Retail traders are non-institutional individuals, often more narrative and social-driven.
Retail waves show up in memecoins, search trends, and exchange app interest.
In research workflows, Retail trader is usually interpreted with Whale, FOMO, Social volume, and Memecoin rather than as a standalone signal. Acceleration often matters more than absolute mention counts. Loud but fading hype is a different setup from quiet but rising chatter.