We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Marketing

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What does a Merchant do?

By Alan Rankin
Updated: May 16, 2024
Views: 50,700
Share

Merchants are people who make their livings by selling goods they did not produce themselves. Merchants can be distinguished from farmers, artisans, and others who create items they could sell themselves but are more likely to license to a merchant, who has the facilities and experience to deal with consumers. Merchants thus provide a vital link between those who grow, create, or assemble goods and the buying public. Historically, the merchant class was responsible for the creation of a middle class between peasants and the nobility. In modern times, merchants are most often the proprietors of establishments ranging in size from small shops to multinational chain stores, including commerce websites.

For thousands of years, people were limited to the food, clothing, and practical or recreational items they could create themselves or trade with nearby neighbors. At the dawn of recorded history, primitive human societies created the means to trade items for credits that represented the value of the items rather than bartering item for item. This was the advent of money as well as the first written records and writing itself, which was used to keep track of these credits. The first merchants focused on facilitating this exchange of goods and credit rather than producing the goods themselves.

Often these early merchants were traders who would travel great distances to bring exotic goods to areas that otherwise could not afford to import them. Another kind of merchant was the shopkeeper, who would offer a wide selection of general or specialized goods in a central location, saving customers the trouble of seeking them out. In medieval Europe, increases in trade and population allowed the merchant class to prosper, creating a middle class between the wealthy and the poor. Over the centuries, this middle class gained power, leading to the collapse of the feudal system and the rise of the first democratic governments.

In modern times, the merchant who runs a single shop has been largely supplanted by new methods of doing business. Many successful mercantile, or merchant-style, stores have expanded into chains with multiple locations in a particular region or country or even internationally. Some merchants run franchises, which are offshoots of these larger chain stores but have independent management. In the 21st century, the success of Internet commerce has allowed merchants large and small to do business online, sometimes without a brick-and-mortar store.

In modern chain stores, the role of the merchant is a nebulous one. These stores are owned by executives and stockholders who are rarely on the premises, instead hiring local managers who in turn hire staff members to handle day-to-day shop tasks. In a general sense, all of these people are merchants, but they bear little resemblance to the classic merchant of ancient times.

Share
SmartCapitalMind is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.

Related Articles

Discussion Comments
By anon999199 — On Nov 15, 2017

So this website chooses to portray the merchant as a man with an apron selling tomatoes. Here's the reality ...

In history and in the present, merchants are among the most wealthiest and powerful men in the world. Jeff Bezos of Amazon is a merchant. Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway is a merchant.

Literally everything that you have - your home, your food, your transportation, your stuff, your quality of life - are the result of the work of merchants of all skill levels.

Look up Wikipedia's portrayal of the merchant. It's much more accurate and insightful.

By Rundocuri — On Jan 30, 2014

Yes, merchants have been around almost as long as people have. Hundreds of years ago, people shopped from local merchants who made fine, handcrafted items. There are still merchants like that today in small towns and cities all around the country. So do your part to support the economy and shop local!

Share
https://www.smartcapitalmind.com/what-does-a-merchant-do.htm
Copy this link
SmartCapitalMind, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

SmartCapitalMind, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.