Shopping abroad?

[Peter]

I just notinced this story and thought it might be a fun topic for here.
Have you been shopping in another country and how was if different than what you usually experience in the US?

I'm an American living in the UK. I didn't expect grocery shopping to be filled with so many surprises.

I'm an American who moved to London. Grocery shopping in the UK has yielded many surprises, including differences in product placement and availability.

www.businessinsider.com

I thought UK shops were pretty standard but according to the nice lady in the article it's quite different than the US so do you agree if you've visited the UK?

 

[Allan]

I can't read the whole article due to a payroll.

Can you summarize the key differences?

 

[Peter]

I can't read the whole article due to a payroll.

Can you summarize the key differences?

Oh, sorry about that.

Things like eggs not being in the fridge in the UK.
We don't have people to bag shopping and I honestly didn't know it was still a thing that happened.

 

[Allan]

I see. Do you know why eggs in the US and Canada have to be refrigerated?

Here eggs are washed during sorting. That removes a protective layer that would keep them fresh at room temperature.

The main difference I noticed shopping in the UK and France is that the stores are much smaller. It seems they don't feel the need to carry 100 different types of bathroom tissue.

 

[Grand Mal]

I just notinced this story and thought it might be a fun topic for here.
Have you been shopping in another country and how was if different than what you usually experience in the US?

I'm an American living in the UK. I didn't expect grocery shopping to be filled with so many surprises.

I'm an American who moved to London. Grocery shopping in the UK has yielded many surprises, including differences in product placement and availability.

www.businessinsider.com

I thought UK shops were pretty standard but according to the nice lady in the article it's quite different than the US so do you agree if you've visited the UK?

'Have you had your five today?'
Not American but we stayed in a village in central Scotland for a month, Killin, and found no big differences from what we were used to. The grocery store was the Co-op and we liked the unfamiliar variety, and the store employees seemed to be more conversational (maybe because of our accents), but it wasn't different like Cuba and Mexico were different.
It did seem like shopping in a small town like Killin involved more stops than at home but it was all cool, we developed little relationships all around town.

 

[Helix]

We visited England for a while. Shopping there was similar with little differences, as Vincent points out in Pulp Fiction. Same thing with restaurants. I asked my wife, and she mentioned the bag part that I had forgotten. We'd both like to live there for a while.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Canadian here

Spent a few weeks in China and shopping in major grocery stores or shopping malls is generally the same. The exception being the number of clerks in the stores was vastly higher than in Canada. In a few there was a clerk at each isle to help people.

Milk is sold very differently however, it is sold in tetra packs and other similar containers. It is also not refrigerated.

Department stores and shopping centers are very similar to those in Canada again with far more support.

What was different was the small stores, in malls for the lower income people, very small and selling a few items at very low prices. That and the night markets where people would set up street stalls to sell food or low priced items typically from 6 pm to around 9 pm. All in ways to make more money and be there own boss.

Of course the last time I was in China was 2013, I expect online sales has changed the shopping landscape dramatically in the last 12 years especially as same day delivery is so easy in China.

In the local district vendors would sell fresh watermelon ( ie picked that day and brought to the corner) from the back of their utility vehicle, cutting and wrapping to the size the person wanted half or quarter.

 

[Allan]

Canadian here

Spent a few weeks in China and shopping in major grocery stores or shopping malls is generally the same. The exception being the number of clerks in the stores was vastly higher than in Canada. In a few there was a clerk at each isle to help people.

Milk is sold very differently however, it is sold in tetra packs and other similar containers. It is also not refrigerated.

Department stores and shopping centers are very similar to those in Canada again with far more support.

What was different was the small stores, in malls for the lower income people, very small and selling a few items at very low prices. That and the night markets where people would set up street stalls to sell food or low priced items typically from 6 pm to around 9 pm. All in ways to make more money and be there own boss.

Of course the last time I was in China was 2013, I expect online sales has changed the shopping landscape dramatically in the last 12 years especially as same day delivery is so easy in China.

In the local district vendors would sell fresh watermelon ( ie picked that day and brought to the corner) from the back of their utility vehicle, cutting and wrapping to the size the person wanted half or quarter.

Shopping in China is an adventure. But you're right that the staffing level is high.

 

[CaughtInThe]

I never shop for just one.

 

[Lovebug]

Remembering back, way back, I recall being overwhelmed the first time I went to a German cheese shop, butcher shop, bakery, cafe.
All the varieties made my heart sing. I'm pretty sure we tried every cheese they had to offer and that took a while.
Pickled Limburger on fresh Brötchen, just out of the oven, still makes my mouth water

By the time we left they had huge mega stores that were similar to Walmart. I can't remember the name.

When I visited France it was another wow altogether. Even more varieties of cheeses and such.

I don't recall shopping for groceries anywhere else. Must have been unremarkable in comparison.

 

[Lovebug]

I see. Do you know why eggs in the US and Canada have to be refrigerated?

Here eggs are washed during sorting. That removes a protective layer that would keep them fresh at room temperature.

The main difference I noticed shopping in the UK and France is that the stores are much smaller. It seems they don't feel the need to carry 100 different types of bathroom tissue.

Downton Abbey's egg stand

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