Many Americans strive to be frugal, especially in this tough economy. They are trying to figure out ways to save money and how to cut certain things that are not completely necessary from their
lives. One of the most popular types of retail shopping is that of the warehouse style store. Some require a membership and others do not. A lot of the frills and sales force are cut out to make
the products a much better bargain to consumers. Most of the warehouse stores are just that, enormous warehouse space that are typically only divided by rows of pallet racking and mezzanines to store the products. It is very industrial and can be intimidating at first but many people love the option.
One last type of Warehouse store that is physically enormous but very well organized is that of Ikea. They have laid out this store with many signs winding throughout the various departments making
it easier to navigate. The main part of the store is done with complete furnished rooms and displays to show off what all of the products look like. Most of the IKEA items need to be assembled to
seeing the displays is essential for the consumers. Once you have viewed the more finished part of the warehouse, it leads you to the more rough section with huge pallets of items loaded up in
industrial aisles. This is where you pick up your own item and go to checkout.
The first example of Warehouse stores that require paying for a membership are the popular nationally known Costco and Sam’s Club. They are very similar to one another and offer their customers with almost identical products ranging from food, to gardening supplies to diamonds in their stores. Some Costco lovers however, feel that Costco is higher quality especially with the foods because they use better quality foods. Some also may feel a bit of a stigma that Sam’s Club is owned by the Wal-Mart corporation. The membership fees vary from about $40-$100 per year and many customers feel that they save that much on their first trip through the warehouse.
Another type of store that uses a Warehouse style store are those that sell home improvement items and hardware essentials. These would be the very popular Home Depot and Lowe’s stores. They also are in a warehouse style building with huge aisles filled with everything and anything you would need to fix up your home from granite countertops, to plumbing to landscaping. Many self employed contractors shop here along side with the homeowner just looking to paint a room in their home.
Many of these Warehouse stores require less sales people because so much of it is a self service style of shopping. It allows a space to have an enormous amount of products without having an enormous staff to support it. Because there is less staff to pay, and a lot of the items are offered in bulk, the prices to the consumer are significantly less.