Five years ago, an Auchan hypermarket was built near my home. I’d been accustomed to go to a hypermarket one day a week, shop for everything I needed and then rationalize the food until the following week. It wasn’t a pleasure to shop in those big, commercial areas: too many people, not enough space between the rows and not enough cash registers. So, when this French hypermarket was built a few hundred meters away from my apartment, I thought: another reason to have a crowd and too many cars at my door. I visited it the first day it opened, as most of my neighbors did, to see the prices and the merchandise. When I went through the front doors I was very much impressed. The space was huge, the rows widely apart so at least two shopping carts could pass one another without touching, the light was pleasant and a nice variety of products. I also loved the way they had organized the merchandise and how every label was so easy to see. Even the prices were good. Well, I’ve said to myself, this is a nice change! And the best thing yet? It was very difficult to create a crowd in there. There was too much space and the cash registers were plenty enough in number, so nobody had to wait in a row too much. Maybe you’ll think: “well, there weren’t enough costumers, so it was a normal situation.” The thing is that, even after it has become a notorious shopping center and it often has a full, although giant parking lot, there is still enough room. In fact, I and my family made a bet with each other, about who will find a free cash register. And I must admit that every time we’ve tried, almost without exception, we found one. Being so close to our home we’ve become used to visiting it almost every day for a thing or two we happen to need, at any hour of the day from eight in the morning to ten in the evening. In fact, that’s the most surprising thing about Auchan, I’ve come to love it so much that it’s become a custom to go there as a first choice, even when I was set out for a walk. For example, if I decide to go for a walk in the park, I first go to Auchan, buy a bottle of water or something and than head to the park. In the winter, the days being short and cold, I often went to this hypermarket to spend some time in the open food area it has, replacing this way an evening out in town. Like any respectable hypermarket, Auchan has a shopping gallery with clothes stores, a bank and book stores, everything else you expect to find in such a place, so I must say this is the ideal location for me.
When you see something so often, you end up getting attached to it, and after all that this hypermarket has given me, I had to share this with you and maybe temp you to try seeing the shopping activity from a different perspective.
