Activities which help in facilitating Trade are called Aids to Trade. Here are a few aids to trade:

(1) Transport
(a) Transport creates place utility: Transport removes “Hindrances of place”. It moves goods from the place of production to places where they are in demand. It gives “place utility” to goods. It decreases supply in the place with low demand & increases it in the area with high demand, this way, it plays major role in price stability at all places.
(b) Land, including rail, transport: There are various modes of transport, first there is land transport. It includes animals, carts, motor transport, & rail transport. Animal provide access to areas which are difficult to reach by other modes of transport. Carts driven by animals carry goods & people, acting as a substitute for motor transport. Motor Transport operates through buses, trucks, tankers, etc. These vehicles are relatively cheap & easily available. They can carry goods safely even in unpacked or loosely-packed condition. Moreover, they can also affect door delivery. However, they are not suitable for bulky or too heavy goods. They do not observe fixed time schedule in operations. They also do not have uniformity in transport charges. Rail Transport, entirely owned by Government, costs a great deal to set-up & operate. However, they are an ideal mode for carrying bulky goods. They are safe, cheap & reliable mode of transport. Demerits of rail transport are that it operates between fixed points & at fixed timings. Rail Transport is not safe mode for perishable or fragile goods. Also, it does not reach out to interior places.
(c) Water Transport: Rivers, Canals, or oceans make water transport possible. It does not cost anything to set up routes of water transport. It is economical because of low carriage costs. However, it is relatively slow mode of transport. Ocean Transport is an ideal in terms of low cost, & carriage of heavy, bulky goods safely. However, ocean transport requires huge investments on buying ships. Moreover, it is dependent on weather conditions.
(d) Air Transport: Air Transport is the fastest mode of transport. It follows strict time schedules, can access all areas, & be flexible in operations. However, it is quite costly both in terms of fare & freight & price of aircraft. It is also not a safe mode of transport.

(2) Banking
Banking removes the hindrance of finance & credit. It meets financial needs of producers as well as consumers. Banking provides the following services:
(a) It provides loads & advances for purchases of materials & machinery.
(b) It allows discounting of bills. Under this facility, bills of exchange are purchased by a bank at face value less interest for the period up to their maturity.
(c) It acts as agent for its consumers as regards, collection of cheques, bills, dividends, etc.; raising of capital against issue of shares & debentures.
(d) It finances foreign trade by providing foreign exchange, issuing letters of credit, etc.

(3) Insurance
Insurance removes the hindrance if risk of loss. In return for payment of a premium, the insurer agrees to compensate the insured person in the event of his suffering a specified loss. Broadly, insurance is of four kinds, viz, life insurance, fire insurance, marine insurance, & general insurance.
A business is faced with several kinds of risks- risk of damage or destruction of property or stock by fire, risk of loss arising from burglary or other causes, loss of goods in transit, “third party” claims arising from accidents. Insurance reduces the risk of such risks.

(4) Warehousing
Warehousing removes the hindrance of time. It creates time utility by storing stocks of goods & commodities to meet fluctuations in demand. This is done by holding goods in places which are appropriate for the purpose.

Storage of goods is necessary because - (a) certain goods are not produced round the year; (b) there is a time gap between their production & sale; (c) the trader has to maintain adequate reserves of stocks to provide for delay in transportation; and (d) perishable goods, like vegetables, eggs, & fish, have to be properly stored to prevent destruction or damage.

(5) Advertising/ Sales Promotion

Advertising: Advertising removes the hindrance ok knowledge. It is a paid form of non-personal presentation & promotion of goods by a known sponsor. Advertising aims to create & maintain demand for a product. It informs consumers about availability & use of advertised goods. It helps build brand image & reputation. This way, it helps in gaining & increasing market share of advertised goods in both domestic & foreign market. Media used for advertising may be newspapers, magazines, direct mail to consumers such as leaflets/folders/catalogues, outdoor publicity such as neon signs/hoarding/posters, & audio-visual aids such as documentary films/sponsored films/radio, television, exhibitions, trade fairs, etc.

Advertising may have many objects. It may be done to create demand for a new product (primary demand advertising), or highlight the name & goodwill of an existing product or an existing manufacturer. Advertising is beneficial to manufacturers, in the sense that it helps them create, maintain & increase the demand of their products & add to their image & popularity. It is helpful to consumers a it spreads awareness about a product & its uses, & thus enables them to choose the best among the existing products. For salesmen, advertising does the essential groundwork & thus makes selling very easy.

However, advertising is criticized on various grounds. First, advertising does not create new demand, it only shifts demand from one product to another. Secondly, it is expensive & causes increase in price of good. Thirdly, it promotes extravagance among people who are tempted to spend more then their means. Fourthly, it creates monopoly, for a manufacturer spending huge sums on advertising. Fifthly, big advertisers try to influence economic policies of government through lobbying in the print & broadcast media. Lastly, but not least, advertising causes unrest & discontent among people who do not have means to buy all goods that are so attractively advertised.

Sales Promotion: Sales promotion is a wider term. It includes advertising. Difference between advertising & sales promotion is easily made, Advertising moves the consumer towards the product. As against this, sales promotion moves the product towards the consumer. Sales Promotion can be undertaken at the dealers' level through advertising material, demonstrations, displays & shows, & offer of premium to dealers. At the consumers' level, sales promotion can take the form of distribution of coupons, reduction sales, samples, money refund offer, premium, etc.