A department store is a retail establishment which specializes in satisfying a wide range of the consumer’s personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories. Department stores usually sell products including apparel, furniture, home appliances, electronics, and additionally select other lines of products such as paint, hardware, toiletries, cosmetics, photographic equipment, jewellery, toys, and sporting goods. Certain department stores are further classified as discount stores. Discount department stores commonly have central customer checkout areas, generally in the front area of the store. Department stores are usually part of a retail chain of many stores situated around a country or several countries.

In economics, a durable good or a hard good is a good that does not quickly wear out, or more specifically, one that yields utility over time rather than being completely consumed in one use. Items like bricks or jewelery could be considered perfectly durable goods, because they should theoretically never wear out. Highly durable goods such as refrigerators, cars, or mobile phones usually continue to be useful for three or more years of use, so durable goods are typically characterized by long periods between successive purchases.

A car is a durable good. The gasoline that powers it is a non-durable good.

Examples of consumer durable goods include cars, household goods (home appliances, consumer electronics, furniture, etc.), sports equipment, and toys.

Nondurable goods or soft goods (consumables) are the opposite of durable goods. They may be defined either as goods that are immediately consumed in one use or ones that have a lifespan of less than 3 years.

Examples of nondurable goods include fast-moving consumer goods such as cosmetics and cleaning products, food, fuel, office supplies, packaging and containers, paper and paper products, personal products, rubber, plastics, textiles, clothing and footwear.

While durable goods can usually be rented as well as bought, nondurable goods can generally not be rented. While buying Durable goods comes under the category of Investment demand of Goods, buying Non-Durables comes under the category of Consumption demand of Goods.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : Department Stores