Sunday Shopping

[schmenke]

(Thanks Donks :p : )

Simple question really, are shops open on Sundays in your country/state/province/city/hamlet?
Are there any other days of the week where shopping is restricted? What are the typical store hours?

Pretty much 7 days per week around here. I think shops are closed only on Christmas day.
Banks are closed on weekends though, as are perhaps some “specialty” stores.
Shops typically open at 9:00am and close at 9:00pm.
All far more than schmenke needs :mark:

[EuroTroll]

Pretty much 7 days a week here also. Grocery stores and supermarkets mostly open at 9 am and close at 10 pm, speciality stores at 10 am and 9 pm. Public holidays generally bring shorter hours.

No complaints. :cool:

[BDunnell]

In Germany, a few small shops are permitted to open on Sundays, and there are certain occasions during the year when it is generally permitted here in Berlin (I assume this goes for other cities as well) especially in the run-up to Christmas, but one would never describe it as Sunday trading as I know it from the UK, where pretty much everything is open seven days a week. I can get by, but it does require a certain degree of meal planning.

[ioan]

Very few shops open on Sunday in Austria, only family owned shops where only family members work.
This is to protect the employee from being forced to work on Sundays. Also Saturdays almost all shops close at 18:00.

[Mark]

In England & Wales shops can open for 6 hours on a Sunday if their floor space is above 280sq mtrs. Typically this means opening 10-4 for supermarkets and 11-5 for other shops. Smaller 'corner shop' size establishments can open as long as they like.

No opening at all is permitted on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday.

Scotland has unrestricted hours.

Not sure what Northern Ireland is like but I was surprised to arrive in Belfast at 11am and find everything closed.

[Jag_Warrior]

Where I grew up, we had "Blue Laws". It wasn't legal to sell alcohol or anything that could be used to do labor (drills, tools, etc.). I remember a local store getting fined for selling an extension cord. I think some parts of the south still have Blue Laws. But many communities have now been taken over by Walmart, so these days laws are decided by the Walmart headquarters. As far as I know, there is no law (state or federal) that prohibits a store from being open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

It's interesting to see that there are still similar laws in other countries though.

[Mark]

In the England the government is going to relax the Sunday trading laws for 8 weeks over Summer because of the Olympics.

[tfp]

In England & Wales shops can open for 6 hours on a Sunday if their floor space is above 280sq mtrs. Typically this means opening 10-4 for supermarkets and 11-5 for other shops. Smaller 'corner shop' size establishments can open as long as they like.

No opening at all is permitted on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday.

Scotland has unrestricted hours.

Not sure what Northern Ireland is like but I was surprised to arrive in Belfast at 11am and find everything closed.

You can still buy most things from garages/service stations in the middle of the night even on christmas - I bought a pair of wooly gloves and a pie at 9pm last christmas :p

[BDunnell]

You can still buy most things from garages/service stations in the middle of the night even on christmas - I bought a pair of wooly gloves and a pie at 9pm last christmas :p

As gifts or for yourself?

[BDunnell]

In the England the government is going to relax the Sunday trading laws for 8 weeks over Summer because of the Olympics.

Yes, so I see. What joy that will bring.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I find it quite remarkable that any Sunday trading was banned up until 1994.

[tfp]

As gifts or for yourself?

Oh yes, the pie made a nice change from turkey :D

[BDunnell]

I find it quite remarkable that any Sunday trading was banned up until 1994.

Am I right in thinking that horse racing was only permitted on Sundays around that time as well, having previously not been possible owing to restrictions on Sunday betting?

[Jag_Warrior]

I think it was the great American philosopher, Richard Pryor, who in the 1970's said, "in America, you can get something to eat 24 hours a day - as long as you have money... or a pistol."

[Dave B]

Am I right in thinking that horse racing was only permitted on Sundays around that time as well, having previously not been possible owing to restrictions on Sunday betting?

There were all manner of weird restrictions in the early days, leading to one DIY chain selling apples (quite legally) for £80 but throwing in a free power drill. :crazy:

With regard to the proposed changes, I have no strong opinion one way or the other, but surely the Sunday Trading laws were debated and voted on in parliament, this being a democracy and everything. What right has the Chancellor got to change this law without proper process? Surely it's beyond the remit of a budget statement.

[Mark]

With regard to the proposed changes, I have no strong opinion one way or the other, but surely the Sunday Trading laws were debated and voted on in parliament, this being a democracy and everything. What right has the Chancellor got to change this law without proper process? Surely it's beyond the remit of a budget statement.

It is; yes. The intent is introduce emergency legislation to implement the change. This will of course require a vote in parliament.

[donKey jote]

I think it was the great American philosopher, Richard Pryor, who in the 1970's said, "in America, you can get something to eat 24 hours a day - as long as you have money... or a pistol."
That's one of the things that certainly stand out: the amount of food outlets !

[yodasarmpit]

Very limited restrictions here in Scotland, other than reduced hours in which alcohol can be sold.

[pino]

The only thing I have bought in the middle of the night from a petrol station is.... Well you know.

...a Ferrari t-shirt ? :up: :p :