A big-box store is a retail outlet located in very large premises. Big-box stores can vary widely in size depending on the company and location, but they will generally cover at least 50,000 ft² and feature general merchandise or specialty goods for sale. Some of the best-known names are Walmart, Target, Costco, Best Buy, Kroger, Home Depot, and Tesco.
These sales outlets enable consumers to do their grocery shopping and make household purchases. The larger the big-box store, the more likely it is to be located outside built-up areas: this reduces infrastructure costs, and also means that parking facilities are large enough to accommodate the company’s customer base.
There are several types of categories for big-box stores, such as the following:
Today, many grocery big-box stores are included in large shopping centers that host other types of physical stores and services (pop-up stores, cinemas, discount-price retailers, fast-food outlets, etc.).
These commercial zones are flourishing around large cities, and these large shopping centers are multiplying next to each other.
A number of brands have also set up drive-through services, enabling consumers to pick up their shopping directly from their car after placing an order on the internet.
These shopping centers now offer all the services consumers need without having to leave their premises: beauty salons, hairdressing salons, shoe repair shops, restaurants, boutiques of all kinds, playgrounds and day-care centers for children, etc. Sometimes there’s even a casino, a swimming pool, a sports club, a car rental service, an aquarium, or an educational farm...
Like small towns, these stores have brought with them the creation of housing and new neighborhoods to accommodate more people, as well as employees working nearby.
In some parts of the world, consumer associations are rising up against the increasingly intensive creation of these shopping centers outside cities, as many cities are falling victim to the desertification of city centers. Appeal is then only found in the centers of activity, to the detriment of the cities that see their customers leave and the merchants with them.
