Talk:Tag:shop=grocery

This page needs significant re-working.

A grocery is not the same as a greengrocer.

The differences between a grocer and a convenience store are more subtle, but they are real.

The page is misleading, and needs to be changed. However, since this is a radical change I do not want to go ahead without providing an opportunity for others to comment. So as a starting point for discussion, these are the changes I suggest:

Remove the deprecated mark.

Define a grocery: A grocery is a retail store that specialises in selling non-perishable food.

This tag is intended to be used for a traditional grocery shop. Typically these are more specialised than a supermarket or convenience store. Both supermarkets and convenience stores can be expected to stock a wider range of goods that fall outside the non-perishable food category, and will have longer opening hours. Supermarkets and convenience stores are sometimes described as grocery businesses. However shop=grocer tag is not intended for these. Use shop=supermarket or shop=convenience_store instead.

A shop that specialises in selling fruit and vegetables is a greengrocer.

--Peter Reed (talk) 17:40, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Hi Peter, I'm ok with changing it. Some suggestions: Talk about this in the tagging mailing list to see some opinions (I believe most responses will be positive), because someone can point out some other valuable perspective. You say the difference between a grocery and a convenience store can be subtle, so if you change this page, I ask you to:

1. Mention shop=grocery in shop=convenience's page;

2. Explain the difference between both;

3. Mention whether a grocery is more common than a convenience store, and in which country (only mention for the countries you know, but do make it explicit which ones);

4. If possible, put some pictures from wikimedia commons.

Thanks --Jgpacker (talk) 20:26, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

I agree that the deprecated status should be changed. But I don't agree that what I commonly know as a "grocery store" sells only non-perishable goods. Based on my American experience, a grocery store or shop sells cold-cuts, snacks, meats, milk, cheese, and bread as well as common household items like soap and paper products. The difference between a supermarket and a shop=grocery is one of size and range of items being sold. AlaskaDave (talk) 02:47, 14 September 2017 (UTC)

Agreed; a small American traditional grocery might sell a few semi-perishable goods like bread, milk, and eggs (like a convenience shop) but generally will not sell fruits and vegetables. However, the boundary between this tag and the more common shop=convenience is not terribly clear. Also, I would use shop=general for a old-fashioned "general store" which also stocks fruits, vegetables and also general goods like hardware and automobile supplies. --Jeisenbe (talk) 00:56, 10 August 2019 (UTC)

Special Origin Import Shops

We should expand the article to include the shops that specialize in imports from other parts of the world with the origin=* and cuisine=* tag.

--Pantufla (talk) 12:37, 31 October 2023 (UTC)

Is it time for an OSM Carto symbol?

AI suggests a traditional basket filled with fruits, vegetables and spices. Perhaps someone with artistic ability could submit a scanned drawing that could be turned into an SVG? [OSM Carto Symbols] HMWamboldt (talk) 02:15, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

Ration shops

Currently about half of OSMs shop=grocery are "Ration shops" in India.