The supermarket we go to, Monoprix, is much like any American supermarket but in a smaller scale. It's probably about 3/4 to 1/2 the size of a Walgreen's or CVS. The smaller markets, called casinos, are probably 3/4 to 1/2 the size of a Wawa. The Monoprix is slightly more costly, but right down the street which makes the price comparable since I would have to pay to take a tram to get to a different supermarket.
The produce section is very nice with a wide variety, and every week they have different produce on sale for cheaper in the center. I'm not sure if it's closer to spoiling, they got more than they needed, or it's just from a cheaper source. Whether on sale or full price, fresh produce is at least half the price here than it is in America.
Their cheese section is a whole wall, and then all other dairies are another wall. They have a lot of yogurt, but it's mostly plain. Their meat section seemed nice, but I don't have much experience in that department. The prices vary widely but are generally more expensive here.
Most of the other items are slim pickings. They'll have one or two major brands and the store brand, that's it. No entire aisle of bread or cereal, no four shelves of tea or coffee, the only exception seems to be wine and hair products. The wine and liquor takes up two whole aisles of the store which is astronomical considering how small the store is.
Monoprix and a couple other supermarkets are adapting the "loyalty card" approach, but that's about it. My key chain seems quite bare now compared to when it had a card from every store I have ever entered on it.
Another thing that is quite rare are coupons. Every store releases it's ad and some things are on sale, but it's no where near to the extent of what you could do in America. If I had enough coupons, I could bring down my bill by at least 50%. There are probably as many coupon web-sites in America as there are mosquitoes. I have found two for France. And let me tell you, they are slim pickings. I have had a coupon app for about 4 days now, and the same 20 items or so have been on it. You select the coupon you're interested in, you have 14 days to buy it, and instead of it being discounted at the register, you are refunded directly into your bank account. It sounds weird, but like I said in another post, everything is done with your bank account here.
Out of the 20 or so items, I found 7 to my liking. Unfortunately, since I don't know the normal prices of things here, I don't know if I'll ever use them. For example, there's a coupon for 80 cents off a dry sausage (which are eaten as a snack or light meal here) but I have no clue how much dry sausage usually costs. Am I getting 80 cents off $2? Or do they normally cost $5, in which case I feel like it wouldn't be worth it to buy. Who knows!
Maybe I should start spending my whole day in the supermarket, memorizing prices and creeping out the workers.
The produce section is very nice with a wide variety, and every week they have different produce on sale for cheaper in the center. I'm not sure if it's closer to spoiling, they got more than they needed, or it's just from a cheaper source. Whether on sale or full price, fresh produce is at least half the price here than it is in America.
Their cheese section is a whole wall, and then all other dairies are another wall. They have a lot of yogurt, but it's mostly plain. Their meat section seemed nice, but I don't have much experience in that department. The prices vary widely but are generally more expensive here.
Most of the other items are slim pickings. They'll have one or two major brands and the store brand, that's it. No entire aisle of bread or cereal, no four shelves of tea or coffee, the only exception seems to be wine and hair products. The wine and liquor takes up two whole aisles of the store which is astronomical considering how small the store is.
Monoprix and a couple other supermarkets are adapting the "loyalty card" approach, but that's about it. My key chain seems quite bare now compared to when it had a card from every store I have ever entered on it.
Another thing that is quite rare are coupons. Every store releases it's ad and some things are on sale, but it's no where near to the extent of what you could do in America. If I had enough coupons, I could bring down my bill by at least 50%. There are probably as many coupon web-sites in America as there are mosquitoes. I have found two for France. And let me tell you, they are slim pickings. I have had a coupon app for about 4 days now, and the same 20 items or so have been on it. You select the coupon you're interested in, you have 14 days to buy it, and instead of it being discounted at the register, you are refunded directly into your bank account. It sounds weird, but like I said in another post, everything is done with your bank account here.
Out of the 20 or so items, I found 7 to my liking. Unfortunately, since I don't know the normal prices of things here, I don't know if I'll ever use them. For example, there's a coupon for 80 cents off a dry sausage (which are eaten as a snack or light meal here) but I have no clue how much dry sausage usually costs. Am I getting 80 cents off $2? Or do they normally cost $5, in which case I feel like it wouldn't be worth it to buy. Who knows!
Maybe I should start spending my whole day in the supermarket, memorizing prices and creeping out the workers.