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 the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

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 Direct selling is a business model that involves a party of people buying products from a parent organization and selling them directly to customers. It can take the form of either single-level marketing (in which a direct seller makes money pu ...

(off-premises sales) and distance selling, the latter including all forms of

electronic commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to Commerce, commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling Goods and services, products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on tec ...

. 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 th ...

, internet trading platforms, travel portals,

global distribution system A global distribution system (GDS) is a computerised network system owned or operated by a company that enables transactions between travel industry service providers, mainly airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and Travel agency, travel agen ...

s 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. Headquartered in San Francisco, California with stores in New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, Austin, and Palo Alto, the company was founded in 2011 by Mic ...

Dollar Shave Club Dollar Shave Club, Inc. 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 fo ...

, and Tieks. According to

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

, 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. 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 Brick and mortar (or B&M) is an organization or business with a physical presence in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory produc ...

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'' (physic ...

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 ha ...

, 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 ...

or to run sales parties. The rise of

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

helps to connect sellers to potential buyers. Under

European Union law European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...

, non-store retailing is heavily regulated. The Distance Selling Directive 97/7/EC (later amended, incorporated into UK law as

Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, SI 2000/2334, implementedEnacted pursuant to European Communities Act 1972 European Directivebr>97/7/ECas UK law.By Regulation 3(2) it is implied they apply in Scotland, and by 1(2) t ...

), 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 contract ...

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.

Consumer's right of withdrawal

A consumer's right to withdraw from a contract of sale concluded at a distance was provided for within the Distance Selling Directive. A consumer could make a decision within a period of seven

working day A business day normally means any day except a legal holiday. It may also mean a business day of operation, any of the days an organization operates. It depends on the local workweek which is dictated by local customs, religions, and business ...

s of the contract of sale, without penalty and without giving a reason. The only charge that may be made to the consumer is the direct cost of returning the goods. The start of the withdrawal period varies depending on when the goods sold were received and when the seller provided information for the consumer on their withdrawal rights.European e-Justice portal
Distance Selling Directive (97/7)
accessed on 18 June 2024. Reproduction is authorised by the European Commission, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated

References

{{Authority control

Consumer's right of withdrawal

See also

References