Features of Departmental stores, Advantages, Disadvantages

Title: Features of departmental stores, advantages and disadvantages.

Explore the world of department stores, where variety and convenience meet personalized service. Discover their unique features, benefits, advantages and how they adapt to modern shopping trends in this insightful overview.

Table Of Contents

1. Departmental stores meaning.
2. Features of departmental stores.
3. Advantages of departmental stores.
4. Disadvantages of departmental stores.
5. Revision Questions

See Also

• Features of chain stores – advantages and disadvantages
• Features of hypermarket, advantages and disadvantages
• Types of small scale retail trade, advantages and disadvantages

Meaning Of Departmental stores

Meaning: The departmental store is a collection of shops under One roof with ownership of each shop or department specializing in selling a special range of products or goods. Each department normally buy separately, exercise it’s own stock control and set its own products policy.

It is also a large retailing unit handling a wide variety of shopping and specialty goods but organized into separate department for the purpose of promotion, service and control. There is high degree of departmentalization, e.g, Kingsway stores and leventis stores where each department specializes in one line of products, e.g, electronics, clothing and sport equipment.

Features of Departmental Stores

1. Location in urban centers: Departmental stores are usually located in the major towns in urban centers.
2. Sells varieties of goods: Departmental stores provide a wide range of variety of goods with each unit having its own manager.
3. Shops under One roof: They comprise of a collection of shops under One roof.
4. Provide One stop shopping: Departmental stores do provide One stop shopping (i.e customers stop and buy all their goods in one store).
5. Offers safe services: Departmental stores do provide self-services whereby customers serve or collect goods of their choice by themselves while shopping.
6. Window display of goods: Goods are readily displayed in departmental stores for customers to pick with ease.
7. Provision of price tags: Price tags are usually attached to all goods in departmental stores.
8. Provision of special services: Departmental stores do provide special services for customers, e.g, telephone and restaurants.
9. Beautiful layout: Departmental stores are carefully and beautifully selected their layout for goods to be displayed and also for customers convenience.
10. Huge capital: Huge amount of capital is required to set up and to operate departmental stores.

Advantages of departmental stores

1. Wide range of specialized goods: There is a wide range of specialized goods on one location.
2. Provision of special services: There is professional special services such as restaurant and telephones for customers.
3. Cheap prices: Departmental shop ensures bulk buying which can help to reduce price.
4. Easy location: Departmental stores are located in busy cities centers which make it possible for customers to locate.
5. Freedom to move around: Departmental stores allow freedom of customers to move around the stores for proper view.
6. Losses of gains may not be pronounced: The loss in a departmental stores can be offset with gains from other departments.

Disadvantages of Departmental stores

1. Huge capital: Departmental stores required huge amount of capital to set up.
2. Involves high running cost: They involve high running cost as a result of special services provided.
3. Impulse buying: The beautiful way in which departmental stores are arranged with their goods carefully displayed make the customers to buy certain goods which they did not plan to buy.
4. Not accessible to rural customers: Departmental stores are not easily accessible to customers outside the major urban centers.
5. Pilfery of Goods: Stealing of goods in departmental stores is common if the activities of some customers are not checked.
6. Attendants may not show courtesy: The store attendants may not show courtesy to their customers and may be indifferent to them.
7. Higher prices of goods: As a result of the high running cost of operation, such huge over head cost may lead to high price of goods.
8. Inability to bargain: Departmental stores place price tags on all their goods. This makes it impossible for customers to bargain for the prices of goods.

Challenges Ahead for departmental stores

Despite their enduring appeal, department stores face challenges. The shift to e-commerce means they must continuously innovate to keep customers coming through their doors. Additionally, the changing preferences of consumers, who increasingly value sustainability and unique shopping experiences, require department stores to rethink their strategies.

Conclusion on the features of departmental stores

Department stores remain a beloved shopping destination for many, offering a unique combination of variety, convenience, and personal service. Whether you’re searching for the latest fashion trends or home essentials, these stores provide a one-stop solution that caters to diverse shopping needs. As they continue to evolve in the face of new challenges, department stores are likely to remain an important part of our retail landscape for years to come

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Revision Questions

1. What is a departmental store?
2. What are the features of departmental stores?
3. Outline five advantages of departmental stores.
4. State five disadvantages of departmental stores.