The four characteristics used to classify retail stores are: the type of merchandise sold; the variety and assortment of merchandise sold; the level of customer service; the price of the merchandise. For example, we know that Whole Foods and Aldi are both grocery stores. However, Whole Foods provides different types of merchandise and provides a different level of customer service, as they focus on organic and healthy foods and their employees bag groceries. Aldi, on the other hand, focuses on cheaper foods without much heed to organic or health materials, and they do not bag groceries.
