An overview of the retail domain

The term retail transactions refers to the transactions where a product is sold directly to an end consumer for their own consumption. The retail industry is one of the fastest-growing industries and is marked by intense competition among existing players. Also, shoppers have high bargaining power due to the non-differentiated nature of the goods and the presence of multiple suppliers. All of this makes it extremely difficult for retailers to attract and retain a loyal customer base.

Another interesting aspect is the huge difference of scale at which retailers operate – ranging from tiny neighborhood mom-and-pop stores to all the way to mega stores. Another key feature of this domain is that shopper behavior doesn’t change drastically in short term, and this makes it easier for retailers to run analytics on the purchase history and provide more reasonable recommendations.

The domain has seen several transformations since its inception...