# One-Stop Shop: Definitions, Examples, and Benefits Explained

![One-Stop Shop: A firm that offers a multitude of products or services to its customers.](https://www.investopedia.com/thmb/PK7VmfzBu8bZjCvZRMvtO9Pzi-Y=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Onestopshop_final-b9a2c33c76dc4a778e386b136bb46178.png)

*— Investopedia / Michela Buttignol*

## What Is a One-Stop Shop?

A one-stop shop is a business that provides multiple products or services to customers in one place. It can be a single location for business or a company offering various goods or services. One-stop shops are convenient because customers can meet all their needs without visiting multiple businesses. [Big-box retailers](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/big_box_retailer.asp), department stores, and [e-commerce](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/ecommerce.asp) sites are often considered one-stop shops.  

### Key Takeaways

*   A one-stop shop is a business model where multiple products and services are offered in one location, providing convenience and efficiency for consumers.  
    
*   The concept of one-stop shops dates back to early 20th-century America and has evolved to include various industries, from groceries to financial services to e-commerce platforms like Amazon.  
    
*   The main advantage of one-stop shops is the convenience they offer to consumers, but they may also limit options and lead to higher costs.  
    
*   Businesses benefit from the one-stop shop model by attracting more customers, increasing loyalty, and generating a steady revenue stream.  
    
*   While the broad range of services can be beneficial, there's a risk of diminishing the quality of core services when a company offers too many options.

## How One-Stop Shops Operate

As noted above, the term one-stop shop refers to a [business](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/business.asp) that offers different goods and services—usually in one location. This can be under one roof in a physical store or through a single website like Amazon ([AMZN](https://www.investopedia.com/markets/quote?tvwidgetsymbol=AMZN)).

The one-stop shop idea grew to include business services over time. The nuance also shifted from a wide product offering to capture more of the customer's grocery purchase to offering all the complementary products and services to a client in a particular area. For example, the 1980s saw the rise of [financial supermarkets](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financialsupermarket.asp). Brokerages like [Merrill Lynch](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/merrilllynch.asp) began expanding into retail banking, insurance products, [credit cards](https://www.investopedia.com/credit-card-4689721), and even real estate services.

The strategy for a modern one-stop shop is to offer convenient service, creating more sales opportunities. This approach helps a company grow [revenue](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/revenue.asp) by selling more to both existing and new customers.

> **Fast Fact**
>
> The terms full service (as in full-service broker) and turnkey operation are sometimes synonymously with one-stop shop.

## Evolution of the One-Stop Shop Concept

The term one-stop shop may have first used been in conjunction with businesses that did all the work for that new staple of American life, the car—from sales to repairs to parts. One such firm was the Western Auto Supply.

The concept dates back to early 20th-century America when a shopping trip meant going all over town to pick up meat from the butchers, vegetables from the Haymarket, and bread from the bakery—and that was just for groceries. Hardware supplies, cleaning supplies, and other household items required visits to even more places.

Then, as now, people wanted to save time, so stores responded by stocking a wider range of products so consumers only had to come to their location to check off the majority of their shopping lists. Companies took note and began changing the way they did business. For instance:

*   Piggly Wiggly, which opened in 1916, is credited as being the first self-service grocery store.
*   The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (better known as A&P) began opening across the United States in the 1920s.
*   King Kullen opened a 6,000-square-foot store in 1930—the first supermarket.
*   Chain stores like Woolworths and J.C. Penney, which carried all sorts of articles of daily use, mushroomed as well.
*   [Amazon](https://www.investopedia.com/how-amazon-makes-money-4587523) began as an online bookstore but expanded its offerings to include a variety of product categories.  
    

## Pros and Cons of One-Stop Shops

### Advantages

There are some obvious advantages to a one-stop shop for consumers as well as the businesses operating them. Convenience is a big one. If the firm that does your taxes can also help you with your [estate planning](https://www.investopedia.com/articles/wealth-management/122915/4-reasons-estate-planning-so-important.asp) and investing strategy, it saves you from having to deal with multiple companies.

From the firm's perspective, seeing all those aspects of your life also allows it to better tailor services in all areas to you. If the firm sees that your tax bill is going up, they can suggest strategies to [minimize the taxes](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tax-planning.asp) coming from your investments.

Trust builds over time when consumers frequently use and connect with a business. There may be loyalty perks for the consumer, and the business gains a higher degree of confidence that the customer won't fly to another provider based on price alone.

Offering more products and services can create a steady revenue stream for businesses. This is especially true when times are tough since offering a variety of goods and services at different price points ensures that consumers are still shopping.  

### Disadvantages

A downside of one-stop shops is the notion, "Jack of all, master of none." Services at a one-stop shop are often competent but may lack the expertise of specialists in tax, law, or investing.

A client's options and choices may be limited not only to certain employees but also to its proprietary products and services. Dealing with a one-stop shop may save money, thanks to the firm's [economies of scale](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economiesofscale.asp), but then again, it may not. The convenience of the one-stop usually comes with a cost.

From the shop's point of view, there are natural limitations on how many products and services one company can offer to a customer while maintaining superior quality. Some companies expand their suite of services too broadly, eroding the [core services](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/core_competencies.asp) that made them outstanding to that customer in the first place.

Pros

*   Convenience
    
*   Businesses can tailor services to consumers' needs
    
*   Builds loyalty
    
*   Steady revenue stream and foot traffic
    

Cons

*   Convenience at a cost
    
*   Consumer choice may be limited to what a one-stop shop offers  
    
*   Too many offerings may erode quality of core services
    

## Real-World Examples of One-Stop Shops

We've noted several historical examples of one-stop shops above, including Piggly Wiggly and [J.C. Penney](https://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/043015/how-close-jc-penney-bankruptcy-jcp-kss.aspx). But there are others in different industries and markets.

For instance, many banks offer their customers a range of services, including basic banking, lending, [investment advice](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/investment-advice.asp) and services, and [insurance policies](https://www.investopedia.com/insurance/insurance-policies-you-dont-need/). Major financial institutions like Bank of America ([BAC](https://www.investopedia.com/markets/quote?tvwidgetsymbol=BAC)), Ally, and Wells Fargo ([WFC](https://www.investopedia.com/markets/quote?tvwidgetsymbol=WFC)) are common examples of financial institutions that are one-stop shops. These firms can increase their business (and their profits) while saving their customers a lot of time and effort.

Many healthcare facilities also operate as one-stop shops. A healthcare center that provides patients with routine and emergency care, lab and imaging services, and a pharmacy is also considered a one-stop shop.

## What Are Some Examples of One-Stop Shops?

There are many examples of one-stop shops. Grocery stores are considered one-stop shops for foodstuffs, as they offer meat, produce, fresh and frozen options, and prepared foods. Financial institutions that offer retail and commercial banking, lending, investment, and insurance are also considered one-stop shops. Other examples include big-box stores like Costco and Walmart as they offer a variety of goods and services.

## Is Amazon a One-Stop Shop?

Amazon is often considered to be a one-stop shop because it offers a variety of goods and services to consumers. For instance, the e-commerce site sells household goods, clothing and footwear, streaming services, music, groceries, pharmaceuticals, and electronic devices. The company expanded its offerings since it was established. In 1995, Amazon began as an online bookstore.

## Who Benefits From One-Stop Shops?

One-stop shops benefit consumers and businesses. Consumers are given a convenient experience because they only have to visit one location to meet their needs. For instance, they can shop for groceries, household items, clothing, and other items from a big-box store. Businesses benefit because they can attract more consumers and generate a steady revenue stream from a wide customer base.

## The Bottom Line

One-stop shops revolutionize the shopping experience by consolidating diverse services and products under one roof, ultimately saving consumers’ time and effort. Historically, shopping required visits to multiple locations for different needs, but now entities like grocery stores, big-box retailers, and e-commerce giants offer extensive products and services in one place.

Businesses benefit from increased consumer loyalty and revenue streams by providing convenience, though they must maintain quality and not spread their offerings too thin, as this can erode their core competencies.

> **Article Sources**
>
> 1.  University of Illinois Law Review. "[The Transformation of the U.S. Financial Services Industry, 1975-2000: Competition, Consolidation, and Increased Risks](https://www.illinoislawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2002/02/Wilmarth.combined.pdf)," Page 251-255.
>     
> 2.  Piggly Wiggly. "[Our History](https://www.pigglywiggly.com/history/)."
>     
> 3.  Avis H. Anderson. "[A&P: The Story of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company](https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9780738510385)." Arcadia Publishing, 2002.
>     
> 4.  American Business History Center. "[Supermarket: One of the Most Important (and least known) American Inventions of All Time](https://americanbusinesshistory.org/supermarket-one-of-the-most-important-and-least-known-american-inventions-of-all-time/)."
>     
> 5.  Amazon. "[Amazon recreated the garage where Jeff Bezos started the company in 1994. Here's what it looks like](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/first-amazon-office-jeff-bezos-garage)."