00:00 Taking a trip to your big supermarket tonight, you might be in the mood for a big food shop
00:07 or for just a little therapeutic mooch because research has found that we Brits love a look
00:12 around a big shop. Now 2023 marks 75 years since the opening of the first ever convenience
00:18 shop. That first ever shop was the Co-op and looks fairly different to the ones we recognise
00:23 nowadays. Perhaps a turning point in community and society, back then a customer would hand
00:28 their shopping list to the shopkeeper who would then gather the shopping. And the convenience
00:34 store was so revolutionary that how to shop had to be explained to shoppers. Yeah, really.
00:40 Researchers since found a quarter of us just love to live next to a shop. And talking to
00:46 TV presenter Cherry Healy, we discussed what is the affinity with supermarkets?
00:51 There's something primitive about going out and searching for our foods. You know, a long,
00:56 long time ago, we'd go out and we'd search for berries and people would hunt. And I think
01:00 that hasn't really left us. I think we like to go and see our food and choose our food
01:05 and give the avocado a squeeze and find deals and bargains. That's the part of the kind
01:11 of hunter gatherer process. And so with convenience, even, you know, I'm not a tech phobe and I
01:16 love modern technology and having a being able to do a big online shop is a wonderful
01:21 thing for so many people. But personally, I love a convenience store.
01:26 And when it comes to the typical jaunt to the supermarket, can it too be valued as something
01:30 to boost that sense of community?
01:32 I actually think it's become a really important part of community. We don't really use community
01:37 halls, I would say, in the way that we used to. But most people will go into their convenience
01:42 store and they will have human interaction of some description, which for some people
01:47 is a lifeline during the day. And I remember when I had really little kids and I, you know,
01:52 you feel quite isolated sometimes. Going into shops and having an interaction with people
01:56 was really welcome. And also often there's like a pinboard on the wall and that tells
02:03 people about volunteer projects and people who want to connect with other people. It's
02:09 become a really important part of society. Yeah, it's taken the place of a community
02:15 hub.
02:16 And while it hasn't come a long way since 1948, the convenience store continues to undergo
02:19 constant change.
02:20 I think for some people doing a big online shop is the way that they prefer to do it.
02:25 But for me, because it's just me and my son, it doesn't make sense to do a great big online
02:29 shop. And I find that there's a bag of lettuce that's going off at the back of the fridge.
02:34 Actually it makes much more monetary sense for me and him to do the school run. We go
02:38 to the shop, we choose something we love. We have that to eat. Leftovers, yes, maybe
02:43 we'll make it for two nights. But essentially we don't waste anything. We don't waste a
02:47 single drop. And also we really enjoy it. And I'm teaching him about food and he gets
02:52 excited about what we're having for supper when we talk about it. And it becomes a really
02:56 beautiful part of our routine.
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