This article will help you to quickly learn about the difference between departmental store and multiple shops.

Departmental Store

1. Basic Objective:

These stores are established to provide everything to the customers at one place.

2. Location:

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It is centrally located and attracts customers.

3. Range of Choice:

These stores deal in a variety of commodities and offer to the customers a wide range of choice.

4. Control and Management:

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Control over the activities of these stores can be easily exercised.

5. Purchasing Facilities:

These stores facilitate consumers in purchasing since they can have everything in the same building.

6. Credit Facilities:

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Departmental stores also provide credit facilities to the customers.

7. Pricing:

Different departments of a departmental stores may adopt different basis for the pricing of the commodities.

8. Products:

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Departmental stores sell the products manufactured by different manufacturers.

9. Advertisement:

The advertisement of departmental stores is on local basis and restricted to a particular area.

10. Display and Decoration:

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In case of departmental stores, there may be separate decoration and techniques of display for each department.

11. Operating Costs/Expenses:

The operating costs of such stores are high.

Multiple Shop

1. Basic Objective:

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These shops were established to eliminate middlemen and establish­ing direct contact between producers and consumers.

2. Location:

These shops are established in different localities and try to reach near the customers.

3. Range of Choice:

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Such shops deal in a particular line of a product but do offer a wide range of choice in the same line.

4. Control and Management:

Control and management of such shops become difficult because there are many branches.

5. Purchasing Facilities:

Multiple shops do not provide such facilities. Consumers have to go to the branches of such shops.

6. Credit Facilities:

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In the case of multiple shops, sales are made on cash basis. There is no question of credit.

7. Pricing

In case of multiple shops, the same price is charged by all the branches.

8. Products:

Multiple shops usually deal in the products of only one producer.

9. Advertisement:

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The advertisement of such shops is on a large scale basis.

10. Display and Decoration:

In case of multiple shops, uniformity of window dress­ing, shop decoration, etc. is observed in all the branches.

11. Operating Costs/ Expenses:

The operating expenses of such shops are quite reasonable.