ABSTRACT
IN the days of John Stuart Mill the problem of cheap or expensive retail buying and selling was to some extent dependent upon the consumer's attitude, his knowledge of the number of outlets which might serve his wants, his shyness about choosing a less expensive article, his adherence to certain traders by reason of loyalty or conservative habits or simply the wish to show consideration to the local and neighbouring dealer. Small shopkeepers lived and depended upon such custom, and it cannot be denied that it still plays a certain part among the smallest retailers. It cannot be doubted that even in these days of change in retailing the personal contact which the small-scale retailer is able to maintain with his customers may sometimes constitute "an immense advantage over his larger competitors ".1 But where the system of branded goods with either fixed prices or at least fixed margins, regulated by the manufacturers or their trade associations, exists, this elasticity of price conditions ceases. A rigid system of price uniformity and price control takes its place.
