Grocery store, Salem, Illinois. A grocery store is a retail shop that primarily sells food. A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Grocery stores also offer non-perishable foods that are packaged in bottles, boxes, and cans; some also have bakeries, butchers, delis, and fresh produce. Large grocery stores that stock significant amounts of non-food products, such as clothing and household items, are called supermarkets. Arthur Rothstein, 1940 (cropped and cleaned).