A general store is usually a retailer located in a small town or in a rural area with a broad selection of merchandise crammed into a relatively small space.

General stores often sell important food items such as milk and bread, and various household goods such as hardware and electrical supplies. The concept of the general store is very old, and although some still exist, there are far fewer than there once were, due to urbanization, the influx of suburban community development, and the relatively recent phenomenon of big-box stores.

During the first half of the 20th century, general stores were displaced in many areas by many different types of specialized retailers. But from the 1960s through the 1990s, many small specialized retailers were in turn crushed by the so-called "category killers," which are "big-box" wholesale-type retailers large enough to carry the majority of best-selling goods in a specific category like sporting goods or office supplies.

However, the convenience inherent in the general store has been revived in the form of the modern convenience store. Also, the hypermarket can be seen as taking the general store or convenience store concept to its largest possible implementation.

In British English similar retailers tend to be called a 'village shop' in rural areas or a 'corner shop' in urban or suburban settings. The band Cornershop take their name from this after the common perception of Indian immigrants as owning corner shops.

Village shops have become increasingly rare in Britain due to the rise in car ownership and competition from supermarkets. They are often combined with a post office. Few villages now have either.

Retailers | Food retailing