Wholesale trade is a method of purchasing goods in large quantities and reselling them in smaller quantities to organizations like businesses or retailers. It consists of purchasing and selling goods, generally to retailers, professional (industrial or commercial) users or authorities, or to other wholesalers or intermediaries, regardless of the quantities sold. Wholesale trade intermediaries put buyers and vendors into contact (or perform commercial operations for a third party), without being owners of the goods. The Wholesale Trade sector comprises establishments engaged in wholesaling merchandise, generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental. Wholesale trade is an economic indicator that measures the value in U.S. dollars of all merchant wholesalers sales and inventories. Only those firms that sell to governments, institutions, and other businesses are considered part of wholesale trade.

Some key points to note about wholesale trade include:

• Wholesale trade is separate from consumer sales transactions, but wholesalers are part of the channel that feeds consumer trade.
• The relationships between wholesalers and their customers may be long-standing with new orders and follow-ups coming in as those retailers and vendors need more merchandise.
• Wholesale-trade data gives investors a closer look at the consumer economy, as wholesalers sales and inventory numbers can be a leading indicator of consumer trends.
• While almost all goods may give rise to wholesale trade, only some of them are sold in retail (retail trade) .
• Retail business/trade means purchasing the goods from the wholesalers/manufacturers and selling them to the final consumers for a profit.