Final answer:
The measurement of retail space is expressed in terms of square footage or square meters, calculated as the product of length and width.
Step-by-step explanation:
The definitive measurement of retail space is its square footage, which is expressed as an area in square feet (sq. ft.) or square meters (m²). When we measure the area of a floor in a retail space, we calculate it as the product of its length and width. This results in a measurement with two dimensions, which we typically convert into square units. For example, if a given area is expressed as 0.36 m², we may round this to 0.4 m² if we're keeping our measurement to one decimal place. When considering significant figures, as mentioned in LibreTexts™, exact numbers in conversion factors, such as the 1 in 1m or the 100 in converting centimeters to meters due to the 'centi-' prefix, do not affect the significant figure count. Therefore, a final area measurement should be expressed with the correct number of significant figures based on the measurements taken, which often is to three significant figures. When working with scale drawings or models, the scale factor is taken into account to determine the actual dimensions and area of the space. For instance, if the scale factor is 1/24, you would multiply the measured length and width from the drawing by 24 to find the actual size, and then calculate the area from these dimensions.