Cash and carry wholesale represents a type of operation within the wholesale sector. Its main features are summarized best by the following definitions:

• Cash and carry is a form of trade in which goods are sold from a wholesale warehouse operated either on a self-service basis, or on the basis of samples (with the customer selecting from specimen articles using a manual or computerised ordering system but not serving himself) or a combination of the three.
• Customers (retailers, professional users, caterers, institutional buyers, etc.) settle the invoice on the spot in cash, and carry the goods away themselves.
• There are significant differences between "classical" sales at the wholesale stage and the cash and carry wholesaler: namely cash and carry customers arrange the transport of the goods themselves and pay for the goods in cash, and not on credit.