What is the difference between a department store and a retail store?
Christopher Ramos
Updated on February 24, 2026
A retailer can be an ice cream store or a jewelry store. It is any store that sells goods to the public to make a profit. A department store is a very large store that is usually located in a mall that sells everything from clothes to shoes to sheets to towels to appliances to lots of things.
What is considered a department store?
Department store, retail establishment that sells a wide variety of goods. These usually include ready-to-wear apparel and accessories for adults and children, yard goods and household textiles, small household wares, furniture, electrical appliances and accessories, and, often, food.
What kind of a store is Target?
general merchandise retailer
Target is a general merchandise retailer with stores in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Our tagline is “Expect More. Pay Less.” We’ve been using it since 1994!
What is Walmart and Target called?
big-box stores
Commercially, big-box stores can be broken down into two categories: general merchandise (examples include Walmart, Kmart, and Target), and specialty stores (such as Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, or Best Buy), which specialize in goods within a specific range, such as hardware, books, or consumer electronics.
Is Target cheaper than Walmart?
While Target did have a price win this category, the overall winner was Amazon, with the lowest prices on majority of products in the category. On average, Target was 4.39% more expensive in total, while Walmart was 4.99% more expensive in total compared to Amazon.
What’s the difference between a shopping mall and a retail store?
A shopping mall is the mall which has interconnecting walkways enabling the shoppers to go from one unit to another unit easily. Mall is not the part of any retail chain.
Can a department store be part of a mall?
A department store can be part of a retail chain of stores. They sell products, such as, home appliances, apparel, furniture, electronics, fashion jewelery, cosmetics, and the like. Generally, a mall is not part of any retail chain. One single unit houses all products at the same place. The modern malls were developed since the 1920s.
What’s the difference between a strip mall and a shopping center?
A strip mall or a mini-mall is typically an open-air mall where the shops are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Malls can sell various merchandise including clothes, jewelry, electronics, toys, household items and food. The prices of merchandise may also vary by store.
What are the different types of shopping centers?
A shopping center is basically a building or a group of buildings that houses a variety of stores selling merchandise to the public. It is a type of a mall and sells a variety of merchandise. Shopping centers may also house food courts, play areas and movie theaters to attract more crowds. Shopping centers are often found in urban areas.