Department stores and shopping malls

Department stores and shopping malls are places where we go shopping.

A department store is usually a large shop where we can buy a wide variety of items such as clothing, luggage, make-up, lighting, food, toys and so and so on, in separate areas or “departments”. They are normally part of a “chain” of stores, each bearing the same name, and located in town and city centres. For shoppers, the main benefit of department stores is that they conveniently provide a range of goods in one location.

In recent years, some department stores – including, in the United Kingdom, Debenhams, Army and Navy Stores, British Home Stores and Allders – have closed and gone out of business. Many people prefer on-line shopping. They like to shop from home and have items delivered, instead of actually having to visit a shop. The most famous department stores in the UK now include Selfridges, Harrods, Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and House of Fraser. The most famous in the United States include Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom and JC Penney.

A shopping mall is usually a large area with shops, eating places and car parking. Many malls also have places of entertainment such as cinemas and bowling alleys. Shopping malls are normally indoors (except, perhaps, for the car park, which might be on the roof), meaning that we can move from shop to shop without going outside. People see this as one of their main benefits. Other benefits include the variety of products available, the availability of parking and of eating and drinking places. A shopping mall will almost always have one large department store, to act as an “anchor” and attract shoppers.

We will usually find shopping malls in the main shopping areas of towns and cities, but some are elsewhere. These “out-of-town malls” are often very large and sited close to motorways so that people can reach them by car. They might have more shops – including supermarkets – and more entertainments. 

While shopping malls enjoy global popularity, in certain areas, especially within the United States, many have shut down and remain empty. Again this is probably partly because of the increasing popularity of on-line shopping. Other factors might include the closure of a major department store making the whole mall less attractive. Also, the Covid pandemic caused huge problems for shops. Most – except on-line shops – suffering, and many of them have not fully recovered. 

In the UK, shopping malls are often called “shopping centres”.

There are other places which can also be called shopping centres. We’ll talk about them in future posts.

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^{Thanks to Masha for the question.}

^{Posted by Graham.}