The blurring of boundaries. The boundaries between different types of retailers is blurring, as this story on the toy industry demonstrates. Customers can now find toys in Radio Shack stores, Starbucks cafes, bookstores, grocery stores and even apparel stores:

RadioShack's newfound status in toyland is an example of how the $20.3 billion toy industry is expanding beyond traditional retailers such as discounters and Toys "R" Us. The growing sophistication of children and toys themselves is partly behind the trend, but so are changes in the retailing industry, including the financial problems of retailers such as Kmart Corp. and FAO Inc. that have led to hundreds of store closings...



In another example of the change, traditional toy stores like Toys "R" Us and K-B Toys are selling toys to grocery and drugstore chains to compete with discounters. And manufacturers like Lego are making deals with apparel stores...



"The search is on to put the toys where consumers are, instead of trying to attract (consumers) to toy stores or another mass merchants," said Chris Byrne, an independent toy consultant.

The trend is not limited to toys. Have you noticed how many stores are selling body cream these days? A retailer like Bath & Body Works is not only competing with Crabtree & Evelyn these days, but also with a whole host of clothing stores and pharmacies offering similar products. The days of clearly defined competitors are over. You'd be surprised how may stores you really are competing with -- and it's not just the usual suspects.