A floor model is a piece of equipment placed in a retail shop's sales area for display purposes. Floor models are taken out of their packaging, and (if possible) plugged in to an electric outlet, cable or satellite television feed, or local area network--especially when the floor model is demonstrating an item classified as consumer electronics. This allows consumers to test the quality of the displayed merchandise, or compare between different models of a certain type of consumer electronics. A drawing of a self-service store Retailing consists of the sale of goods/merchandise for personal or household consumption either from a fixed location such as a department store or kiosk, or away from a fixed location and related subordinated services (Definition of the WTO (last page). ... Packaging is the enclosing of a physical object, typically a product that will be offered for sale. ... Type F Mains power plug & socket The term mains usually refers to the general purpose AC electrical power supply (as in Ive connected the appliance to the mains). The term is not usually used in the US and Canada, where it is known as household, or domestic power. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed optical... Artists impression of a Boeing 601 satellite, as configured for digital television transmission by SES Astra Satellite television is television delivered by way of communications satellites, as compared to conventional terrestrial television and cable television. ... A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small local area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings such as a college. ... Consumer electronics is electronic equipment intended for use by everyday people. ...

The term "floor model" may also apply to items which do not fall under the category of consumer electronics. Examples might include microwaves, refrigerators, washing machines (so-called "white goods"), vacuum cleaners, furniture, lawn tractors, etc. Microwave oven A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance employing microwave radiation primarily to cook or heat food. ... The inside of a fridge A refrigerator (often shortened to fridge) is an electrical appliance that uses refrigeration to help preserve food. ... Front-loading washing machine. ... A major appliance is a large machine which accomplishes some routine housekeeping task, which includes purposes such as cooking, food preservation, or cleaning, whether in a household, institutional, commercial or industrial setting. ... Furniture is the collective term for the movable objects which support the human body (seating furniture and beds), provide storage, and hold objects on horizontal surfaces above the ground. ...

Because floor models see considerably more use and are subject to more wear and tear than they would if they were not used for display, stores often discount them when selling them.