For the most part, supermarkets in China are polar opposites of those in America . First of all, American supermarkets are only equipped with a few security cameras that don’t even get looked at unless someone suspects that something went wrong. On the other hand, Chinese supermarkets are not only equipped with several security cameras, but they also have round the clock security officers who were strategically positioned throughout the store, and near the entrances and exits. I have not yet seen any of the security officers actually do anything, which is a good thing. That means that they are doing their job and deterring people from breaking the law. This made me wonder just how often crime occurs in China. This proves that they definitely have adequate security in and outside of the shops. They also have what they call a bag check in. This is how they keep people from coming into the store with their backpack, loading it up with merchandise, and simply walking out. There are so many people in those stores that it would be impossible for the security guards to keep track of who left from a register and who just walked out. The bag check-in is where they “confiscate” your bag, except purses, and keep them until you are ready to leave the store. They give you a little token with a number on it, and all you have to do is return the token to the desk when you want to leave and they will give you your bag back. Also, when you are checking out at the registers, make sure you either don’t buy more than you can carry back, or buy one of their “go green” reusable bags. Most stores in Beijing have this rule where they charge you for each plastic bag that you use. This is a good idea in my opinion because it cuts down on people taking excessive quantities of plastic bags, and throwing them away in some landfill.China style="color: white;"> has enough trash to worry about without all those plastic bags adding to the mess.

Grocery stores in China are extremely convenient because they offer a wide variety of products, other than food. This is extremely helpful for anyone who doesn’t want to waste their time running up a hardware store just to buy a wrench, or traveling all the way to a pet shop to purchase some dog food. Some grocery stores in America provide a variety of merchandise in one store, but not to the extent that China does. Almost every store/supermarket is like this, other than specialty shops, where that particular shop only sells one specific type of product. All of the supermarkets that I have been in have consisted of multiple floors. They set it up where the customer has to walk through the grocery section of the store in order to reach the rest of the departments. So unless you are in there for a specific reason, you will probably throw some essentials into your basket before reaching the clothes, electronics, school supplies, paper goods, and cosmetics. These places are great; it’s like one stop shopping all in one building. 

As far as the outside of the supermarkets go, they are usually lined with dozens of bicycles and motor scooters all locked to the various bike racks and railings. Surprisingly, there were not too many cars parked outside. In fact, there were not very many cars at all around the shops. This is due to the location of the store and the fact that there just isn’t enough space to build huge parking lots in front of each supermarket. Most of the supermarkets are located in residential areas or on street corners. It is perfectly easy to access them on a bike, but it is near impossible to get to them in a car. Also, they all have advertisements plastered all over the windows of the store. Every single supermarket has their weekly specials in big bold letters, in order to draw the crowd in. This is also true in America; the only difference is that Chinese stores have people out in front of the store yelling into megaphones to get peoples attention. This goes along with the fact that Chinese stores have massive amounts of people employed, so they have to find jobs for all of them. This actually gives the bigger stores that advantage because if they can afford to pay workers to stand out there and pull people of the streets, then they eliminate the competition of the smaller “mom and pop” stores. The main areas that the smaller shops have survived in are either dense residential neighborhoods or along a street where they get their usual customers.

On more of a social note, there are a lot more females in Beijing than there are males, the therefore the majority of the consumers are female. The women’s behavior in China is drastically different than that of American women. The majority of the females walk around and either hold hands or hug one another. Also, they always have some sort of umbrella with them even if it's not raining or sunny out. I could not figure that one out other than to say that it is some sort of fashion statement. Similarly, I observed numerous mother and daughter pairs shopping together. It was interesting to observe the different shopping patterns. If a woman was with her mother they would talk about everything that went into their basket, and it tended to consist of more essentials and nutritious items. This is compared to a woman shopping by herself, where her basket would be filled with sodas, juices, and other snacks that do not fall under that category of “essentials.” Another observation I made was that people shopped more frequently, but only bought what they needed for that day. They do not buy a surplus of food for the next two weeks, which is what most Americans tend to do. This is probably why I did not see large shopping carts in the entrance to these stores. Instead there were baskets that supplied sufficient storage while customers shopped. I prefer this method over the American practice of stuffing the cart full of anything that they might need in the next few weeks. There are pros and cons to both sides, but I personally prefer buying groceries as i need them.