A hardware store sells hardware: for instance fasteners, keys, locks, hinges, wire, chains, plumbing supples, tools, utensils, cutlery and machine parts.

These were once as much a part of American small town culture as the drug store soda fountain and local church, but in recent years larger "building materials" centers have outmoded them. In the United Kingdom, hardware stores are traditionally called ironmongers, and larger, out-of-town hardware shops are called DIY centres .

In the United States many older hardware stores are organized as retailers' cooperatives, but newer big box chains such as Lowe's and Home Depot have been for-profit corporations.