QR

en-noun

QR (countable and uncountable, plural QRs)

A QR code is a kind of two-dimensional barcode.

QR manufacturing fits with ECR logistics.

New insights into bee movements and life cycles have been uncovered after researchers tracked the insects using tiny QR codes glued onto their backs.

2025 January 28, Jack Guy, “Tiny QR codes help scientists track bee movements”, in CNN:

(marketing, retail, logistics, manufacturing) Initialism of quick response.

Initialism of quick response.
Ellipsis of QR code.


face

en-verb

face (third-person singular simple present faces, present participle facing, simple past and past participle faced)

faces (present singular third-person)
facing (participle present)
faced (participle past)
faced (past)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-?
Latin faciēs
Late Latin facia
Old French facebor.
Middle English face
English face
From Middle English face, from Old French face, from Late Latin facia, from Latin faciēs (“form, appearance”). Doublet of facies. Displaced native onlete (“face, countenance, appearance”), anleth (“face”), from Old English anwlite, andwlita, compare German Antlitz; Old English ansīen (“face”), Middle English neb (“face, nose”) (from Old English nebb), Middle English ler, leor, leer (“face, cheek, countenance”) (from Old English hlēor), and non-native Middle English vis (“face, appearance, look”) (from Old French vis) and Middle English chere (“face”) from Old French chere.
In the sense of face as in reputation, influenced by Chinese 面子 (miànzi) or 臉／脸 (liǎn), both of which mean literally the front of the head and metaphorically one's public image. See lose face.

noncog

I've put out the stock and broken down the boxes, it's just facing left to do.

In my first job, I learned how to operate a till and to face the store to high standards.

(transitive, retail) To improve the display of stock by ensuring items aren't upside down or back to front and are pulled forwards.


unit

Formerly unite, a later form of unity; see unity.

(retail) A structure used to display goods for sale (usually containing shelves, pegs or hooks)


drive

en-noun

drive (countable and uncountable, plural drives)

[d̠ɹ̠ ̝ʷaɪv]

From Middle English driven, from Old English drīfan (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-West Germanic *drīban, from Proto-Germanic *drībaną (“to drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots drive (“to drive”), North Frisian driwe (“to drive”), Saterland Frisian drieuwe (“to drive”), West Frisian driuwe (“to chase, drive, impel”), Dutch drijven (“to drive”), Low German drieven (“to drive, drift, push”), German treiben (“to drive, push, propel”), Norwegian Bokmål drive, Danish drive (“to drive, run, force”), Norwegian Nynorsk driva, Swedish driva (“to drive, power, drift, push, force”), Icelandic drífa (“to drive, hurry, rush”).

cog

vaccination drive

(retail) A campaign aimed at selling more of a certain product or promoting a public service.


float

en-verb

float (third-person singular simple present floats, present participle floating, simple past and past participle floated)

floats (present singular third-person)
floating (participle present)
floated (participle past)
floated (past)

From Middle English floten, from Old English flotian (“to float”), from Proto-West Germanic *flotōn, from Proto-Germanic *flutōną (“to float”), from Proto-Indo-European *plewd-, *plew- (“to float, swim, fly”). Compare flow, fleet.

You can't just close the drawer, log in to the till and start serving customers, telling them you're only taking card payments and that they should gonto another till if they're paying in cash. The till needs to be floated first, so ask the manager on the headset if you can use it and she'll float it and let you know when you can start serving.

(transitive, retail) To prepare a till (cash register) for operation, either by putting a float (cash amount) in the cash drawer to provide change for customers making cash payments or (by extension) by recording the time a till starts being used for card payments if it is card-only


keystone

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-keystone.wav

From key + stone.
Definition 4 (retail) possibly originated in the jewelry industry in the magazine called "Jewelers' Circular-Keystone".

(retail) A retail price that is double the cost price; a markup of 100%.


keystone

keystone (third-person singular simple present keystones, present participle keystoning, simple past and past participle keystoned)

keystones (present singular third-person)
keystoning (participle present)
keystoned (participle past)
keystoned (past)

(transitive, retail) To double the cost price in order to determine the retail price; to apply a markup of 100%.


express

en-adj

express (comparative more express, superlative most express)

more express (comparative)
most express (superlative)

From French exprès, from Latin expressus, past participle of exprimere (see Etymology 2, below).

Tesco Express

McDonald's Express

(postpositive, retail) Providing a more limited but presumably faster service than a full or complete dealer of the same kind or type.


PSP

en-noun

PSP (countable and uncountable, plural PSPs)

The seller reassured me that I’d have the chance to “QC” (quality-check) the “PSPs” (pre-shipment photos).

2023 May 4, Amy X. Wang, Grant Cornett, “Inside the Delirious Rise of ‘Superfake’ Handbags”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(online retail) Initialism of pre-shipment photo.


parasite

/ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/

/ˈpæɹəˌsaɪt/

/ˈpɛɹəˌsaɪt/

From Middle French parasite, from Latin parasitus, from Ancient Greek παράσιτος (parásitos, “person who eats at the table of another”), from noun use of adjective meaning "feeding beside", from παρά (pará, “beside”) + σῖτος (sîtos, “food”).

parasiet

(biology) organism that exists by stealing resources from another organism

parasite display

parasite stand

parasite unit

(retail, used attributively) An isolated (FSDU) (freestanding display unit )


CVS

The high-output glow of the CVS across the highway blunted into gauzy white by the moisture in the air.

2023, Brandon Taylor, The Late Americans, Jonathan Cape, page 27:

The recall said that the distributors — Walmart, CVS and AACE Pharmaceuticals — will be arranging the return of all the affected products.

2024 February 28, Ramishah Maruf, “Popular eye ointments may not be sterile, recall warns”, in CNN:

Most large PBMs operate their own mail-order and specialty pharmacies, but CVS is the only major PBM that owns its own retail pharmacy, according to the Brookings Institution.

2024 December 11, Andrew Stanton, “Senators Turn Screws on Health Care Industry as CEO Shooting Fuels Scrutiny”, in Newsweek:

(retail) Initialism of Consumer Value Stores, a US pharmacy chain.


outer

From Middle English outre, outer, outter, uttre, from Old English ūtre, ūtera, ūterra (“outer”), equivalent to out + -er. Compare German äußere (“outer”), Danish ydre (“outer”), Swedish yttre (“outer”), Icelandic ytri (“outer”). Piecewise doublet of utter.

We ordered two cartons with twelve outers in each.

(retail) The smallest single unit sold by wholesalers to retailers, usually one retail display box.


stackable

With a 10% stackable coupon I can get my cost down to ∼$625 shipped, taxed for the 15" DVI LCD […]

2003, Geoffrey Litwack, Geoffrey Litwack 2002 Annual, page 461:

(retail, colloquial, of a coupon or similar offer) Capable of being combined with others on a single purchase.


POS

en-noun

POS (countable and uncountable, plural POSes or POSs)

point of service
point of service#English

(retail) Initialism of point of sale or point of service.


closeout

The Administration’s request of $12 million will allow TDA to conduct an orderly closeout of the agency beginning in 2018, which includes sufficient funding for personnel, rent, program, and other closeout costs.

2017 May 23, Gregory Krieg and Will Mullery, “Trump’s budget by the numbers: What gets cut and why”, in CNN:

(retail) A sale in which all merchandise is sold, at whatever reduced price is necessary; especially, such a sale for the purpose of either dispensing with a discontinued product line or preparing to close down the store.

разпродажба

retail: sale in which all merchandise is sold


distribution lot

distribution lot (plural distribution lots)

(retail) A case pack; the number of items in a case or number of cases on a palette. Abbreviation: DL.


clearance

clearance (countable and uncountable, plural clearances)

(retail) A sale of merchandise, especially at significantly reduced prices, usually in order to make room for new merchandise or updated versions of the same merchandise; sometimes as a closeout.


wobbler

A wire "Wobbler" holds a card for counter display

1958 May 19, “Irish offers sales kit”, in Billboard, page 18:

Yesterday saw the launch of the initiative, which will use advertising “shelf wobblers” that usually publicise special offers to encourage Bristol shoppers to bring back their plastic bottles for recycling.

2006 February 28, “Recycling message hits supermarket shelves in Bristol”, in LetsRecycle.com:

(retail, advertising) A small publicity notice which appears to float at eye level, being attached to a fixture by a flexible arm.


coupon code

(retail) An alphanumeric code used to identify the offer associated with a coupon.


Catalina

Catalina
Consolidated PBY Catalina
en:Santa Catalina Island (California)


Christmas season

Christmas season (plural Christmas seasons)

(US, informal, retail and marketing) The winter season starting around Thanksgiving (typically Black Friday) and ending at or about New Year's Eve.


Geiger counter

/ˈɡaɪɡə ˈkaʊntə/

/ˈɡaɪɡɚ ˈkaʊntɚ/

Ernest Rutherford
Geiger counter
Hans Geiger

Named after Hans Geiger who developed the first such device in 1908 together with Ernest Rutherford.

Any Geiger Counter feature can direct a user towards an RFID tagged item or at least point the user in the right direction, depending on how far away the RFID tag is.

2021 July 15, “10 Facts About the Geiger Counter Functionality, aka RFID Tag Locator”, in atlasRFIDstore (blog), retrieved 2024-08-23:

(by extension, retail) a feature of an RFID reader that emits a sound indicating the signal strength of an RFID tag that is being searched for.


point of sale

Near-synonym: point of purchase

His trenchant criticisms of the Church's repression […] include a discussion of the considerable 1938 success of the fledgling NODL in getting magazines removed from various points of sale.

2011, Jay A. Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica, 1920-1940:

Traditionally, 'ticket office' seems to have been the preferred term in America, with Britain using the term 'booking office' (as an 1881 edition of The Railway Age Monthly and Railway Service Magazine explains). Today, the two are often used interchangeably (as the recent 'Save our ticket offices' campaign shows), with the term 'ticketing' perhaps capturing more of the point-of-sale transaction and issuing of tickets within stations.

2024 March 6, Dr Joseph Brennan, “England's booking offices of distinction”, in RAIL, number 1004, page 56:

(retail) The location at which payment for goods is made in an establishment that sells goods or services.


open box

(business, retail) Pertaining to a product sold by merchants at a discount, because the item was returned but found not to be defective.


kitting

Kitting for in-plant handling is unlean. Kitting for transport, on the other hand, is lean; for example, shipping complete sets of parts to make a TV or motorcycle or motor home is lean.

2007, Richard J. Schonberger, Best Practices in Lean Six Sigma Process Improvement, page 204:

(manufacturing, retail) The process of assembling or bundling various related goods for sale to increase revenue.


mom and pop

mom and pops (plural)
Mom and Pop (alternative)
mom-and-pop (alternative)
Mom-and-Pop (alternative)

Named for the archetypical case in which such a business is run by a self-employed couple with children.

(informal, business, commerce, retail) A small business, often but not always owned or operated by a family.


big box

(business, commerce, retail) A large self-service store, usually on a single level, with few interior walls, owned and run by a corporation.


showcasing

showcasing (countable and uncountable, plural showcasings)

(Internet, retail) The activity of browsing bricks-and-mortar stores to examine goods before buying them online, frequently from a different retailer.


childrenswear

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-childrenswear.wav

(chiefly retail) clothing for children; children's wear.


blinkie

These are blinkies. When you walk up to them there is usually a coupon sticking out. Snag the coupon and another one just like it will pop out in a few seconds. Blinkies have a special place in my heart.

2013, Kasey Knight Trenum, Couponing for the Rest of Us:

(retail, colloquial) A coupon dispenser with blinking lights to draw the attention of shoppers.


shmatte

shmattes (plural)
schmatte (alternative)
schmata (alternative)
schmatta (alternative)
schmate (alternative)
schmutter (alternative)
shmatta (alternative)

Borrowed from Yiddish שמאַטע (shmate); originally from Polish szmata.

She skipped onto a minimally decorated stage in a pale salmon pink schmate covered in bows, loose-fitting and obviously filled with surprises.

1983 April 9, Walta Borawski, “Midler in Boston”, in Gay Community News, page 12:

I said, Why am I in the shmatte business? Mr. Kimmel said of his beginners luck.

2007 December 12, David M. Halbfinger, “A Film Producer Guided More by His Heart Than by His Calculator”, in New York Times:

In addition to having the barely perceptible but definitely present scummy vibe of an early 20th-century schmatte business, it was like the ultimate perversion of the male literary impulse.

2020, Emily Segal, Mercury Retrograde, New York: Deluge Books, →ISBN:

(fashion industry, clothing retail, slang) Any item of clothing.


HBC

(retail) Initialism of health and beauty care.


hyperphysical

en-adj

hyperphysical (comparative more hyperphysical, superlative most hyperphysical)

more hyperphysical (comparative)
most hyperphysical (superlative)

In the post-pandemic present, the key to success is undoubtedly the "hyperphysical" shops, the macro trend, identified by The Future Laboratory and reported by Vogue Business, which describes retail spaces so spectacular that visiting them is an emotional experience. From Balenciaga's pink fur-clad pop-ups to Jacquemus' bag vending machines: at a time when many consumers have yet to abandon e-commerce as their preferred mode of purchase, hyperphysical retailing is catalysing the attention of younger consumers.

2022 May 5, Lucy Shaw, “The future of retail is "hyperphysical"”, in Nss magazine:

Additionally, the store can lead to an immersive brand activation environment, with the digital and physical environment converging more and more. Some of this discussion involves concepts such as hyperphysical stores (where the tangible aspects are highly visible and sensorial) and other leans more toward the ‘store of the future’, with increased technology integration.

2024, Ana Roncha, “Fashion brand management”, in Rosemary Varley, Ana Roncha, Natascha Radclyffe-Thomas, Liz Gee, editors, Fashion Management: A Strategic Approach, London: Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 104:

(business, marketing, retail, often fashion) Highly stimulating, offering intense or abundant visual, tactile, or other physical stimulation.


sweethearting

en-noun

sweethearting (usually uncountable, plural sweetheartings)

(business, retail) Theft by employees at the cash register, for example by giving away merchandise to friends and family.


antique shop

antique shops (plural)
antiques shop (alternative)

My grandmother Rosemary never cared much for antique shops, she preferred modern goods as opposed to the things of yore.

New Alresford is constantly mispronounced, T-shaped, honeycombed with cellars, packed with antique shops, riddled with woodworm, surrounded by watercress. The name - which means 'ford by the alders' - is pronounced 'Allsford'; and no one ever uses 'New', though they do call the adjoining village Old Alresford.

1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 144:

2007, US Census Bureau, Last week, Sarah cleaned and painted the back room of her house in preparation for setting up an antique shop there.:

(retail) A business dedicated to storing, selling, restoring, and trading in items from previous eras for their superficial and historical value, especially furniture and trinkets.


floorset

(retail) The process of rearranging all the goods in a store to give a fresh appearance, often according to a planogram.


special order sale

special order sale (plural special order sales)

(retail) The sale of an item that is not stocked by ordering it from another company


Catalina coupon

Catalina coupon (plural Catalina coupons)

Named after the marketing company, founded on a sailing trip to Santa Catalina Island.

(US, retail) A coupon printed after purchase at the register, based on the items purchased.


power center

power centers (plural)
power centre (alternative)

(retail) An unenclosed shopping center with a gross leasable area between 250,000 and 750,000 square feet.


dump bin

(retail) A bin filled with products of a particular type, often at a discount, without any stacking or arrangement.


symbol group

(UK, retail) A form of retail franchise company that does not own or operate stores, but acts as a supplier to independent grocers, supermarkets, etc. which then trade under a common banner.


peelie

(retail, colloquial) A coupon attached to a product's packaging so that it can be peeled off.


business-friendly

en-adj

business-friendly (comparative more business-friendly, superlative most business-friendly)

more business-friendly (comparative)
most business-friendly (superlative)

(business, commerce, retail) Favoring or conducive to business concerns or interests.

geschäftsfreundlich

favoring or conducive to business concerns or interests


shwopping

However, perhaps the most interesting thing about shwopping was the attempt to engage the consumer. This non-product campaign incorporated a highly innovative social media strategy alongside other forms of media and PR activity.

2013, Nick Coad, Paul Pritchard, Leading Sustainable Innovation:

(retail) The practice of taking old items to a shop to be donated or recycled, while also buying new items.


food hall

(UK, Europe, retail) The part of a department store that sells food.


self-scan

(retail, chiefly attributive) An electronic system in a supermarket etc. allowing customers to scan the barcodes on their purchases and pay for them without the need for a cashier.


self-scan

en-verb

self-scan (third-person singular simple present self-scans, present participle self-scanning, simple past and past participle self-scanned)

self-scans (present singular third-person)
self-scanning (participle present)
self-scanned (participle past)
self-scanned (past)


self-checkout

en-noun

self-checkout (countable and uncountable, plural self-checkouts)

self-checkouts (plural)
self-scan checkout (alternative)
self-scanning checkout (alternative)
self checkout (alternative)

zelfscankassa

a location in shops where customers can scan and pay for their purchases themselves

(retail, countable) A self-scan checkout.

one of the first stores to introduce self-checkout

While self-checkout machines are often used alongside cashiers, labor unions say that tilting toward fully cashierless operations threatens the French way of life by encouraging American-style consumerism and automation, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

2019 December 26, Liz Alderman, “Self-Checkout in France Sets Off Battle Over a Day of Rest”, in The New York Times:

(retail, uncountable) The use of self-scan checkouts.


yellow goods

The sum of the characteristics for each and every good is different, and the sum of characteristics for red goods is lower than the sum of the characteristics for yellow goods.

2001, Michael John Baker, Marketing: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management:

(retail) Big-ticket items that are rarely purchased and not regularly replaced.


go-back

(retail) An item of merchandise that needs to be returned to a shelf or rack, for example because a customer has decided not to purchase it or has brought it back for an exchange.


underface

en-verb

underface (third-person singular simple present underfaces, present participle underfacing, simple past and past participle underfaced)

underfaces (present singular third-person)
underfacing (participle present)
underfaced (participle past)
underfaced (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-underface.wav

(retail) To place an unsufficient quantity of a product range on the shelves.


click and collect

(retail) A service allowing customers to buy products online and then visit a local branch of the store to collect them.


dumpbin

(retail) A large freestanding box or basket containing loose goods for sale.


fast fashion

Forever 21, the California retailer that helped popularize fast fashion in the United States with its bustling stores and $5 tops, said on Sunday night that it would file for bankruptcy, a sign of the eroding power of shopping malls and the shifting tastes of young consumers.

2019 September 29, Sapna Maheshwari, “Forever 21, Which Helped Popularize Fast Fashion, to File for Bankruptcy”, in New York Times:

Among the developments deemed to be exacerbating the problems, is fast fashion – cheap clothes bought and cast aside in rapid succession as trends change – such as the £1 bikini sold by Missguided last year.

2020 April 7, Nicola Davis, “Fast fashion speeding toward environmental disaster, report warns”, in The Guardian:

(retail) An approach to clothing retail by which designs are quickly adopted from the catwalk so as to capture current fashion trends.


BOPUS

2019, Molly Fosco, Talking Shop: Can Click and Collect Challenge Amazon?, 10 March 2019, OZY.
Despite evidence to the contrary at my local Target that evening, the option to buy online and pick up in store (BOPUS) is becoming increasingly popular throughout the U.S.

(retail) Acronym of buy online, pick up in store.


call and collect

(retail) A service allowing customers to order products by telephone and then visit a local branch of the store to collect them.


flash pack

As a simple example of a sales promotion we will consider a money-off flash pack promotion for a convenience food product, using very simplified numbers.

2013, Keith Ward, Financial Aspects of Marketing:

The lower price is given advertising support, e.g. special flash packs, coupons, banner displays at the point of sale, etc.

2013, P. F. McGoldrick, Advances in Manufacturing Technology: Proceedings, page 33:

(retail, marketing) A package printed with a special discount offer on it.


Cinderella sale

en-noun

Cinderella sale (plural Cinderella sales)

First use appears c. 1909 in the publication Shoe Retailer and Boots and Shoes Weekly.

Instead of advertising small widths and sizes in women's shoes, the event was called the Cinderella sale.

1915, Chilton Company (publisher), Boot and Shoe Recorder, Volume 67, page 47:

Why not try a Cinderella Sale? Offer a table of odds and ends, broken sizes, leftovers, etc. Make prices ridiculous.

1975, Farm Supplier, volume 49, page 399:

(business, retail) An occasional sale of miscellaneous or damaged items.


F&R

(logistics, supply chain management, retail) Initialism of forecasting and replenishment.

logistics; supply chain management; logistics; supply chain management


SEL

SEL (countable and uncountable, plural SELs)

(retail, countable) Initialism of shelf edge label.


distress merchandise

(retail) Goods that are not selling well and may need to be discounted or otherwise disposed of.


BNPL

(retail) Initialism of buy now, pay later.


factory second

(retail, manufacturing) A retail item that, through minor fault of manufacture, is sold to the public for a reduced rate.


HHT

handheld terminal
handheld terminal#English

(retail) Initialism of handheld terminal


FSDU

(retail) Initialism of freestanding display unit.


meal deal

(UK, retail) A sales promotion consisting of a main (often a sandwich), a drink, and a snack (often crisps) for a fixed price.


overface

en-verb

overface (third-person singular simple present overfaces, present participle overfacing, simple past and past participle overfaced)

overfaces (present singular third-person)
overfacing (participle present)
overfaced (participle past)
overfaced (past)

Larger stores had to be filled, so retailers started overfacing items

2015, Constant Berkhout, Retail Marketing Strategy: Delivering Shopper Delight, page 114:

(retail) To place an excessive quantity of a product range on the shelves.


softline

(retail, chiefly attributive) A line of goods that are consumed after a single use, or have a limited lifespan: e.g. clothing, toiletries, stationery.


Shipageddon

From ship + -ageddon, coined by podcaster Jason Goldberg.

(US, slang, retail, historical) Shipping delays caused by a large influx of online orders in the United States in the year 2020.


loyalty tax

(retail) The situation where discounts offered to new subscribers to a service mean that existing long-term customers are charged more.


Paul Blart

From the titular character of the Paul Blart: Mall Cop series of movies.

So within a couple minutes of my walking up to the inner fence (there's a short outer one to keep cars out which doesn't continue to the dirt) Paul Blart himself showed up to tell me to back off!

2009 May 22, TheDamnMushroom, “dead mall 1”, in Flickr.com:

And even then, Paul Blart would likely be occupied with stopping the kids who were skateboarding through THE MALL CONCOURSE!

2018 July 21, “Regal Cinemas at St Louis Mills. The only real draw for the mall now a days.”, in Reddit:

I saw one fat Paul Blart and one police officer

2023 December 12, Crankbait, Carolina Firearms Forum:

(retail, informal, US) A mall security guard, especially one considered self-serious or hostile.


loyalty price

(retail) A reduced price made available to holders of a loyalty card.


MUP

(retail) Initialism of minimum unit pricing.


foot traffic

(business, retail) A measure of the number of people or customers who enter a shopping mall or retail location within a specific period.


shelf stopper

(retail, advertising) A wobbler (small floating publicity notice) attached to a shelf in a shop.


greentailing

(business, retail) The integration of environmentally sustainable practices within a retail operation.