commodities offered for sale
"good business depends on having good merchandise"
"that store offers a variety of products"
Goods which are or were offered or intended for sale.
"The warehouse was cleared out to make room for new merchandise that had just arrived from the factory."
In plain English: Merchandise is any product that a store sells to customers.
"The store decided to discount all its remaining merchandise before the holiday season ends."
Usage: Merchandise refers to goods that are bought and sold, such as items found in a store. It is best used when talking about products generally rather than specific individual objects.
To engage in trade; to carry on commerce.
"The local farmer decided to merchandise his excess crops directly at the weekend market instead of relying on middlemen."
In plain English: To merchandise something means to display it for sale in an attractive way.
"The store will not merchandise any items that are damaged before they reach the shelves."
Usage: Do not use the verb "merchandise" to mean selling goods; instead, it specifically means to promote or display items attractively to encourage sales. You would correctly say a store merchandises its window displays, but never that a company merchandise products to customers.
The word merchandise comes from the Old French marchandise, which originally referred to commerce, trading, and business transactions. It entered English via Anglo-Norman with this same broad sense of goods and wares involved in trade.