A
- After-sales service
- Support after a purchase, such as care advice, repairs, alterations and warranty handling.
- Allocation
- Distributing available products among stores, markets or channels according to a plan or demand.
- Assortment planning
- Deciding which products and variants a retailer will offer for a market, store or sales channel.
- Average transaction value
- Sales value divided by the number of transactions during a period.
B
- Back of house
- Work areas and activities away from customers or guests, such as a stockroom, kitchen or service office.
- Back office
- Administrative and operational work that supports customer-facing activity, such as stock records, invoices and reporting.
- BOPIS
- Buy online, pick up in store: an order placed online and collected at a physical location.
- Boutique
- A specialist shop, often selling clothing, accessories or products from a particular brand.
- Brand ambassador
- A person who represents a house to the public: a sales title at counters and boutiques, or someone paid to promote the house.
C
- Cash wrap
- The store counter or area where purchases are paid for and usually wrapped or bagged.
- Client book
- A record of customers and relevant contact, preference and purchase information used to maintain relationships.
- Clienteling
- Building lasting customer relationships through personal advice, useful follow-up and knowledge of a customer's preferences.
- Concession
- A branded selling area within another retailer's premises, operated under an agreement with that retailer.
- Concierge
- A hotel employee who books restaurants, tickets and transport for guests and advises them; luxury stores use the title for client hosts.
- Consultative selling
- A sales approach that starts with questions about a customer's needs before recommending a product.
- Conversion rate
- The percentage of a defined audience that completes a desired action, such as store visitors making a purchase.
- CRM
- Customer relationship management: the practices and software used to record customer information and manage contact with customers.
- Cross-selling
- Suggesting an additional product that complements the one a customer is considering or buying.
- Customer segmentation
- Grouping people by relevant characteristics or behavior to make communication and service more appropriate.
D
- Deadstock
- Stock that remains unused or unsold; in textiles, often surplus fabric or materials.
- Direct to consumer
- Selling products directly to the people who use them, rather than through a separate retailer.
E
- Eau de parfum
- A fragrance concentration stronger than eau de toilette and lighter than extrait, at a percentage of perfume oil each house sets.
F
- Fast fashion
- A model of clothing production and retail built around rapidly changing styles and relatively low prices.
- Flagship
- A store given a prominent role in presenting a brand, often through its location, scale or product range.
- Front of house
- The areas and roles that receive and serve customers or guests directly.
K
- Keyholder
- A store employee authorized to open or close the premises and carry out the associated security procedures.
L
- Loss prevention
- Measures to reduce theft, fraud, damage and other losses involving stock, money or property.
M
- Merchandising
- Planning which products to offer, in what quantities and at what price, and how to present them for sale.
- Mystery shopping
- Assessing a store's service through trained evaluators who pose as ordinary customers and report against set criteria.
N
- Net Promoter Score
- A customer feedback measure based on how likely people are to recommend an organization.
O
- Omnichannel
- Coordinating stores, websites and other sales channels so customers can move between them during a purchase or service request.
- Open-to-buy
- The remaining inventory purchasing budget for a period, based on planned sales, stock and existing commitments.
- Order fulfillment
- The work of preparing and delivering a customer order, from picking stock to dispatch or collection.
P
- Personal shopper
- A retail advisor who meets clients by appointment, learns their taste and budget, and chooses pieces for them across a store.
- PIM
- Product information management: maintaining consistent product details for use across sales channels and other systems.
- Planogram
- A diagram specifying where products should be placed on a fixture or shelf.
- POS
- Point of sale: where a purchase is completed, and the equipment or software used to take payment and record the sale.
- POSM
- Point-of-sale materials: displays and promotional materials used where products are sold.
R
- Replenishment
- Replacing stock that has been sold or used so the required quantity remains available.
S
- Secondhand clothing
- Clothing that has previously been owned and is sold or passed on to another person.
- Sell-out
- In commercial reporting, sales from a retailer to the final customer.
- Sell-through
- The proportion of available or received stock sold during a stated period; the stock basis must be specified.
- Showroom
- A space where products are presented for sale: to trade buyers placing wholesale orders, or to clients in a retail store.
- Shrinkage
- The gap between recorded inventory and stock actually available, caused by factors such as theft, damage or recording errors.
- SKU
- Stock keeping unit: an internal identifier for a particular product variant, such as one size and color.
- Social selling
- Using social networks to build customer relationships and support sales conversations.
- Stocktaking
- Physically counting stock and checking it against inventory records.
T
- Travel retail
- Sales to travelers in locations such as airports; duty-free is a related tax treatment that applies only where conditions are met.
U
- Units per transaction
- The average number of items sold in each transaction.
- Upselling
- Encouraging a customer to choose a higher-priced version, upgrade or option.
V
- VIC
- Very important client: a customer category used by some houses for a high level of personal service; each house sets its own criteria.
- Vintage
- Clothing or accessories from an earlier period, often used in resale for items around 20 years old or older.
- Virtual selling
- Advising and selling to customers remotely through video, messaging or other digital contact.
- Visual merchandising
- Arranging products, displays and store spaces to communicate a collection and help customers shop.
