In the USA

In the 60s and 70s a lot of American downtown areas were dying.Stores were moving out into the suburbs to malls and mini-malls.Shopping centres with parking lots grew up out of the town along roads.People come here for a shopping trip.It means driving out of town, parking, visiting few stores and driving home again.In 80s downtown were revitalized and converted to small shopping areas with specialty stores and restaurants. Many states have sales tax which is usually 5 or 6 percent.Some states put the tax only on food or hotels.The price is usually exhibited without this tax.It means that the total bill will be higher.People buy grocery goods in large supermarkets which sell everything(baked goods, fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, frozen food, household goods).Some large stores are open right around the clock, that means 24 hours a day.Checkout clerks are usually friendly, fast and efficient.There are baggers at checkout in stores.They are teenagers who help customers.They put the goods into a paper bags and into the customers cart and customer´s car with smile and slogan "Have a nice day"."Service with a smile" is basic rule.Many stores display isncription "The customer is always right."You can also buy things from vending machines.Some people go only window shopping.It means that they only look at the new gadgets.People can also buy almost everything by mail order.Most companies have 24-hours toll-free phone lines.