English Reference
Noun

retailer

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈɹiˌteɪɫɝ/ UK /ɹˈiːteɪlɐ/ re·tail·er UK spelling retailers

n.a person or business that sells goods directly to the public. You usually find them in shops or on websites.

n.a person or business entity that sells goods to the ultimate consumer, as opposed to a wholesaler or supplier.


SIMPLE

The local retailer offers a discount to students.

CONTEXTUAL

After the holiday season, every major retailer in the city holds a massive clearance sale to clear out old stock.

COMPLEX

The rise of e-commerce has forced the traditional brick-and-mortar retailer to rethink its customer experience and loyalty programs to remain competitive in a digital market.

Usage

Commonly used in business contexts to distinguish between those who sell to the public and those who sell to other businesses.

As well as Sports Direct, Frasers has bought up a huge number of retailers and their brands over the years.

BBC News· 13 Aug 2026

She added that retailers would also have to pay "hundreds of millions of pounds" to update their payroll systems.

BBC News· 13 Aug 2026

Common in business writing


From retail + -er.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated