Class, just to help with one of the elements of the marketing mix, place includes the entire channel of distribution and how a business gets their product from their location to the customer. Decisions regarding what channel to use, how to ship and where to make the product available to the customer are all important. According to Perreault and McCarthy, the channel is described as "any series of firms (or individuals) that participate in the flow of products from producer to final user or consumer".

Shoprite, or any grocery is a good example to help understand the 4Ps! Groceries offer Product that is a variety of food and basic items; they Place stores in convenient locations, they Price the items to offer a value for consumers and they join with manufacturers to offer coupons and in store sales. So how do all the different chains compete? They differentiate themselves by using atmospherics, that we are also discussing this week and different pricing and quality strategies. How else can they compete successfully?