Grocery store

A grocery store (AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, and is not used to refer to other types of stores that sell groceries. In the UK, shops that sell food are distinguished as grocers or grocery shops (though in everyday use, people usually use either the term "supermarket" or a "corner shop".)

Larger types of stores that sell groceries, such as supermarkets and hypermarkets, usually stock significant amounts of non-food products, such as clothing and household items. Small grocery stores that sell mainly fruit and vegetables are known as greengrocers (Britain) or produce markets (US), and small grocery stores that predominantly sell prepared food, such as candy and snacks, are known as convenience shops or delicatessens.^{[citation needed]}

A grocer is the name of a bulk seller of food at a grocery store.

The definition of "grocery store" varies; US and Canadian official definitions of "grocery store" exclude some businesses that sell groceries, such as convenience stores.

In the United States:

In the United Kingdom, terms in common usage include "supermarket" (for larger grocery stores), "corner shop", "convenience shop", or "grocery" (meaning a grocery shop) for smaller stores. "Grocery store", being a North American term, is not used. The Oxford English Dictionary states that a "grocery" is (especially in British English) a shop that sells food and other things used in the home.

The UK government does not define "grocery (shop)" or "supermarket" nor a distinction between them, but defines the types of store formats (whether they sell groceries, or otherwise):

90% of the 810-billion-dollar Indian food and grocery market sales are at the 12 million small grocery stores, called kirana.