ABSTRACT
In Western countries retail distribution is an important sector of the national economy. In Britain, for example, retail sales account for more than one-half of total consumer expenditure, and the retail trade employs as many as one in every ten insured workers, or more than twice the work force engaged in the primary industries of agriculture, fisheries, and forestry. Although total employment in retailing is less than one-third that in manufacturing, retailing as measured by employment is the largest single industry in many British towns. As the level per capita of real income rises the role of distribution in the national economy tends to increase.
