List of 13 Best Places For Shopping In Columbia, South Carolina (2024)

Are you in Columbia and want to go shopping there? There are various shopping places in Columbia in South Carolina that you should visit.

If you are a shopping lover, Columbia will interest you greatly.  In particular, this place has a high range of artworks, leather goods, antiques, jewelry, music, and pre-Columbian reproductions. 

The best and huge shopping centers are located in the city of Columbia and display a variety of regional and international brands. In addition to these shopping centers, many craft and flea markets see dealers trade in regional neighborhoods and streets. 

Whether you visit Columbia for a shopping day, dining, socializing or getting gifts for someone special, the city will provide you with all. The locals and visitors can visit any of the shopping malls of the city to explore what all Columbia has to offer.

The tree-lined street of the Divine district is full of dozens of shopping malls. You can browse the collection of Lilly Pulitzer and get monogrammed towels, kitschy bow ties, and an article of clothing for your children.

List of 13 Best Places For Shopping in Columbia, South Carolina

Here in this article, we have made a list of places that are best for shopping in Columbia in South Carolina. Go through the article to learn all about these places.

1. Five Points of Columbia, SC

Heads over to this site, the original village neighborhood of Columbia is known for its retail therapies.

Famous for being the first shopping site in the entire city, this place was named because of the crossing of Santee Avenue, Hardan Street, and Devine Street linking with Gervais and Blossom Street.

The simple and easily walkable region is highly jam-packed with great locally-owned gift shops, boutiques, bars, and eateries, which are considered the ideal region for casual day shopping.

Before you move out of this shopping area, do not forget to take some selfies by the famous Postcard Mural overlooking the Fountain Plaza and send snaps to your friends.

2. The Gourmet Shop

If you are taking a trip to Columbia and planning to cook food yourselves, this high-end grocery store is the right place to shop for every necessity. Here you can see a shelf stocked with aged cheeses, fine wines, professional coffees, gourmet commodities, cigars, southern foods, and all kitchen accessories.  

The shopping store also features a charming cafe where you can buy snacks like a sandwich, sun-dried pesto panini, Black Forest ham, and French bread with olives of Nicoise, Dijon, cornichons, tomato, and lettuce.

You can take the best sandwiches of this cafe along with a sider like deviled egg, cole slaw, dill potato salad, or pasta salad. You also have other options like a salad or a plate of pate and cheese. There are mouth-watering choices in desserts too. Take away a house-baked brownie or cookie to have after your meal.

3. Village at Sandhill

It is a 300-acre shopping center providing all lifestyle products. It offers dining, shopping, residential, and office space. This complex is categorized into three main categories, i.e., forum, marketplace, and town center.

This attractive and wonderful complex has many departmental stores and national retailers such as Old Navy, Home Depot, and World Market, along with a 16-screen cinema and an excellent facility for indoor sports. 

You can find many beverages and food options here. It also has coffee stores and a good deal of upscale and casual restaurants providing outstanding services.

4. The Vista

The Vista is one of the former depot districts that got a high facelift when creators rebuilt it as a new shopping and dining district during the 1900s. Nowadays, the region is a place with over 45 restaurants and some clubs and bars. You can explore a variety of shopping places around. You can get anything from office products to home decor to wardrobe-essentials.

There are as many as 60 art galleries in the region, some museums, many grocery shops, and various other retailers that provide great services and goods. The region of this shopping place remains lively and busy all time.

5. Columbiana Centre

This center is commonly considered the nicest mall in Columbia. This center has four great departmental stores — JCPenney, Belk, Dillard’s, and Sears. 

Besides these, the mall also features over 100 small shops encompassing Body Shop, Bebe, Ann Taylor Loft, New York and Company, Yankee Candle Company, Williams-Sonoma, Coach, Aeropostale, J. Jill, Coldwater Creek, Banana Republic, Build-A-Bear-Workshop, Gymboree, and The Limited. In this shopping mall, you will get free WiFi, and good food options.

6. Cromer’s P-Nuts

In 1935, it was initiated as a stand at Assembly Street Curb Market. This place is an actual Columbia original. This place is still run by the descendants of the owner who started it. The shop offers various types of roasted peanuts and different flavored popcorn.

You can also get various boiled peanuts, candy apples, nut brittles, popcorn, pistachios, snacks, and many more items, such as cotton candy wagons and snow cone makers. They also prepare specially curated boxes if you wish to gift someone on a special occasion.

7. Odd Bird Books

If you are a true bookaholic and love to read and hoard books, you cannot miss out on visiting a bookstore when traveling to a new place. Odd Bird Books is a small, quirky bookstore in Columbia. Your visit may be incomplete if you miss out on visiting here.

Located in the building of the ancient Arcade in the downtown area of Columbia, Odd Bird Books has had great visitors and locals who have visited the store since its opening in 2020.

The shelves aligned with all the walls are lined with books of different genres. You can find new releases as well as classics here. From poetry to essays, the shop is a treat for all kinds of book lovers.

8. Kicks Exceptional Shoes

This place of shopping is highly famous for shoes. Check out the trending footwear and handbags. Besides, it also provides various accessories designed by Hollywould, Theodosia, Kate Spade, BCBG, Betsey Johnson, Ellen Tracy, Cynthia Rowley, Isaac Mizrahi, and Moschino. 

Additionally, sandals, Flats, flip-flops, pumps, wedges, platforms, boots, etc., from classy to funky, are all provided by this footwear shopping palace.

9. Columbia Place Mall

Having a retail area larger than 1,000,000 square feet or 92,903 sqm, this mall of Columbia has something for everybody. It is a highly maintained, clean, and accommodating regional shopping mall. This mall contains various popular and big brands like Sears, Macy’s, and Burlington. 

The food store of the mall has broad choices of regional and international cuisines such as Mexican, Chinese, and Italian, and also provides a good option of fast foods such as McDonald’s. 

This shopping mall is known to provide offers and discounts on shopping. How can anyone miss taking advantage of these?

This mall is highly crowded as compared to other malls in the region. The mall provides a wide space for parking, so you do not have to worry about the unavailability of parking sites.

10. One Eared Cow Glass

It is a one-of-a-kind gallery that offers visitors artistic works of hand-blown glass. It is an enchanting place where you’ll want to buy every unique handmade piece. The artists create some of the best perfume bottles, bird feeders, sculptural pieces, light fixtures, and functional sinks, along with conventional bowls, vases, and paperweights.

The gallery has a scenery that depicts its ancient and actual location. You can shop the handmade works of art and gift someone or keep them as a collectible. It would be best if you visited there during studio hours to catch a glance of artists at work.

11. Papa Jazz

A paradise for music lovers! This music shop is the record holder in Columbia and is famous throughout the area owing to its unique and high-quality collection of Jazz. It operates a high criterion stringent system to grade the used stocks of CDs and LPs. 

This shop does not restrict itself to these jazz collections but has incorporated genres from indie rock to funk to reggae. You can find music records that are hardly available anywhere else. The staff of this store is highly knowledgeable and passionate about their work and love to serve their visitors. They can also take special orders and get the record you wish to have. The great musician Amos Lee has worked here for some period.

12. Devine Street

The heart and center of the Shandon region, Devine street, is a fascinating shopping complex lined with beautiful trees and various historical constructions. 

Dining and shopping choices are numerous, with the ten-block stretch encompassing unique and different boutiques specializing in antique works of art, apparel, tea, jewelry,  and any type of gifts you want to give to your special ones. 

Jake’s Bar & Grill, Za’s Brick Oven Pizza, Mo Mo’s Bistro, and Dianne’s on Devine are some of the places offering cooling refreshments. Also, the individual business hours differ.

13. The Little Green Door

Step into a Southern pleasure,  personified at this great shopping center,  The Little Green Door. The place is best for home decor shopping. If you are looking for decorative items that align with your room or hall designs, you will not leave empty-handed from here. The shop has sophisticated and elegant antique pieces you cannot turn your eyes away from.

This little shop has great things, from lamps to kitchenware and vintage showpieces. Few items purchased from here could add elegance and charm to your collection.

Conclusion

In Columbia, you will never run out of shopping places that will provide you with wonderful things. Here in this article, we enlisted the best places to shop easily. 

While making a trip to Columbia in South Carolina, or even if you are a local, you shouldn’t miss out on visiting and exploring these places. You can buy a gift or treasure a souvenir for yourself to keep a memory.