I find supermarkets fascinating for their cultural significance. Living in the UK we have a range of supermarkets with radically different feelings to them, and

I find supermarkets fascinating for their cultural significance. Living in the UK we have a range of supermarkets with radically different feelings to them, and travelling to Australia quite a lot their supermarkets also have differences but on seemingly quite different axes. From reading about supermarkets in America I get the impression they've very different again. Here there's a very clear class divide, with places like Asda being packed full, small aisles, aggressive advertising of discounts, gaudy visuals, poor customer service, and low prices... and then places like Waitrose with quiet stores, spacious aisles, tasteful marketing, less marketing, notably good service, and high prices. But then you get places like Aldi that buck the trend and define their service with a different set of trade-offs. The brand positioning of different chains and how that flows into the in store experience and quality/selection of products is fascinating and deeply tied into class issues and in some cases race and religious issues. For some it does lack dignity, but not for all, and not even just for those who can afford it.