Advantages And Disadvantages Of Direct Selling

Direct selling is also defined as personal contact between a sales person and a consumer away from a retail store. This type of retailing has also been called in home selling. Annual volume of direct selling in India is growing fast from the beginning of the 21st century.

Like other forms of non-store retailing, direct selling is utilized in most countries. It is particularly widespread in Japan, which accounts for about 35% of the worldwide volume of direct selling. The U.S. represents almost 30% of the total and all other countries the rest.

The two kinds of direct selling are

• Door to door: Door-to-door is a sales technique in which a salesperson walks from the door of one house to the door of another trying to sell a product or service.

Telemarketing many entail cold canvassing from the phone directory. Many products can be bought without being seen are sold over the telephone. Examples are pest control devices, magazine subscriptions, credit cards and club memberships.

Telemarketing is not a problem free retailing. Often encountering hostile people on the other end of the line and experiencing many more rejections than closed sales, few telephone sales representatives last very long in the job. Further some telemarketers rely on questionable or unethical practices.

Despite these problems, telemarketing sales have increased in recent years. Fundamentally, some people appreciate the convenience of making a purchase by phone. Costs have been reduced by computers that automatically dial telephone number, even deliver a taped message and record information the buyer gives to complete the sale. The future of telemarketing is sure to be affected by the degree to which the problems above can be addressed and by the surge of online retailing.

For example: Asian Skyshop initiated it in India and the other players like TellyBrand, Shop 24 Seven and TVC joined the bandwagon.

Mail order/Catalogue

They may have a primary location that receives orders but does not host shopping visits. Rather, orders are received via mail or phone.

There are no consumers on the exact nature of direct marketing. In the context of retailing, it has been defined as direct marketing as using print or broadcast advertising to contact consumers who in turn, buy products without visiting a retail store.

Direct marketers contact consumers through one or more of the following media: radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, catalogs and mailing (direct mail). Consumer orders by telephone or mail. Direct marketers can be classified as either general - merchandise firms, which offer a variety of product lines, or specialty firms which carry - only one or two lines such as books or fresh fruit.

E-Retailing:

It is also called as e-tailing or internet retailing. It is a retail format in which products are offered to the customers through internet. The customers can evaluate and purchase the products from their homes or office place. This kind of retail is gaining importance in recent