trading post vs outlet

trading post and outlet both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
trading post	Yes	No	No	No
outlet	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, outlet is a hypernym of trading post; that is, outlet is a word with a broader meaning than trading post:

trading post: a retail store serving a sparsely populated region; usually stocked with a wide variety of merchandise
outlet: a place of business for retailing goods

Other hypernyms of trading post include mercantile establishment, retail store, sales outlet.

trading post (noun)	outlet (noun)
a retail store serving a sparsely populated region; usually stocked with a wide variety of merchandise	activity that frees or expresses creative energy or emotion
	an opening that permits escape or release
	a place of business for retailing goods
	receptacle providing a place in a wiring system where current can be taken to run electrical devices