{"id":719,"date":"2024-08-30T20:46:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T23:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesouthernshelter.com\/?p=719"},"modified":"2024-09-12T20:49:28","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T23:49:28","slug":"shopping-and-the-middle-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesouthernshelter.com\/es\/shopping-and-the-middle-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Shopping and the Middle Class"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shopping in Uruguay, particularly outside the two large population centers of Montevideo and Maldonado \/ Punta del Este, is a different experience than contemporary shopping in the West. Most notably, the absence of \u201cbig box\u201d stores means that many trips to various stores are needed in place of the \u201cone-stop-shop\u201d.<\/h3>\r\n

While your time will suffer as a consequence, I would like to highlight the overwhelming benefit you will gain with the loss of convenience.<\/p>\r\n

One, middle class.<\/strong> Uruguay has the largest middle class in Latin America <\/strong>and while the middle class is being hollowed out in the United States as monopolistic powers grow and eat up ever more market share, Uruguay has numerous families able to earn a living because of the store they own and operate.<\/strong> The wealth is not concentrated in the hands of a few large stores and those who own them.<\/p>\r\n

Two, connections,<\/strong> because the owner of the store is often in the store that you visit, they will come to know you and you them. <\/strong>Without putting too fine a point on it, this is precisely the network of human bonds that create strong communities.<\/strong> People behave differently when others know them and they know there will be a future encounter. You might think of it as a self-enforcing politeness mechanism. Conversely, in the anonymous world of big box stores (and worse with online shopping), treating employees and other shoppers in a way lacking humanity unfortunately increasingly becomes the norm.<\/p>\r\n

Three, choice,<\/strong> because there are so many individuals plying their trade in retail commerce as a buyer you have an increased number of options. Your business simply matters more to the store and given that you may be interacting with the owner, it\u2019s not hard to understand why you can feel the increased significance you have to that enterprise and the marketplace.<\/strong> You can choose who to spend money with.<\/p>\r\n\n\t\t