When you're shopping, it's time to make friends!

Près de la moitié des Français se sont déjà faits des amis en faisant leurs courses Mr Vito/Getty Images

Inflation, promotion ou shrinkflation…. On a coutume d'aborder la question de la consommation uniquement sous le prisme des prix. Pourtant, fréquenter les magasins arbore une tout autre dimension, celle de créer du lien entre les consommateurs ou avec les vendeurs. Décryptage.

Do you know the pineapple technique to meet your soulmate ? It's the trend that's been all the rage in Spain since this summer and that everyone's been talking about since the start of the school year. The principle: when you go shopping, turn the exotic fruit over, taking care to put the leaves at the bottom to show that you're available and looking for a partner.

This “trick” only works if you go to a supermarket between 7pm and 8pm. As crazy as it may be, this new “trend” on social networks that generates a lot of reaction demonstrates how the shopping time is not only a mass consumption event, but also includes a social dimension.

Social role

For almost all French people (94%), physical commerce does indeed play a social role between consumers, reveals the Observatoire Société & Consommation (l'ObSoCo) and Galimmo*. The proof: 48% of respondents admit to having formed friendships with their retailers. But this can also concern other customers. In short, consumers have already made new friends while pushing a cart. This is particularly true for seniors (57%).

And we are not only talking about small neighborhood shops, but also large-scale distribution and all kinds of physical purchasing channels. While 60% of French people visit a shopping center at least once a month, 87% of French people consider that shops encourage exchanges between different generations, or between consumers of different origins and cultures (82%).

While loneliness has been identified for several years as a scourge weighing on mental health, this observatory demonstrates the power of an act as banal as doing their shopping: 57% believe they feel less alone thanks to shops. For example, shopkeepers may greet regulars by name (36%), especially those aged 45-54 and 65-75.

*This survey was conducted among a sample of 1,000 people representative of the French population aged 18 and over, interviewed from July 15 to 24, 2024.