Grocery shopping in the US versus the rest of the world: Which is better? (middle-class, buying)

[Brave New World]

A recent comparison of US (NYC) and UK (London) grocery stores which was published earlier this month.

Grocery shopping in the US versus the UK: Which is better? - Business Insider

We compared grocery shopping at stores in the US and UK - and it was shockingly clear which country does it better | The Independent

Does anyone have any first hand experience of the difference between US Grocery Stores and those in other psrts of the world.

[Threestep2]

First of all a bag of Doritos under 2$ might be a temptation to move to NY. Berries do not generally get sold by the case in the US.

As all comparisons - it depends on the writer's point of view. Comparing a 33 store local chain to a 27% market share instead of using one of the national chains says it all.

[hertfordshire]

The shopping experience in NYC is unlike any other in the US. If they were trying to compare UK shopping to US shopping, they went about it all wrong.

[jay5835]

Interesting book I'm reading now on grocery shopping in America, Grocery, by Michael Ruhlman:

https://www.amazon.com/Grocery-Buyin...A38SEFUGZMJU8S

[Brave New World]

Food Halls and Supermarkets in the UK tend to operate according to what market they aim to capture and a lot of this is almost like a class system.

At the very top you have your department store food halls and luxury top end stores, examples include -

Harrods Food Hall

Harvey Nichols

Selfridges

Fenwick

John Lewis Department Stores (Waitrose)

Jenners

Fortnum and Mason (Royal Warrant of Appointment)

Then you have the more middle class supermarket (grocery) outlets -

Marks and Spencer (also operate smaller convenience stores)

Waitrose (also operate smaller convenience stores)

Sainsbury (also operate smaller convenience stores and petrol/gas stations)

Whole Foods (with Amazon Go looking to open shops in the UK)

Then you have the more universal chains , many of which have different formats including massive 24 hour hypermarket type stores (Tesco Extra etc), medium size stores and amaller local convenience stores as well as petrol (gas) stations.

Asda (Walmart)

Tesco (also operate smaller convenience stores)

Morrisons

Then you have the cut price chains

Aldi

Lidl

Iceland

Farmfoods

B&M

Then you have the local small convenience 7/11 type store chains

Coop

Budgens

Costcutter

Nisa

Llondis

Spar

Premier Stores

M&S Simply Food

Little Waitrose

Tesco Express and One Stop

Sainsbury Local

I should imagine the US has a similar ranking according to type of shop, location, size and quality.

Any one want to make a similar US list.

[nmnita]

there is no way anyone can compare and get an objective answer. First of all, NYC isn't typical. there are so many other possible cities or regions to use as a comparison. Second, what is the meaning of "better" and we all shop differently. So, to me, this is a comparison with no true answer.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by Brave New World

Food Halls and Supermarkets in the UK tend to operate according to what market they aim to capture and a lot of this is almost like a class system.

At the very top you have your department store food halls and luxury top end stores -

Then you have the more middle class supermarket (grocery) outlets -

Then you have the more universal chains , many of which have different formats including massive 24 hour hypermarket type stores (Tesco Extra etc), medium size stores and smaller local convenience stores as well as petrol (gas) stations.

Then you have the cut price chains

Then you have the local small convenience 7/11 type store chains

I should imagine the US has a similar ranking according to type of shop, location, size and quality.

Any one want to make a similar US list.

You are absolutely correct, of course, but the US is so vast and has so many small local and regional chains that it would be impossible to make a list that covers the whole country. I would add to your categories the small ethnic markets, many of which are independent and sell various items, including produce, extremely cheaply.

In a more affluent, densely populated area, such as where I live in Southern California, multiple options for all of above categories exist within a small radius.

However, in large swaths of the country where density is low, options within a reasonable distance may be limited to one "middle-class" grocery, one cut-price chain (Wal-Mart), and a handful of the 7/11 type.

Underprivileged urban locations may be "food deserts" where there is virtually nowhere for the local residents to shop except convenience stores.

[boxus]

They compared the wrong stores, lol, why in the world would they even compare those two places? I guess next comparison will be a BMW M3 and a Ford Fusion, which is better; results are surprising!

I have done grocery shopping many places in the world (having lived out of the US for several years, with frequent long stays) and grocery shopping seems all the same to me, except with different products and people.

I use to live in London, I went to Sainsbury and Waitrose. I remember when they freaked out because I took a picture inside.

[Brian_M]

I've got to wonder why Anyone cares about this?

I mean, anyone here going to move to a different country because the grocery shopping is different (supposedly "better") ?

[ABQConvict]

NYC grocery shoping is not merely atypical, it is virtually unique in the US.

Having shopped in the UK and the US, Including exceptional examples in each country, I would say, on average, that they are within a standard deviation of one another.