In the United States, larger supermarkets include Wal-Mart、KROGER、TARGET、COSTCO、ALBERTSONS INC、JCPENNY、K-MART、WALGREEN. Generally, large warehouse-style supermarkets are located in remote areas, and their prices are quite affordable.
Living in the United States, grocery shopping is definitely not as convenient as in China. There are no early morning markets or community vegetable shops like those in China; to buy groceries, one must go to the supermarket, which can be dozens of kilometers away. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to get around in the U.S. without a car. People usually buy in bulk, enough to last a week, so how can one bring it home without a car?
Supermarkets in the United States primarily supply Western products and can be referred to as mainstream supermarkets. The variety in mainstream supermarkets is certainly impressive; for new immigrants, it is easy to learn how to make pasta, as there are various types of pasta available, long, short, wide, thin, flat, spiral, and shell-shaped; there are also various flavors of pasta sauce, which can easily spark the desire to learn.
As the United States is a nation of immigrants, it gathers almost all races and ethnicities from around the world, resulting in many specialty stores catering to the diverse needs of different immigrant communities. In addition to these mainstream supermarkets, there are also Asian supermarkets run by Koreans and, of course, by Chinese. In Chinese supermarkets in Chinatown, one can find Lao Gan Ma chili sauce. Asian supermarkets offer many Asian specialty foods that are not available in mainstream supermarkets. Some of these specialty foods are imported from various Asian countries, such as the aforementioned Lao Gan Ma and Korean kimchi.
Some products are locally produced in the United States: this can be divided into two categories. One category consists of Asian specialty products manufactured by Asian-owned factories in the U.S., such as the frozen dumplings that are ubiquitous in Chinese supermarkets; the other category includes products from American factories, such as pig liver, pig kidneys, intestines, chicken feet, and other foods that Americans typically do not consume but are beloved by Chinese people.
The prices of these vegetables and meats are generally comparable to those in China. You cannot simply convert using the RMB exchange rate; instead, you should calculate it on a one-to-one basis, as the income of Americans, when calculated on a one-to-one basis, is roughly equivalent to that of Chinese people. Therefore, the prices of these goods are relatively similar or even lower than what we pay. However, if you calculate everything based on the RMB to USD exchange rate, shopping in the U.S. becomes unaffordable, as it would be too expensive.
Additionally, returning items in the U.S. is quite convenient; any unsatisfactory purchase can be returned. The customer service is generally very good, and as long as you return items within a certain timeframe, you can get your money back. When shopping, they will help you pack items by category, and we often marvel at how many bags we receive. At checkout, there are express lanes for small items, allowing for quick transactions. When using an ATM card to pay at the supermarket, you are often asked if you want cash back. At first, it may seem strange to receive cash back when making a purchase, but this is a cash withdrawal service provided by the supermarket, allowing you to withdraw cash while shopping, achieving two tasks at once.
A major characteristic of consumption in the United States is taxation. Regardless of what you purchase or any consumption, sales tax is added. For example, dining out incurs tax, buying a pair of shoes incurs tax, and even buying a bunch of green onions incurs tax. The general sales tax rate is 6%, with the highest rates reaching 15%. This means that if a pair of shoes is priced at 100 dollars, you will actually pay 106 dollars at checkout. These taxes are paid to the federal or state government, and tax rates vary by state.
