A liquor store is a retail business that predominantly sells prepackaged alcoholic beverages, including liquors (typically in bottles), wine or beer, usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (in the UK and Ireland), off-sale (in parts of Canada and the US), bottle shop (in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa), bottle store (South Africa) or, colloquially, bottle-o (in Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Canada), liquor store (in Canada and the US, and less commonly, in Australia and New Zealand), party store (in parts of the US, particularly Michigan) or other similar terms. A very limited number of jurisdictions have an alcohol monopoly. In US states that are alcoholic beverage control (ABC) states, the term ABC store may be used.

A beer shop (also referred to as a beershop or beer store) is a retail store where beer and other goods related to beer are sold; it is a specialised type of liquor store. Beer shops can be found all around the world, but there are many located in countries where beer is a major cultural product, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Scandinavian countries, the UK and the US. Beer shops range in size, and may be located along streets or in shopping malls. Some shops offer only regional beer brands which are famous or well known in their region. Others offer a wide range of beer from around the world, and some items may fetch fairly high prices, as with fine wines.

Due to the increase of craft brewing companies, many beer shops sell craft beers from local or international microbreweries, and some such breweries have their own beer shops for selling their own wares and sometimes those of partner breweries, either in regular bottles or in growlers, large, reusable jugs used to transport beer.

Some beer shops also offer beer tastings, homebrewing classes, and speciality goods like beer jam, beer mustard, beer chocolate, craft cheeses, and hop hard liquor. The shops are usually staffed by trained employees, sometimes even beer sommeliers who have a broad knowledge of the topic of beer.

Alcohol laws of India vary greatly from state to state, ranging from total prohibition (e.g. Gujarat) to state monopolies (e.g. Kerala, Tamil Nadu) to commercial licensing (e.g. Delhi, Karnataka).

Licensed alcohol retailers are commonly called liquor shops or wine shops. Despite the name, wine shops primarily sell beer and hard liquor, and may not, in fact, sell wine at all.

In southern India, shops licensed to manufacture and sell only palm wine (toddy) are known as toddy shops, while the shops of Tamil Nadu's alcohol monopoly TASMAC are known as "Tasmac outlets" or "Tasmac bars", and some permit consumption on-premises.

Alcohol is widely available in Japan from convenience stores and supermarkets. Dedicated liquor stores are known as sakaya (酒屋), while establishments for drinking on premises are izakaya (居酒屋). Vending machines retailing alcoholic drinks remain common, although a "voluntary ban" was imposed in 2000.