In many large shopping malls, items can cost more than in small stores or local chain supermarkets. Occasionally online purchases prove pricier than in-person shopping as well. A striking pattern appears with essentials like sanitary pads and white paper, which at the start of March can fetch prices well above the stalls in marketplaces. Since then, staples such as pasta, flour, cereals, soap, and other local goods have tended to rise in price in big stores compared with smaller outlets.
What seems to be unfolding is a springtime shift that nudged consumer goods toward the older, smaller retail format or shifted purchase behavior to a compromise with it. A sequence of events appears to have pushed prices higher in department stores, at least for everyday items.
For many families, trips to hypermarkets have become less appealing. They feel inconvenient and not cost-effective. The author of this reflection recalls the ambivalence of leaving a sprawling store with a heavy load in cold weather, and notes that despite regular trips to the city from rural areas, hypermarkets have fallen out of favor. There is little incentive left to make the trek.
Heading to a large hypermarket often feels more laborious than visiting three smaller grocery outlets, and it does not replace them because fresh sour cream, bread, and milk are still needed when not produced at home.
There was a time when families kept goats, baked bread, and stocked butter, cottage cheese, cheese, and sour cream at home, which reduced the need for frequent store visits—an arrangement that is not common for most urban dwellers or rural households today.
Today, many households no longer raise livestock or bake daily. Bread machines break, and the certainty of cooking at home wanes. It becomes clear that the purpose of a hypermarket run has shifted. Fresh needs remain, but the perception of value changes as prices rise for pasta, oatmeal, and dairy in hypermarkets compared with smaller, local shops. The overall product range has contracted, too. While some exotic items might still appear on shelves, the assortment has diminished, making rare finds and familiar staples harder to come by.
Imagine grappling with a shopping trip before a traffic jam, circling parking lots for a space, wandering aisles to discover products rearranged, and then dragging purchases home through a long day. In a rural setting, even loading groceries onto a porch lightens the task only a little. The constant question remains: why buy more when a nearby small shop offers similar local products? In Veliky Novgorod, for example, large chains rarely stock local goods at equal or better prices, while a nearby village store often provides a wider range of fresh items—sourced locally—that adapt to daily needs. A preference emerges to shop in smaller chains for dairy, eggs, and chicken, and to obtain bread from a local bakery. The journey back from a hypermarket can feel longer than the advantage it once offered, especially when the price of familiar items climbs and the selection shrinks.
Earlier, the perception was that hypermarkets offered lower prices and broader choices. Now, the question is whether the extra effort and time spent in large retail are worthwhile. The remaining appeal of large, standalone hypermarkets outside a major mall lies in avoiding the mall experience, yet many families still end up at the mall for a day that blends shopping with family time, meals, and errands. The experience can feel exhausting rather than liberating, a sentiment that highlights the mismatch between convenience promises and daily realities.
The large-format model of retail, which displaced numerous smaller shops, appears less compatible with current consumer needs. The convenience of nearby stores with reasonable prices remains appealing, especially when these options offer familiarity and quick access to essentials.
Finland presents a contrasting example where small shops have largely disappeared, with minimal kiosks found only in tourist zones. In the mid-2010s, most shoppers relied on hypermarkets located on city outskirts. Yet in recent years there has been a noticeable return to local retailers, as convenience and price parity encourage people to choose small stores again. The trend suggests that when prices are comparable or lower in smaller shops, consumers will favor them over grand retail complexes.
The same pattern extends to online shopping. Time spent comparing products, reading reviews, and evaluating fit can rival, or even exceed, the effort required for in-person purchases. Shopping online often involves waiting for delivery, deciphering complex checkout steps, and juggling multiple delivery points. Even a single product review, whether for clothing or cosmetics, can influence the decision-making process differently online than in-store, where hands-on evaluation is possible in seconds.
People report that orders can arrive with mismatches or mis deliveries. A missing item, incorrect size, or a wrong product can require chat support, photo proofs, refunds, and a new pickup or delivery that disrupts plans. The experience of buying items like earthenware, large pots, or boots online has shown that sizes and quality may vary, and returns can be cumbersome. In some cases, reconciliation stretches over days, and the user ends up handling additional transportation to retrieve replacements.
Financial tools tied to purchases, such as loyalty cards and phone-number-based discounts, can be a mixed bag. They offer meaningful savings on frequent purchases like hardware supplies during intense build seasons but yield modest returns for everyday items such as toothpaste or hand cream. As a result, a shopper may accumulate multiple loyalty cards without achieving substantial, consistent savings, especially when the most valuable discounts are tied to larger purchases or specific product categories.
Overall, the observed shifts in shopping habits point to a growing reality: the promise of hypermarkets as a universal time-saver is oversold. Many people discover that the total time and effort spent navigating large stores or collecting online promotions can exceed the benefits. The takeaway is simple yet powerful: for daily needs, a mix of nearby neighborhood stores and selective online shopping can preserve time, ensure freshness, and avoid overpaying for comfort. By year-end, the appeal of visiting hypermarkets is likely to shrink for many buyers as they return to more practical, local shopping patterns that prioritize cost control and efficiency over grandiose retail experiences.
The perspective presented here reflects a personal view and may not represent the stance of editors or other contributors.