Market Index

In the United States it was anticipated that when retail sales became known that fact of itself would provide an unfailing in dex, sufficiently accurate for practical purposes. But such ex ceptions as the sales of food stores illustrate the inadequacy of this as a one item index. In urban districts, green vegetables, eggs, and butter and milk are among the items bought, while in rural districts these items are largely provided by the home. So in computing an index for the sale of a package cheese, food store sales would indicate too much for cities and not enough for towns and villages. Most other items have similar exceptions, so the careful marketing man compiles an index, and verifies estimates by all available data. (H. E. A.) MARKETING. Marketing is essentially the distribution of goods from the producer to the consumer. The central fact is the sale, but to secure sales the goods must be assembled from the places where they were produced, graded when qualities differ, sorted when there are different varieties, stored, moved to market and in many cases thence to the place of consumption. All of these processes constitute a part of the marketing operation.

Methods of Marketing.

The simplest form of marketing and the most primitive is the sale by the producer directly to the consumer. In the aggregate, sales made in this way even at present run into immense volume, although but a small part of the total of business. Modern business, the development of large cities and an increasing division of labour in industry, all tend to reduce this form of marketing. There is still a consider able amount of marketing of produce, particularly fruits and vegetables, direct from farmers to consumers, by parcel post and by direct sale. Again, certain specialties, complicated ma chines and machines requiring much attention and service after the first sale, usually are sold direct by manufacturers to con sumers through the medium of specialty salesmen. The sales man is the representative of the producer in the marketing trans action. Again, if a retailing house does so large a business that it can advantageously engage in manufacturing some of the lines of goods it sells, it may combine production with distribution.