Meaning & use
retail space
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablebusiness
Buildings or parts of buildings used for selling goods to the public.
Grammar: No plural when talking about the general category; use 'retail spaces' only for individual units.
Patterns
- retail space in a city
- demand for retail space
- convert something into retail space
The city center has too much retail space and not enough housing.
Online shopping has reduced the need for retail space in many towns.
They are turning the old factory into retail space for small shops.
nouncountablebusiness
A particular area or unit available for rent or sale to a shop or store.
Grammar: Countable when referring to specific units: 'a retail space', 'two retail spaces'.
Patterns
- a retail space of 100 square meters
- rent a retail space
- available retail space
The mall has several retail spaces available on the ground floor.
She rents a small retail space on the high street.
We need a retail space with good foot traffic.
Word forms
| plural | retail spaces |
|---|
Common combinations
- retail space
- The company is looking for retail space in a busy area.
- commercial retail space
- The building offers commercial retail space on the first two floors.
- square feet of retail space
- The new development will add 50,000 square feet of retail space.
- demand for retail space
- Demand for retail space has fallen since the pandemic.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shop space
- More informal and often used for smaller units; 'retail space' is the standard business term.
- commercial space
- A broader term that includes offices and warehouses, not just shops.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: retail space or office space?
retail space vs office space
This is for offices, not shops. 'Retail space' is specifically for selling goods to customers.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
'Retail space' is usually uncountable when talking about the general need for shop premises, so no article is used. Option An is possible in some contexts but less natural here; option C suggests multiple separate units, which is not intended; option D uses 'the', which implies a specific space already mentioned.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “retail space”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.