The aim of the paper is to present the main forces of trade environment determining the growth of the importance of the CSR conception in marketing with the indication of the target groups, the area of conducting activities, and the most typical marketing tools applied in trade. To achieve the above stated aim, an in-depth study of specialist literature, qualitative research, and observation are applied. The results of the research show that economic, social, and technological development constitutes the most important factor that has been influencing a still growing importance of the CSR issues in the activities of retailers for many years now. The activities of retailers are based on the concept of social responsibility and lead to the creation of confidence in a company among the company’s customers and other stakeholders. To do so, retailers apply a variety of marketing activities and tools, e.g. creating common values, help in case of problems, target oriented communication, etc.