How super is a supermarket? Meet your friends here. Meet your friends here

In practice, where you shop will depend on where you live, how much time you have and what shops are available. But what will suit you best will depend on what kind of person you are too. For example, (a) the supermarket; this is very convenient if you are working as well as shopping for a family, because you can buy everything you need from the one shop. There will also be a very good choice, as the shop has enough space to carry a large stock. You can take your time choosing what you want and have a good look round, because you are serving yourself. You can compare prices, too. Usually the standard of hygiene is high and the food will be fresh and wrapped. If you haven't made a shopping list, you are still unlikely to forget anything, as everything is displayed.

       A machine will add up the prices when you reach the exit, but you should nevertheless check that the items have been correctly entered on the slip of paper that is your bill. When you are at home check the goods and the prices again. Do this as you unpack them if you want to keep an account. If you find you have overspent when you are at the paying counter, you can return some of the goods.

       If you know what you want and choose a time of day when you won't have to queue too long to pay, you can do all your shopping very quickly. As most supermarkets are large and buy in bulk, they can afford to offer many genuine bargains and cut prices from time to time.

       What about the disadvantages? In a supermarket it is very easy to overspend and buy much more than you set out to do. There are unlikely to be any helpful assistants to advise you if you cannot make up your mind – it's all very impersonal. You may find yourself falling for bargains which turn out not to be bargains at all prices may be marked down, but unless you know how much you would pay elsewhere, you cannot tell whether it is a saving or not. Buying something you don't really want because there is a free artificial flower or plastic cup given away with it is unlikely to be a bargain. Then there is so much displayed and sometimes such a wealth of choice can be confusing – where can you begin? Or if you only want to buy flour and potatoes, it may be difficult to find them – they are likely to be tucked away at the back of the shop. You may even find that going into a large supermarket which has music playing in the background and lavish displays of tempting goods is like entering a dream world – and that you only wake up when you get to the cash register and ring up a large bill!

 

Buying from barrows

Perhaps you prefer (b), the street market. This is a place for browsing and enjoying the sights, sounds and smells. A good place, probably, for buying fresh, locally-produced food and flowers. A good place for looking for odds ends that you may not be able to find in ordinary shops – but keep your with about you, for there's sure to be a lot of junk. When you get to know a market, you will discover which stall holders are reliable and sell good produce at reasonable prices.

 

Meet your friends here

If you come from the country, or just out of town, choice (c), the local general shop, is probably the one you are familiar with. Where buses to town are not all that frequent the local shop provides all the essential goods needed by the local community together with a very personal service. The shopkeeper will know the family and will like to exchange news when you go to buy. And there you will meet all your neighbours, who enjoy a chat while waiting to be served. It's unlikely that you will be able to shop in a hurry, but you will probably be able to telephone an order from home and have it delivered. The shop may be open on Sundays and in the evenings as well. Your family's likes and dislikes will be very well known, so your friend, the shopkeeper, will always let you know when he has the kind of cheese you like or a good piece of ham. On the whole he is likely to have fewer bargains and a smaller choice of stock than larger shops in town, but he offers a very personal and convenient service ti his customers who would otherwise have to spend bus fares going into town and have the bother of carrying a large load. As a regular customer, you will probably have the convenience of an account and pay him once a month.

 

Take your choice

You may enjoy a visit to town more, and if you prefer (d), the High Street or main shopping centre, you will have a large choice of shops and goods. If you have time, you can look in all the windows and visit several shops, comparing prices and quality. As you get to know your own High Street, you will discover which shop is best for particular things. It is not always the most expensive-looking shops that charge the most. Sometimes these shops nave items that you can't buy anywhere else – special cheeses or jams, for instance. Not all the cut-price shops really cut prices – it's up to you find out what prices are generally. Through experience you will learn where you are likely to get the freshest food – in the supermarket, with its large turnover of stock, or perhaps at a market stall which may sell locally-produced vegetables.

 

       Whichever answer you gave to this question could be the best one for you and could help you to find out something about yourself and where and how you are most likely to shop wisely. Score 3 for any answer.

 

Do you like changes?

If you answered (a), you may be lucky, but the chances are that you will discover when you know more about it that there are models which would have suited your purpose better – and they may even be cheaper, too. Try looking around more. Score 1.

       Answer (b)? This is a wiser way of going about it. Finding out all you can about the purchase before you buy – from magazine articles, advertisements (though remember they are biased), literature published by an independent body like the Consumers' Association, which publishes WHICH? and, perhaps most effective of all, talking to people who have been using the product you hope to buy and can give you first-hand experience – this pre-shopping preparation well all go a long way towards ensuring that you get what you want and the best your money can buy. Score 3.

       Answer (c)? Provided your sales assistant really knows his subject, this could be a good way of finding the best buy for you. Only you, of course, know what you really want and how you will use it, and an assistant can't answer questions you don't ask him – so it is a good idea to explore the market for yourself if possible. But, if you asked his advice, the shopkeeper does have some responsibility in law for what you buy being suitable for your purpose. Score 2.

 

Buying clothes

If you answered (a), you certainly do take chances and would have to be very lucky indeed for this to work. If you are a stock size and know what suits you, perhaps you would be satisfied, but it's hardly worth risking. Some shops will exchange garments that do not fit you after you have tried them on at home. Score 1.

 

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