Difference Between Supermarket And Mall
Supermarket
Supermarkets are found in almost every city and town in the United States and in many countries around the world. But they are a comparatively new idea.
Today supermarket operators have introduced innovations that help reduce the cost of running a store. The most important of these is a computer with a scanner that checks out what a shopper has bought by reading symbols on the merchandise. The scanner then matches the product to a price recorded in the computer, and the price flashes on a screen near the cash register. This system processes sales rapidly and accurately.
New kinds of stores have developed to meet new needs. Warehouse stores, have done away with luxury items and passed the savings on to the customers. Some stores now offer cereals and other foods “in bulk” —that is, in barrels from which shoppers serve themselves and pay by weight. Larger stores carry more nonfood items, and many chain stores are introducing foreign and “gourmet” foods.
All this offers greater convenience for busy shoppers. In the future, markets will continue to change to meet the demands of a changing population.
Mall
Mall, a large building or semi-closed plaza, frequently located in a suburb, housing various retail shops and services and featuring open walkways and extensive parking facilities. The origin of the modern mall can be traced indirectly to the 8th-century covered bazaar of Istanbul, Turkey, which accommodated approximately 4,000 shops. The community shopping center, or cluster of retail establishments with parking, dining, and other facilities, had its birth in Kansas City, Mo., in 1922. The first enclosed mall was built in Edina, Minn., in 1956.
Today’s malls and shopping centers range from small community convenience centers of 25,000 square feet (2,300 sq meters) to midsize shopping plazas of 100,000–300,000 square feet (9,300–28,000 sq meters) to large regional shopping malls of 500,000 square feet (46,000 sq meters) or more. In addition, there are a few so-called megamalls.