“Have time will party, shop till you drop, shopping mania, walking in the malls, mall bashing, window-shopping”. All these thoughts kick in as one wanders through the super markets in the USA.
Super markets come in all shapes all sizes and all names. Savor some of them: Target, Dollar tree, Sears, Macy, Wal-Mart, Safeway, Big Lots, Costco. Many more are present as USA is the country for the big spenders.
The first thing that sets apart the US super markets is their size and the huge parking lots that come along with them. The stores have nice displays and automatic doors. One deodorant company had a picture of many people pasted on the automatic door. As the shopper approaches, the doors part and the shopper feels as if other shoppers are moving away from him/her. As the shocked shopper enters inside the shop the first display is of the deodorant company.
One inside the displays are huge and the aisles are so huge that two trolleys can be fitted alongside each other. Most of the products are within reachable height and if they are not signs are posted asking the customers to request for help. When two shoppers at the opposite sides of the same aisles bend down to reach merchandise, their booties (bums or backsides) don’t touch. Why all these precautions? Americans respect their privacy or private space and would walk way if they think that the aisles are crowded.
The shopping experience is smooth as silk and the super market ambience is very nice with piped in music. Dollar stores (everything at a dollar) are more down to earth. It is refreshing to see the purchasing power of the dollar. Many budget conscious shoppers buy at dollor shops. It is always worth an experience if only to find out how much the other super market chains are padding the products.
The real eye openers are at the checkout counters. Shoppers wait for their turn behind a yellow line. A sign at a pharmacy counter proclaims, “Wait here to protect the privacy of the customers before you”. At the checkout counters itself shoppers can distinguish their products from the shopper earlier with a help of a simple check out divider (great for product promotion)
The trolleys themselves are state of the art. They can be motor driven, have space for small baby, can lock themselves once they are out of sight of the supermarket and in dollar tree come with a 25 cent charge for usage. Think of innovative ideas.
The customers can opt for a self-checkout or a clerk assisted check out. Facilities for trading/discount stamps, cash (paper and coins) are also available. For physically challenged shoppers counters are set at a lesser heights for easy signing of the credit card.
The thresh hold level of resistance for advertised products on the TV seems to be 20 US dollars. That is most products are listed at 19.95 dollars. Many products are traded straight at 19.95 or multiple products are given at the same price. Shoppers’ testimonials take the tack of “if I can do it anybody in the world can do it”.
One thing unique about pricing in USA is that they are way ahead of anybody else. Wal-Mart introduced the concept of everyday pricing and it was hailed as a great innovator. The latest in USA is electronic price tags. These are price tags that display change in prices depending on raw material availability and changes in the dollar rate against the international currencies. So do not be surprised it some price is displayed at the time of picking up the product and another price might be displayed at the time of payment. One might get benefited or might lose out. But isn’t that what is life all about!
All in all shopping in USA can be a very good educational experience.
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