailing. In the first quarter of 2014 online sales in the US represented over 6% of all sales. However, in product niches such as travel, books, and media, the share is significantly higher. As of March 2014, 19.5% of all book sales made by Amazon are for their Kindle e-book reader. Fashion and lifestyle brands have entered the non-store retailing space including

Everlane Everlane is an American clothing retailer that sells primarily online. The organization is headquartered in San Francisco, California and also has stores in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, and Palo Alto. The company was founded with ...

Dollar Shave Club Dollar Shave Club is an American company based in Venice, California, that delivers razors and other personal grooming products to customers by mail. It delivers razor blades on a monthly basis and offers additional grooming products for home del ...

and

Tieks Mark Tieku, better known by his stage name Tieks (often stylised as TIEKS) is an English record producer and songwriter from London. He is best known for his 2016 single " Sunshine", featuring vocals from Dan Harkna, which peaked at number 15 o ...

. According to

Eurostat Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...

, 38% of European consumers consider the internet as the most important source of information about travel and 42% of consumers purchased travel services over the internet in 2008.Commission Staff Working Document, Report on cross-border e-commerce in the EU, SEC(2009) 283 final, p.5. Based on Eurostat, Information society statistics (2009). Data extracted 3 February 2009 The non-store distribution channel is marked by low entry thresholds. Compared to store retailing that requires a retail outlet, inventory, cash flow to hire staff and advertising, non-store retail start-ups usually have to invest little to reach out to potential buyers of the goods and services they offer. Non-store retailing is therefore not only used by established brick and mortar business retailers who develop an online

bricks and clicks business model Omnichannel retail strategy, originally also known in the U.K. as bricks and clicks, is a business model by which a company integrates both offline (''bricks'') and online (''clicks'') presences, sometimes with the third extra ''flips'' (physica ...

presence, but also by the individual

pure play A pure play company focuses solely on a particular product or activity. Investing in a pure play company can be considered as investing in a particular commodity or product of a company. Pure play firms either specialize in a specific niche, or hav ...

, often him- or herself a consumer, to create an

online store 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 r ...

or to run sales parties. The rise of

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

helps to connect sellers to potential buyers. Under

European Union law European Union law is a system of rules operating within the member states of the European Union (EU). Since the founding of the European Coal and Steel Community following World War II, the EU has developed the aim to "promote peace, its valu ...

, non-store retailing is heavily regulated. The Distance Selling Directive 97/7/EC (incorporated into UK law as Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000), the Doorstep Selling Directive 85/577/EEC, the E-Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC and

Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002 The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, SI 2002/2013, incorporates the EU Electronic Commerce Directive 2000/31/EC into the law of the United Kingdom. Enacted pursuant to European Communities Act 1972 They apply to contracts co ...

and the Audiovisual Services Directive 2010/13/EU are the principal regulatory tools to deal with the most technologically intensive but also innovative distribution methods.

References

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See also

References