Shopping is an activity which is enjoyed by many people. But there are also people who hate shopping and say that shopping is „a waste of time.“ But whether the people like shopping or not, they have to go to a shop, more or less frequently, to buy what they need because shopping is a neccesity.
A shop or store is a place where things are sold.

People often need to go to shops every day, because they need fresh food or toiletries, e.g. bread, milk, meat, vegetables, toilet paper or shampoo. We usually buy these products in different types of small shops, like the baker´s where we buy bread, rolls, buns(sladké pečivo, buchta) and cakes; the butcher´s where we get pork (bravčovina), beef (hovädzina), fish and poultry (hydina); and the greengrocer´s where we buy fruits and vegetables. Local shops that sell food, alcohol and magazines are called corner shops in Britain and convenience stores in the USA, where they are often open 24 hours a day. If you need to buy medicine, you can get them at the chemist´s. When we need to buy other items (položky) such as shoes, books, clothes, records or a couch we go to a shoe shop, bookshop, clothes shop or boutique or furniture shop.

We buy flowers at the florist´s, jewellery at the jeweller´s and high quality food at a delicatessen. There are lots of people who can´t imagine their day without reading the newspaper, so they go to a newsagent´s, a newsstand or a kiosk to pick up their morning paper, weekly magazine or just chewing gum.

More and more people nowadays prefer shopping in large department stores or at shopping centres. A department store is a very large shop divided into several big sections, each of which sells one type of thing, such as clothes, furniture or household appliances. Department stores are found both in city centres and the suburbs(predmestie) of towns, usually with a large car park next to them or under them. Shopping in these places has a lot of advantages: customers can get almost everything under one roof and save time not having to run from one small shop to another. Prices are usually lower in department stores, too, and there are also special sales and bargains (výhodné ponuky) at different times of the year.

Shopping centres often offer additional services, like a post office, banks offering loans (pôžičky) and insurance (poistenie) and tourist agencies. They also have restaurants and cafés where you can relax after finishing up your shopping. Some even have large cinemas and some people only go there to watch films.

Many people prefer to buy their fruits and vegetables, and even other things, at an outside market. Markets are especially popular with people at weekends. They are noisy and often overcrowded, but people can walk from stall to stall, touching and tasting products and talk to the salesman,trying to bargain and get a reduced price.

People, who work in a shop are shop assistants ,who serve customers, sell things and ring up your purchase; managers, who are in charge(pokladňa); and sometimes store detectives, who watch customers to stop them from shoplifting. Most department stores have store detectives.

Shopping is a big business nowadays. Commercials and advertisements are everywhere, in newspapers and magazines, on TV, even on buses, trams and trains. Shopping centres use special strategies, like double packaging, special offers and bargains, to try and influence customers and increase their profit.

How to save money during the shopping:

-shop only once a week
-shop alone
-eat 2 hours before you go shopping
-check the bottom of shelves as well as the higher ones