Retail: A Personal Response

Over the past couple of months, I thoroughly enjoyed researching and observing the differences among retail markets all across Europe, especially in Germany and Italy. Before arriving in Vienna, I would have never thought that the retail industries and shopping habits of Europeans could be so different than that of what I was accustomed to. However, almost immediately I was drawn to a large number of Billas, Apothekes, and Strucks rather than Targets, CVS pharmacies, and Dunkin Donuts. Personally, it was eye-opening to immerse myself in and experience the differences among the shopping centers, malls, and shops of Europe.

Sometimes shopping may seem like a monotonous task, a simple chore, or a universalized concept. During my couple of months studying this topic, I was immersed in something much different than what I was used to. The “bigger is better” and “one-stop shopping” that are traditional within my own landscape are virtually nonexistent in Europe. There is a reason stores like Target, Costco, and Walmart kept within the borders of North America. It isn’t that they don't have an interest in taking over European markets, but as Europeans simply wouldn’t ever shop at them. This may be hard to understand as an American, but sometimes cultural differences never make sense to an outsider. One thing that my own cultural landscape and what I experienced in Germany have in common deal with discount retail. Near my home there is an outlet mall/discount retail center. It is somewhere that I shop frequently to get nice clothing at a good price. I think it is also interesting to compare many of the same discount stores that I shop at back at home, to ones that are common here as well. These include Aldi, Tj Maxx, and H&M. I think that sometimes finding commonalities among differing cultures is the only way to realize the differences that also exist.

Not only was it cool to observe the differences in retail culture, but it was also interesting to watch myself change over the course of this semester. At the beginning of the semester I was unsure how I was going to approach this project. As much as I love business related topics, the idea of stepping out and interviewing professionals worried me. At first, I tried to do more research on my topics and cultures, rather than step out and experience it first hand. As the semester went on, I became more comfortable approaching people and asking them a variety of questions relating to shopping habits, malls, and retail thoughts. By the conclusion of my comparative analysis in Italy, I was excited to see that I had finally found distinct differences among Germany and Italy. I attribute this to me being able to branch out and discover first hand the differences among the retail cultures of Germany and Italy.

Something that I think is unique to the U.S. are Christian owned, managed, affiliated, or sponsored businesses. Sometimes that Christian affiliation doesn’t have anything to do with the actual business, but immediately you know that it is a trustworthy and reputable business. For example, at home one of the hardware stores in my town is owned by a Christian family. Since my family is aware of this, they are more likely to support the small Christian, family-owned business rather than the local Ace Hardware chain. Despite still having some Christian presence, I can't say this is also true in Germany or Italy. Even with amazing places like the ministry in Berlin, it seems like many people are content with just self-identifying as a Christian, rather than living it out. For example, in Poland we also discussed how almost everyone is born Catholic, however it doesn’t really mean anything beyond that. In Germany we learned that Christianity does not carry a good reputation with local law enforcement and government. Stricter laws and regulations were put into place when Germany began to take in hundreds of thousands of refugees. Although the only German immersion we had took place in Berlin, I imagine that this is similar elsewhere. I think one thing I took for granted before this trip was the constant faith-filled community around me, whether it was at Bethel, in my home, or out and about it my town.

To conclude, I found my analysis into this particular topic extremely rewarding. I think that by focusing my search solely on the retail industry within Europe, I was actually able to learn and comprehend more of what was happening and taking place around me. As a business student, it was also rewarding for to integrate much of what I’ve already learned with new theories and ideas that I am learning in my communications classes. I think culture is a difficult topic to study because it needs to be experienced rather than read about. I hope that the experiences I was able to take in through analysis will continue to benefit me and my worldviews in the future.