I'm not in the US but what makes you feel this is run down?

How is this mildly infuriating

If this is "run down" I wanna see what you would consider normal.

You had me zooming in looking for something. Like others have said, this is the "passing the savings along to you" look.

Target is a little more lively with an actual ceiling and brighter color scheme, but it's really the same thing with a little extra polish.

This is a Giant Supermarket. Same overall feel as the Walmart, but slightly less warehouse like to make things look more appetizing.

Aldi has done a pretty good job of remodeling. It's a value brand store where just about everything is store label, and it used to look rougher than Walmart. Now it's become almost trendy and chic, but prices are still good. Makes the others really look like penny pinchers.

A large part of it is probably stores are so big making it nice would be "cost prohibitive" since they'd require more cleaning and maintenance.

This is how most supermarkets (Walmart/Kroger/Target, etc.) in the U.S. look brand new - they're effectively warehouses that sell product directly to customers. Smaller shops and boutiques have finished ceilings that hide the ductwork and such because they're meant to be more flexible commercial/office space, but large stores like this do not, except for specialized locations like electronics, jewelery, or pharmacy, that can be gated off from the rest of the inside of the building for reduced operation and security.

Ignorant American here: what looks "run down" about it?

Looks like a normal grocery store to me. If you want run down looking you should see what family dollar stores look like.

The big box store chain esthetic. Ostensibly about passing value onto the customer (we put a roof over the products, what more do you want?) but probably more about maximizing shareholder value.

WDYM run down? Bro that looks really good.

As a retail manager, it looks fine? If the people in front of you are all waiting to check out, they should probably grab people from other departments to cover a few extra registers for a bit, but the store itself looks nice to me.

Could probably be me being ignorant, but how does this look "run down" exactly? It looks like a Walmart, and them looking like this is not strictly a US thing. Walmarts look exactly like this in Mexico too, and from what ever little I seen of em, also look the same in Canada.

But to answer your question, no. Not all shops in the US look have the Walmart look.

This can’t be a walmart in america, where are the 50 american flags?

Boy oh boy. Go to some of the save-a-lots in Cleveland OH. You’ll see the “run down” feeling. It’s just supposed to be the cheapest store to buy stuff, which makes sense they don’t go all out

DAE Murica sux? XDXDXD

If you think this is run down, check out John Oliver's recent piece on "dollar stores" in the US

European here: looks perfectly normal to me.

Pretty much par for the course for a Walmart/any other store like it. Also they look exactly the same in Canada. Cruddy lighting, cheap beige laminate floors... Bleh.

Nah, usually some of the lights are out and there is mushy spots on the ceiling.

Ever been to a dollar store?

The reason is that they often need to have just 1-2 employees to cut costs and stay competitive.

Looks like a typical Walmart.

That is from the dystopian hellscape that is known as Walmart lol, not all shops look this way but it is an extra depressing take on big box stores.

In the US I don't really shop at a lot of these big name department/supermarket stores but I appreciate the deprioritization of superfluous building fashion.

But from what I understand, if you compare our hospitals to those abroad, the values are flipped on their head. We have granite marble waterfront facilities with grand fountains in the lobby and the patients and health care staff are treated like ass, we have poor outcomes that bankrupt us. But at least the place we shouldn't want to be in looks sharp.