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Old 08-17-2014, 09:14 PM
 
Location: Both coasts
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To those who have spent time in both Canada and the UK- which country has a better selection of consumer goods in general....perhaps it may depend on specific types of goods...

- groceries (packaged foods)- please elaborate on differences of product goods selection between both countries (for instance in my opinion UK has a greater variety of chips (crisps) than Canada, but Canada has a greater variety of box cereal & peanut butter)

- household goods/ items

- clothing/ retail

- electronics/ gadgets/ appliances

- automobiles

Please no "depends on city" remarks- this is about the overall range available to each country's overall market
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Old 08-17-2014, 09:37 PM
 
Location: The land where God created :)
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I would say Canada because they almost have same stores and selections like the US; it helps its proximity location next to the US. Sales tax and prices of most consumer goods are cheaper than the UK as well.

London offers more than Toronto and Montreal though probably because of its size and population.
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Old 08-18-2014, 02:45 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, QC, Canada
3,379 posts, read 5,514,386 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Olivierad View Post
I would say Canada because they almost have same stores and selections like the US; it helps its proximity location next to the US. Sales tax and prices of most consumer goods are cheaper than the UK as well.

London offers more than Toronto and Montreal though probably because of its size and population.
I'm not sure about Canada having even near equal selection to the USA. The shopping and eating chains we get are most often American, but that doesn't mean we get most, let alone all of them. I thought it would be similar too, but the last few times I've been in the states, I don't recognize a whole lot. Especially when it comes to fast food.

The UK has nearly double the population of Canada, so I would think on top of whatever American things they have, they have tons of domestic and European selections too.
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Old 08-18-2014, 07:23 AM
 
Location: The land where God created :)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse44 View Post
I'm not sure about Canada having even near equal selection to the USA. The shopping and eating chains we get are most often American, but that doesn't mean we get most, let alone all of them. I thought it would be similar too, but the last few times I've been in the states, I don't recognize a whole lot. Especially when it comes to fast food.

The UK has nearly double the population of Canada, so I would think on top of whatever American things they have, they have tons of domestic and European selections too.
Well there are things that Canada has that the US don't have; such as ketchup chips or poutine.
Canada has a lot of variety of stores especially in the larger cities.
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Old 08-18-2014, 10:13 AM
 
Location: SE UK
14,818 posts, read 11,930,800 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by f1000 View Post
To those who have spent time in both Canada and the UK- which country has a better selection of consumer goods in general....perhaps it may depend on specific types of goods...

- groceries (packaged foods)- please elaborate on differences of product goods selection between both countries (for instance in my opinion UK has a greater variety of chips (crisps) than Canada, but Canada has a greater variety of box cereal & peanut butter)

- household goods/ items

- clothing/ retail

- electronics/ gadgets/ appliances

- automobiles

Please no "depends on city" remarks- this is about the overall range available to each country's overall market
I doubt that there isnt anything in the world you cannot get in either the UK or Canada! What makes people think the US has a greater selection of consumer goods than either of them?
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Old 08-18-2014, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,785 posts, read 37,782,011 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by easthome View Post
I doubt that there isnt anything in the world you cannot get in either the UK or Canada! What makes people think the US has a greater selection of consumer goods than either of them?
The U.S. most definitely has a greater selection of consumer goods than Canada does. Depending on what you are talking about, the differences can be very significant.
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Old 08-18-2014, 10:47 AM
 
Location: The land where God created :)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack View Post
The U.S. most definitely has a greater selection of consumer goods than Canada does. Depending on what you are talking about, the differences can be very significant.
Well most Canadians are lucky enough living close to the border to shop until you drop
I wish I lived in Canada.... Best country in the world
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Old 08-18-2014, 11:14 AM
 
Location: Vancouver
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Different selection doesn't alway equate to less choice.

I have never found Canada lacking, just like I"m sure most in the UK.
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Old 08-18-2014, 11:43 AM
 
Location: Gatineau, Québec
26,785 posts, read 37,782,011 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Natnasci View Post
Different selection doesn't alway equate to less choice.

I have never found Canada lacking, .
I've never really found Canada lacking either, but I am not a big shopper.

But it's patently obvious when you go to the States that there's just so much more stuff on offer.

The contrary would be surprising, wouldn't it? It's the biggest affluent consumer market in the world and almost 10 times the size of Canada. Of course companies are going to offer their best and widest selection there. It's simple economics.
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Old 08-18-2014, 12:15 PM
 
Location: Vancouver
18,502 posts, read 15,417,056 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack View Post
I've never really found Canada lacking either, but I am not a big shopper.

But it's patently obvious when you go to the States that there's just so much more stuff on offer.

The contrary would be surprising, wouldn't it? It's the biggest affluent consumer market in the world and almost 10 times the size of Canada. Of course companies are going to offer their best and widest selection there. It's simple economics.
To a degree, but there is also the illusion of choice.
Certainly comparing a much larger market to ours you are going to find more selection, but to most of us, it means nothing. Do I really care that such and such a product comes in two more colours in the US than Canada? Or that another ad driven media frenzy over the latests phone is not available in Canada until a few months after it's US release?

Like you I'm not a shopper, but my experience has been most of what's not available in Canada and is in the US are products that I don't want/need anyway. Albeit I will concede there will be people who are really into some kind of products who will disagree and mention a model etc that is only available in the US.

My take on the OP's question is that even though there may be MORE variety in some markets, it doesn't equate to BETTER variety.
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