Shopping: Consumer habits

Utilities and measurements of groceries

• The mile, yard, foot and inch for road traffic signs, distance and speed measurement.
• The imperial pint for the draught beer and cider, and the sale of milk.
• The acre for land registration.
• The troy ounce for transaction in precious metals.

Times of the Year in which the amount of Shopping Increases

• Around holiday periods, like Christmas or Easter, the number of shopping increases. People buy presents for their families and friends and also prepare for the upcoming holidays. Shops can offer special discounts during those times.
• Domestic tourism increases during bank holidays and summer holidays (especially in August) which can lead to shopping increase in touristic areas. It can also lead to rises in hotel prices.

Types of Containers

• Jars.
  • In jars, people usually keep things like jams, marmalade, marmite or pickled things.
• Tins and cans.
  • Different kinds of food can be bought in tins and cans. From fruits, fishes, meat to soups.
• Bags.
  • In shops, bags are located near cash. Usually, you can choose between single-use bags and reusable bags.
  • England’s single-use bag law requires large retailers — businesses with at least 250 employees — to charge customers the equivalent of around 5 pence for plastic bags.
  • In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, most types of paper bags are also charged for.

Division of Products of Consumption by Categories

A typical supermarket includes these products: Alcoholic beverages, baby foods, and baby-care products such as disposable diapers, bread and bakery products books, newspapers, and magazines, bulk dried foods such as legumes, flour, rice, etc. , canned goods and dried cereals, CDs, audio cassettes, DVDs, and videos, cigarettes, and other tobacco products, cosmetics, dairy products and eggs, ready-to-eat food, diet foods, electrical products, hygiene products, flowers, frozen foods and crushed ice, fresh produce, fruits and vegetables, greeting cards, house-cleaning products, housewares, dishware and cooking utensils, laundry products such as detergents and fabric softeners, lottery tickets, luggage items, meats, fish and seafood, medicines and first- aid items, non-alcoholic beverages such as soft drinks, juices, bottled water, pet food and pet products, seasonal items and decorations, snack foods, toys, and novelties.

Concepts for Doing the Shopping/Going Shopping

• Shopping can be considered as an activity because many people enjoy shopping. There are different kinds of shopping like grocery shopping, cloth shopping, shopping for an electronic product, etc.
  • According to surveys from 2017-2018, around 75 % of 16 to 24-year-olds spent some part of their free time shopping.
  • Younger people tend to walk around shops only to look at presented goods and chat with their friends.
• Department stores and shopping centres usually have a gastronomy area with coffee shops and restaurants in which people spend time in between shopping or use just to meet.

Products Considered “basic”

Following products are considered as basic and are covered by zero rate VAT:

• Raw meat and fish,
• vegetables and fruit,
• cereals, nuts and pulses,
• culinary herbs.

Social Conventions Related to the Price of Products

• The price of a product is fixed by many factors such as a request for the product, the value of the product, and the availability of the product.
• Any VAT due is already included in the price of something you buy in a shop. No tax is added when you pay.
• If you want to check which food products are zero or standard VAT rated visit gov.uk/guidance/food-products-and-vat-notice-70114.

Exercises

External link to Shopping: Consumer habits exercises (502).