How should new immigrants navigate supermarkets in the United States? WorldWay's U.S. immigration experts provide a detailed practical guide to U.S. supermarkets for your reference as follows:
I. Classification of Supermarkets
There are many supermarkets in the United States. Major supermarket chains include Wal-Mart, Kroger, Target, Costco, Albertsons, JCPenney, K-Mart, Walgreens, and more.
Based on the operators, U.S. supermarkets can be simply divided into two categories: mainstream local supermarkets run by Americans, and specialty supermarkets run by foreign immigrants or expatriates.
1. Mainstream Local Supermarkets
So-called mainstream local supermarkets primarily supply Western products and serve a customer base consisting mostly of local U.S. residents. Mainstream U.S. supermarkets offer a dazzling array of goods. For example, various types and flavors of pasta and desserts are available, and a wide variety of cleaned vegetables are neatly packaged and arranged on shelves; fresh self-service salads are categorized and placed in containers, ready to be packed and taken home for consumption.
Generally speaking, the biggest difference between supermarkets run by Americans and those run by Chinese is that U.S. supermarkets have very standardized management. Vegetables are sold as pre-cleaned produce, and meat that is not sold by the end of the day must be disposed of and will not continue to be sold. Therefore, prices are naturally higher.
2. Specialty Supermarkets
Because the United States is a nation of immigrants, it brings together almost every race and ethnicity in the world, with many foreign immigrants or expatriates. Consequently, many specialty stores have been formed to meet the diverse needs of expatriates from different countries.
Compared to these mainstream supermarkets, many Chinese people prefer supermarkets run by Asians because they carry many Asian-style foods that are not found in mainstream supermarkets. Some of these specialty foods are imported from various Asian countries; for example, in Chinese supermarkets in Chinatown, you can buy Lao Gan Ma, and in Korean-run supermarkets, you can find kimchi.
II. Pricing of Goods
Generally speaking, prices in U.S. supermarkets are quite close to those in China. However, this is based on the premise that you should not use the 1:6 RMB exchange rate for conversion, but rather a 1:1 ratio.
Because there is a gap between the living standards and incomes of Americans and Chinese, when looking at the ratio of prices to income, the prices of goods in U.S. supermarkets are quite comparable to those in Chinese supermarkets, and some items are even much cheaper than in China.
III. Attentive Service
1. Categorized Packing
When shopping in the U.S., service staff will help you pack your items by category. Furthermore, shopping bags are provided free of charge.
2. Convenient Checkout
At checkout, there are express lanes for small items for quick processing. When paying with an ATM card at the supermarket, cash withdrawal services are also available.
3. Easy Returns
Returning goods in the U.S. is quite convenient. You can return any item you are dissatisfied with, and the service attitude is excellent; as long as you return it within a certain period, you can get a refund.
IV. Tax Awareness
One of the biggest characteristics of consumption in the United States is taxation. Regardless of the goods purchased or the consumption activity, tax is added separately. For example, you pay tax on a meal, tax on a pair of shoes, and even tax on a bunch of green onions.
