5 ms·

> Italian gas stations felt like upscale grocery stores in the US. In some of European countries, shops are closed (by law) on Sunday. Gas stations are exempt

> Italian gas stations felt like upscale grocery stores in the US. In some of European countries, shops are closed (by law) on Sunday. Gas stations are exempt from this, hence they morph into shops.

johnnycab 7y ago
There aren't many countries in the EU, which emphatically restrict Sunday shopping. Even where the restrictions are in place, trading laws can vary and not strictly imposed or adhered to. This can also be coupled with diminishing political appetite to choke the local economy. 'Gas stations' morphing into shops, is related to the phenomenon of channel blurring, rather than just exploiting the exemptions in laws/rules. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_shopping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_shopping https://www.retailwire.com/tag/channel-blurring/ https://www.retailwire.com/tag/channel-blurring/
- mattlondon 7y ago
  It is a huge pain in the UK and is rigidly adhered to. Most of the "large" shops (I think there is a square-footage cutoff point) and shopping centres/malls must only open for 6 hours on a Sunday. So the normally 24/7 huge supermarkets that are the size of several football pitches and are usually packed full of people are forced to shut. This means that everyone needs to get out in the 6 hour window, so traffic is insane and the shops themselves are insane because all the shopping that normally happens spread across 24 hours has to be jammed into 6 hours. It is really annoying. Smaller shops are allowed to stay open, so in the UK we now have a lot of smaller versions of the large 24/7 supermarket chain stores on high-streets that are typically open something like 8am-10pm/11pm/midnight 7 days a week. These are obviously much more popular than local businesses (cheaper, more reliable, loyalty schemes) so all small independent businesses (greengrocers, bakeries, small grocery stores, hardware stores, stationers, newsagents etc) are being forced out of business. I wish that one day this silliness would be abolished.
  - yarbas89 7y ago
    This only applies to England, not the whole of the UK. For example in Scotland, Sunday trading is not restricted in any way whatsoever.
    - zeristor 7y ago
      Perhaps not incidentally there's no double bank holiday weekend over Easter. I had lectures on a Bank Holiday Monday which in England generally means everything is shut. I don't know how much longer this Christian stranglehold will have on England.
      - yarbas89 7y ago
        Yeah,.the majority of the bank holidays in Scotland are different too and some of them aren't even actual holidays by law. As in some companies will continue trading as it's not restricted. For example, one of the companies I've worked for actually rearranged bank holidays throughout their various office to ensure that some people were working within the company during any holiday.
  - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
    Being old and remembering before the massive liberalisation of Sunday trading, far from wishing away the token restrictions we have left, I wish we could go back to the old way. No opening on Sunday at all unless you're on the exemption list, as it used to be. So the takeaway, ice cream seller, corner shop etc were fine to open, typical high street shops were not. It's really annoying to have every day a normal day with no distinct break. There was a distinct change of pace and feel, far, far less traffic on the roads, and a day free of annoying commerce everywhere. The whole world seemed quieter and lazier on Sunday, and thanks to the huge reduction of traffic, smelt nicer. It was the obvious day for the BBQ, day trip to the beach or theatre, the event in the local park, meet with friends etc. I miss it.
    - urbanjunkie 7y ago
      No, it was shit. Completely and totally shit.

> Italian gas stations felt like upscale grocery stores in the US. In some of European countries, shops are closed (by law) on Sunday. Gas stations are exempt from this, hence they morph into shops.

johnnycab 7y ago

There aren't many countries in the EU, which emphatically restrict Sunday shopping. Even where the restrictions are in place, trading laws can vary and not strictly imposed or adhered to. This can also be coupled with diminishing political appetite to choke the local economy. 'Gas stations' morphing into shops, is related to the phenomenon of channel blurring, rather than just exploiting the exemptions in laws/rules. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_shopping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_shopping https://www.retailwire.com/tag/channel-blurring/ https://www.retailwire.com/tag/channel-blurring/

mattlondon 7y ago
It is a huge pain in the UK and is rigidly adhered to. Most of the "large" shops (I think there is a square-footage cutoff point) and shopping centres/malls must only open for 6 hours on a Sunday. So the normally 24/7 huge supermarkets that are the size of several football pitches and are usually packed full of people are forced to shut. This means that everyone needs to get out in the 6 hour window, so traffic is insane and the shops themselves are insane because all the shopping that normally happens spread across 24 hours has to be jammed into 6 hours. It is really annoying. Smaller shops are allowed to stay open, so in the UK we now have a lot of smaller versions of the large 24/7 supermarket chain stores on high-streets that are typically open something like 8am-10pm/11pm/midnight 7 days a week. These are obviously much more popular than local businesses (cheaper, more reliable, loyalty schemes) so all small independent businesses (greengrocers, bakeries, small grocery stores, hardware stores, stationers, newsagents etc) are being forced out of business. I wish that one day this silliness would be abolished.
- yarbas89 7y ago
  This only applies to England, not the whole of the UK. For example in Scotland, Sunday trading is not restricted in any way whatsoever.
  - zeristor 7y ago
    Perhaps not incidentally there's no double bank holiday weekend over Easter. I had lectures on a Bank Holiday Monday which in England generally means everything is shut. I don't know how much longer this Christian stranglehold will have on England.
    - yarbas89 7y ago
      Yeah,.the majority of the bank holidays in Scotland are different too and some of them aren't even actual holidays by law. As in some companies will continue trading as it's not restricted. For example, one of the companies I've worked for actually rearranged bank holidays throughout their various office to ensure that some people were working within the company during any holiday.
- NeedMoreTea 7y ago
  Being old and remembering before the massive liberalisation of Sunday trading, far from wishing away the token restrictions we have left, I wish we could go back to the old way. No opening on Sunday at all unless you're on the exemption list, as it used to be. So the takeaway, ice cream seller, corner shop etc were fine to open, typical high street shops were not. It's really annoying to have every day a normal day with no distinct break. There was a distinct change of pace and feel, far, far less traffic on the roads, and a day free of annoying commerce everywhere. The whole world seemed quieter and lazier on Sunday, and thanks to the huge reduction of traffic, smelt nicer. It was the obvious day for the BBQ, day trip to the beach or theatre, the event in the local park, meet with friends etc. I miss it.
  - urbanjunkie 7y ago
    No, it was shit. Completely and totally shit.