“Prospects and opportunities in retail sector”

Service industry is performing a pivotal role in creating employment opportunities in India. The retail industry is one such sector that offers a number of job opportunities in merchandising, store management, central management and centralized buying. Retail continues to grow at a rapid rate offering face-paced, people-oriented, and service based careers. The retail industry is focused on the sale of goods or merchandise from a specific location for direct consumption by the purchaser. Online retail or e-tailing is a part of the retail industry that is quickly growing. Today in urban areas KIRANA SHOPS concept is developing in to malls and retailing chains.

Service sector contributes 65% to total GDP of the economy. Retail is one of the main contributors to the India's GDP and contributed about 10 per cent of the country's GDP. The sector generates eight per cent of the employment in the economy. The future retail industry is promising; the market is growing, government policies are becoming more favorable and emerging technologies are facilitating operations. The changing scenarios of Indian consumers give a proof to the potential opportunity in the retailing arena. Like other branches of management, retail management is also developing in a promising and bright career option. This trend in retail sector in India has produced an additional 8–10 million jobs in 2011 and 13 million in 2012. Considering the huge potential of retail industry in India, it is necessary to research and comment on the career options in Indian retail sector. Against this background, the present paper discusses various aspects of career options in the retailing industry in India.