How to add a store, shop, or mall

The three checks, in order

“How do I add a store” is usually not a placement problem. The building menu has shops because the official description names them. The search is really “I placed it and nothing happened.”

I use a three-line test. Is the footprint touching a connected road? Does the power overlay cover it? Are workers assigned, or is the job sitting empty because housing is not linked? Fix the first failure and stop. Adding a second shop on top of a dead one does not create income.

Cash versus the rest of the economy

A shop produces money. A mine produces ore. Mixing those up is how people “add a store” and still cannot build a factory. If steel is the bottleneck, the store only helps by paying for the next industrial building. The iron and steel page separates the two flows.

Place a working store

1. Put it on a road. A shop off the grid is a decoration.
2. Cover it with power. No power, no sales. This is the same failure as an idle factory.
3. Staff it. Workers come from housed population that can reach the job. See the workers page if the error says you need more available workers.
4. Prefer a supermarket early. Several guides say the supermarket returns cash sooner than a mall. That is a community comparison.