Grocery shopping in Saudi Arabia can be unique on various levels. I have written previously about the etiquette while shopping in Saudi grocery stores and now I’ll address other unique aspects that one may encounter while grocery shopping in Saudi Arabia. These aspects are unique in that it is unlikely to see or encounter such experiences in typical American grocery stores.
Grocery shopping in Saudi Arabia seems to be family occasion. In addition to the husband and wife (remember, she cannot drive herself to the grocery store), the children and housemaid will also be in accompaniment. The housemaid will either “attempt” to keep an eye on active children or push the cart while the family make their selections.
Unlike the majority of grocery stores in America, it is overall acceptable for individuals whether a child or an adult to eat or drink while shopping in the store. What I mean specifically is that these are not items which were brought with the individual into the store but items that have been taken and opened from the shelves and refrigerators during shopping. It is expected that anyone who has consumed anything while shopping will inform the cashier at checkout to be charged for the item.
While in most American grocery stores which have the option for shoppers to create their own bags of candy from a bulk candy aisle one may encounter a sign advising a charge associated with sampling any individual piece. Whereas in Saudi it is accepted for a child or adult to freely sample a few pieces. I experienced this myself when I was at a candy kiosk selecting a mixed variety of candies to share with family. I could not make up my mind so the vendor just started handing me different pieces to sample!
And of course another aspect that I have only encountered in very small specialized Halal shops in America is that in Saudi Arabia the grocery stores will indeed close down for 30 minutes during prayer times. Many of the grocery stores will request all patrons in the store at prayer time to leave the store. A minority of grocery stores will allow shoppers to remain in the store. Usually those shoppers are women, foreigners and children. The men are expected to go and pray but it is understood that some muslim women are unable to pray as they may be menstruating. And most stores that allow shoppers to remain will not challenge a westerner to leave the store during prayer.
Individuals shopping in Saudi grocery stores such as Panda or Tamimi for example should remember when 
selecting fresh fruits and vegetables to have them weighed and priced before going to the check out. There is usually a small kiosk set up in a central location to the fresh fruits and veggies with one to two individuals working who weigh and price. Whereas with the majority of American grocery stores fruits and veggies are weighed and priced at the checkout counter. I have had my own occasions when newly arrived in Riyadh forgetting about this aspect and would find myself at the checkout without having had fruits and veggies weighed and priced in advance. Fortunately the clerks have been kind and would usually have someone take my items to be weighed and priced while continuing to check out the rest of my items.
The major grocery stores such as Panda, Tamimi and others will accept debit cards. However do not count on a debit card as the sole source of payment for groceries. There have been multiple times I have been in one of the grocery stores to find that the network is down and debit cards cannot be processed.
When checking out be watchful to ensure all your bags are placed into the cart. The employees who are loading up the bags are usually from third world countries and while they have a job, their salary is on the lower end. When a shopper has many bags of groceries, sometimes (not always) a “bagger” will place a bag of groceries underneath the counter to keep for himself. This has happened to me twice during my time in Saudi and I’m aware of it happening to others as well. If you notice and remind them the bag was placed on the floor, the bagger will be apologetic and put the bag in the cart.
The bagger is usually the same individual who will assist in taking the bags to your car (or taxi). He will expect to receive a tip. If there are only a minimum number of bags (like four to six), five riyals is an adequate tip. However if you have a full cart or more than one cart full of bags, I suggest tipping ten riyals.
Segueing to additional observations in grocery stores there is usually a distinction between what one will notice in a cart of a Saudi family as compared to a Western family. Popular shopping favorites of Saudi families will include buttermilk, lebna, yogurt, olives, honey and puck (a very popular type of cream cheese). A lot of Saudi families prefer to go to a butcher shop where they will buy their cuts of meat. Bread is typically bought fresh daily from the many bread stores which abound throughout Saudi Arabia. It is actually cheaper to buy the fresh bread too! A dozen freshly made rolls cost about 3 riyals (slightly less than one US dollar!
In closing, I welcome readers to share their views on either shopping in Saudi Arabia as well as comments on the grocery shopping experiences of Saudis who are or were outside of Saudi Arabia.
Filed under: America, culture, Food, gender, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, Saudi Living, shopping, travel, Uncategorized Tagged: | America, culture, culture shock, customs, Food, gender, heritage, KSA, places, Riyadh, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs, travel
that is so interesting!!! and the photo looks like any ordinary store here…sans the abaya of course!
When my husband first came from India to the USA, (before we met) he was constantly amazed at how many choices of one thing there are… toothpaste choices alone would completely baffle him. Not to mention soda, soaps, soups, cereal…on and on. He found it a very daunting task to grocery shop due to the array of items. He was very pleased when I took over that task.
He is also a visual shopper…if it is at nose height and the label is bright and shiny and says “new and improved” on it he is sold! The other day he wanted to do me a favor and went grocery shopping for a few items. He bought 7 items,perhaps 8 and spent almost $50!!!!!!! Never mind dear…I appreciate it but if you always do the shopping we will go broke in no time. LOL! Unit pricing completely escapes him. Even my 10 year old daughter is catching on to unit pricing.
Great post. I always find things like daily living that I can relate to sooooo interesting.
Oby,
When I was in London, I too used to get baffled by the number of varieties that existed for every small grocery items such as sugar and bread – in India we don’t have that many varieties for these.
However, I never liked to shop in England for clothes or linen – I found it rather disappointing that they had huge shopping malls full of thousands of clothes but for example if you wanted a t-shirt or a bedcover, you go inside a shopping mall and find thousands of them lying around, but the choice of colours and prints was restricted – you’d get probably 3 or 4 shades and mostly pastels, black and white. In contrast, you go to a small bedcover or garments shop in India and they will show you dozens of prints and 3 or 4 different colour schemes for most of them.
I told my aunt who lives in London that the clothes markets of India are more exciting and she couldn’t understand it! You see, the Indian aesthetic taste leans towards multi-colour schemes and the brighter they are the better for an Indian – the reason why your husband goes for bright and shiny labels. I wonder if he has the same approach towards clothes as I did in London or if you have more colourful choices in clothes in the US.
But there was an American man in London who wore his bright Hawaiian shirts and I wore my colourful dresses and sure enough, we were the only colourful ones on the streets of London!
I have to admit that when I was living in Pakistan and India and make it back to the states, I’d find myself feeling overwhelmed by all the choices at the US supermarkets!
We think it is horrible how they sack the groceries. If you are not watching carefully they will only put one or two items in a bag. We have gotten the large reusable bags from Tamimi’s but in Yanbu I think we are the only ones using reusable bags! We had an argument with the security at Panda who did not want us to take the bags into the store, until management was called.
Also I do try to pay for the food my daughter has eaten in the store and a lot of the time they will not charge us for it. I have also let her eat food in the stores in America when we are home for the summer and have never had a problem with it. Shopping in Saudi does make it an adventure. My husband and I both work so we usually have to fight prayer time to go to the store, we divide and conquer,- he goes and gets all the produce so it can be weighed and I begin the rest of the shopping.
Oh, you’re meant to tip the men packing your groceries? The one time I have bought groceries here in Riyadh (last week) the packing man did a terrible job and put 5 items in 5 separate bags. I ended up having to repack everything anyway. I’m not from a tipping culture so I never feel obliged to tip someone offering me a service.
I wish I’d known I could open food and drink tho. I was dying for some water but thought it might be inappropriate. I did see that often a box of icecreams or biscuits had been ripped open even tho there was no single unit prices. That might explain it.
Coming from Australia, where I take my re-usable bags to the shops all the time, it doesn’t feel right using so many plastic bags. But then I’ve also been conditioned now to feel a pang of guilt when I throw a plastic bottle in the normal garbage. I don’t know if I’ll get over that fully.
I’ve also been aghast at the number of plastic bags they use, often with just one or two items. Since I’m normally using a cab or (gasp) the 2-riyal jitney, having numerous bags is bothersome to keep track of.
I typically shop at Tamimi, partly to get the comfort food I’m used to from back in Arizona — like Ritz crackers, chunky chicken/vegetable soup and Colby cheese — but I frequent the Panda too and generally hit the mini-marts every other day for milk, juice, ice cream bars or the odd cleaning supply. However, I don’t see the family affair aspect. I rarely see children and the women are usually shopping by themselves.
For those not familiar with the Saudi culture, I should point out that while there may be numerous women in the store, never ever is eye contact made among the abaya-clad ladies and the male shoppers. I was in a big mall the other day with hundreds of women and I think I could count on zero fingers the number of women who looked at me.
The advice about ATM cards is valid, too. Except for the major hypermarket-type stores, you can never count on a debit card transaction working. And, since it takes extra time, the checker will usually be checking the next person in line simultaneously. Meanwhile, bag after bag is stacking up from both customers. And just hope that you didn’t pick up anything without a bar code, which typically invokes mass confusion among 3 or 4 people as someone has to find the same item on the shelf, the bagger has to continue bagging items from the next person in line or even the person after, the clerk has to shuffle numerous receipts and at least one other store employee has to flit around.
Interesting,
I have not lived in KSA but I have lived in the two Gulf countries. I must say I loved the variety and set up. Not only could you find brands from the US but from all over the world.
One place I used to love to shop is the Co-Op. The food there is primarily of local taste and it is good and well priced. I remember buying peanut butter and it was not Skippy of Jeff but some generaric brand. On the bottom of the label it said, “product of Saudi Arabia”. I have to say, it was the best peanut butter I have ever had in my life.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by freshfruits and Tweet 4 All, Papitos Place. Papitos Place said: Grocery Shopping Peculiarities in Saudi Arabia « American Bedu: There is usually a small kiosk set up in a cent.. http://bit.ly/60Jzhe [...]
good points made by all! And many times I do intercede and tell the bagger how I like my bags to be packed. Another thing to really watch for is the eggs too. Most are not in a sturdy container to begin with and then depending how they are packed, it can be touch and go on whether you make it home with them in all one piece.
Another tip…be sure and ask the Tamimi’s manager on whether they provide free transport for customers. The Tamimi across from KSU in Riyadh will provide free transport to/from however a small tip is expected for the driver.
@Daisy…
I have been to India 5 or 6 times and in fact got married there. My mom/dad were there for the ceremony(which is a post unto itself) The thing that we were constantly amazed by was the VIBRANCY of colors…it is almost impossible to explain to someone who has never been there. The colors were the most brilliant shades of green, blue, saffron, vermillion, purple and every color in between…so vivid that it almost hurt the eyes…no two saris are alike and the variety of desins on the fabric is mind boggling!!!! We couldn’t get enough of it. My mom and I LOVED to go sari shopping. And the really cool thing was that we had our clothes espceially made and needed a dupatta in the shade and couldn’t find it….we were directed to buy a white one and have it dyed. We went to this little stall down some twisty tiny street. They looked at the Salwar Kameez and the dye master began adding dyes to the brew. He stired and added a pinch more and dropped the dupatta in…I can’t remember if we came back to get it or not but it was the PERFECT shade when we got it back! while there we watched two boys, apparently apprentices, standing in front of the shop holding the ends of another dupatta between them and by waving it with really graceful arms with the dupatta stretched between them they dried it in the air.
Another time we went into a fabric shop with the entire family….that is something that it took some getting used to…it takes 8 family members to make a decision about the smallest things. My American individualism really learned to take a back seat to the “family decision making process” when I am there. We sat in front of a raised platform upon which a man whose job it was to show us the fabric choices sat. He had a helper who stood there with his arm out to receive the draped fabrics…my mother in law and aunties would point to the huge wall of bolts of fabric and the man would pull it out and unroll several yards and drape it over the helpers arm. There would be some intense conversation back and forth in Hindi betwen my women family members and then it was summarily rejected. I was astounded that this went on for a long time with the bolts of fabric getting higher and higher and NO ONE made a squeak that they were taking too long or taking out too much fabric. In the end they rejected all of it and I almost fainted! All that effort and they didn’t buy anything. My husband to be assured me it was OK, but I was embarrassed. NOW I would be perfectly OK with it and realize it is normal…That type of service is unimaginable in the USA.
Huge amounts of fun and I LOVE India now…although I will admit when I got off the plane by myself days prior to my wedding and saw India for the very first time, I stood there blinking at the throngs of people and all the spicy smells and the cacaphony of noise from every direction, I was pretty intimidated and scared, but it all worked out pretty well!
Oby,
Yes, a lot of Western people get scared on their first visit to see large crowds everywhere in India – they are not used to seeing so many people and the cacophony! I did enjoy very much London which I found very peaceful, very clean and not very hot like India. I am glad you enjoy clothes shopping in India – it can be an extraordinary experience!
Daisy
You are right about being used to things. When my mother in law came to America to visit she was very suprised that there were no people out walking along the side of the roads or even on the sidewalks. She had the same feeling as me but in the reverse! LOL! It was too quiet for her…but she got used to it just like I got used to the crowds in India. Now I sort of like it and I think it would feel weird if there weren’t people every where.
Great post!
I do have a question though, okay so at the Hyperpand…not all, but 2 I’ve gone too, when I’ve gotten up to the checkout with my cart the bagger tries to unload my cart. This irritates me because…I’m not incapacitated in any way, I can obviously unload my own cart. Maybe because of the abayaah and niqab they think I’m Saudi and so wouldn’t want to unload my own cart, but I’m not…so I’ll do it.
anyway…what then happens is like a minute of back and forth where I gesture to the guy to stop unloading my cart and me saying “la, la” over and over… The first time this happened I almost fought with the bagger and then just gave up, but I’m pretty sure the checkout guy added a few extra riyals to my bill for the bagger unloading my cart. ??
Its VERY aggravating. I dont need help unloading my cart…
This hasnt happened at Carrefour, Tamimi or the other Hyperpanda in the area
anyone have any clues as to why the cart unloading? Also what can I say in Arab to make them refrain from doing a cart unload?
That’s interesting Umm Ibrahim. I’ve found that the checker unloads my cart about every time unless my husband is in front of it and choosing to do it.
I would just tell him something like… “la, la enta. ana oreed. mafi mishkalah.” It’s very simple…just, no no. I want. no problem.
And I do not believe the bills should be altered in any way as to whether a checker assisted or not.
That la la was the most used word in my vocabulary
that followed by vigourous nodding of my ehad and gesturing with my hands .
This is wonderful post, very practical, saved for future reference…
and, la la, does it mean No No ? or it’s ok, it’s simple?…
nice…u know on http://www.ted.com there is an old video about the paradox of choice, worth checking out! i love how the speaker explains how with so many choices we become overwhelmed. i certainly do at times while shopping! and so do my two little ones who go with me!
by the way Umm Ibrahim: i shop at Carrefour and the bagger always tries to unload my cart but only does so because the cashier tells him to. i often shop with my little ones so just assumed it was their way of helping out the mommy so to speak. but i do agree with you, i don’t like it either and just firmly tell him “mahoob laazim, khalaas”, (not necessary, enough!) and that’s enough to make the man return to his bagging duties.
as for you being charged for the unloading, that seems really odd. i would definitely go straight to the customer service desk on that one before leaving the store! i know sometimes the receipts can be difficult to decipher if it is in arabic but carrefour will provide you with an english receipt if you request it. and it is worth it to review the receipt before leaving the store or sometime later at home to ensure u weren’t overcharged on particular items. i have been overcharged many times but it was actually due to the cashier scanning items one too many times or items not ringing up at the advertised price. just do what i do and keep your eyes glued to the screen when they’re ringing up your things and stop them immediately when you see a mistake. also, did u know they can add a “sadaqah” or charity charge to your bill? they usually do ask you first and it is clearly noted on the receipt if that were the case.
hope u get it sorted………..
What I found to be confusing when I first arrived was that if the cashier does not have enough change for small change, you the shopper will be given a pack of gum instead. At first I balked at that feeling like the cashier was trying to stick me with unwanted gum but then I learned that it is just the custom!
I got given change last night by the cashier at Al Jazeera. What on earth am I going to do with it?! I’d prefer gum and I don’t even like chewing gum.
I can tell the whole extra bagging thing is going to become a constant annoyance for me. They obviously don’t realise that I have to then carry those 15 bags upstairs to my apartment!
Its funny tho because an often annoyance in Aus is the cashiers putting the wrong things like your meat and washing powder in the same bag. Here they’re very well trained not to put any two items that aren’t alike in the same bag. heh.
Thank you all for the great advice and words to use for the checkout. I was just at Carrefour this morning and it was a mess…as usual. LOL…I will definetly request an English recipt from now-on because my arabic reading skills sans harakaat is pretty nil.
Spkg of which Stacy…I agree about the overpacking! I always try to bring these big reusable bags from Tamimi (Tamimi, btw has the best reusable bags, they r huge, sturdy, have snap closures and the handles have rods in them) and I have a lot of heavy items and stuff and I gave the checkout guy the 3 big tamimi bags and asked him to use those and ofcourse to use plastic bags if anythingt doesnt fit. Well, the guy stuffed EVERYTHING into TWO of the bags! yeah, didnt even use the 3rd or put any into plastic bags. I was dumbfounded…Sure there is the assumption that Im going to have someone carry those bags for me to “the car” and ofcourse take them “inside the house” and someone will maybe even unpack those further, so I wont have to bother with them.
BUT, reality is, I have to lug those suckers onto a compound bus and then walk them to our apartment and up to the 2nd floor! hah and DH is on Hajj, so It’s just me and my son lugging them up.
So I inevitably had to repack everything so each bag was reasonably weighted.
yeah the bag packing skills are atrocious here, what can I say to get them to pack everything reasonably and not just stick everything and the kitchen sink in 1 or 2 bags?
Ohhh, the gum thing NOW makes sense!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was always like? what? gum? why?
Yes, sometimes I have to instruct the baggers not to pack things with too much of one kind in one bag. The bags are doubled but still it is a risk.