Things to Know When Going to the Supermarket in Germany – Part 2

After knowing interesting things about going to the supermarket in Germany part 1, today, let’s learn about going to the supermarket in Germany part 2 with URIAH!

Part 2: Things to note when going to the supermarket in Germany

 1. Culture of queuing in public places in general and in supermarkets in Germany in particular

When paying, we always have to queue even if we buy little things. Queuing everywhere is very important. If we are unlucky, we may be judged negatively in terms of consciousness and culture, and from there many people will have a negative view and discrimination against foreigners.

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See also: What parents and students say about URIAH

2. Pay for your shopping bag in Germany

If in Vietnam, when going to the supermarket, we will be given free plastic bags to carry our belongings. However, when going to the supermarket in Germany, we will have to buy bags to carry them. This is to reduce the amount of plastic waste and plastic bags, because they are very difficult to destroy and have a big impact on the environment.

At supermarkets, they will put different bags in different sizes, materials such as cloth, cotton or nylon. Depending on the material, there will be different prices, we can choose to buy and continue to use next time. In addition, not only supermarkets but also clothing or shoe stores will be like that. Therefore, before going shopping, everyone remember to bring along if you do not want to waste money buying new bags to use.

3. Shopping carts must bet money when going to the supermarket in Germany

Each supermarket will have trolleys right in front of the entrance, if we want to use them we will have to bet coins with denominations from 50 cents – 2 euros. After using them, if we want to get our money back, we just need to put them back in the same place, lock them and take the money. Why is it like that? Because they want a certain order, not to leave the trolleys haphazardly after use. Helps to cut down on some of the time for supermarket staff.

4. Opening hours and discounts of supermarkets in Germany

People pay close attention to the fact that all German supermarkets and restaurants are usually only open until 8pm every day and will always be closed on Sundays. Because Germans believe that Sunday is God’s day, they need to rest after a long and tiring work week.

Normal opening hours will be from 7am to 8pm from Monday to Saturday. In addition, promotional periods will usually be on Wednesdays or Saturdays. Wednesdays will usually be the day when many items are discounted, while Saturdays are the weekend when they will have short-term discounts on food items.

Also, they are closed during the holidays and often have special sales going on before the holidays. Most supermarkets have flyers (see photo) with pictures, prices and times when they have special sales in their shopping carts or in people’s mailboxes. People can follow them to buy good products at cheap prices.

5. Exchange plastic bottles for money at the supermarket in Germany

In Germany, there is an interesting thing that when we buy some bottles of water or beer, we have to bet money on the bottle. The soft drink bottles whose shells can be exchanged for money will have a PFAND mark printed on the body of the bottle with a bottle symbol and an arrow around it. Bottles without this mark cannot be exchanged for money and will be thrown in the trash.

Depending on the type, for example, plastic bottles or cans, we will bet 0.25 cents, and glass bottles like beer, some types will bet 0.08 cents. After using, we can bring it to the supermarket to exchange and get money back, usually it will be a piece of paper with the amount written on it and when paying, we give it to the cashier so they can deduct it from our purchase bill.

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