Покупки

any country and its culture. In the Near East, bargaining is a part of tradition and a kind of art. In Russia we more often pay in cash while in Western Europe cards are more common and shoppers even get a discount if they hay in cash.
Shopping for food is less exciting but may be more essential. One can choose between small groceries and big food shops, chain stores and supermarkets. In contrast to small shops they are more spacious and well laid out, with the goods arranged tidily and attractively on long lines of shelves and in refrigerator units. A bewildering multitude of signs, posters and advertising displays draw the attention of customers to this or that product or "special offer". Because of their big size big stores are able to offer a much wider selection of good than their small competitors and at a lower price.
So they are large, efficient, well organized and modern but at the same time somewhat soulless and impersonal. Nevertheless very few people feel nostalgic about the time when there were neither supermarkets nor food on the shelves of local shops.