How did people do their shopping before there were supermarkets?

Answer 1

People lived in villages and would probably be self sufficient possibly having a local store. People kept livestock and grew their own vegetables, Fishing is a possibility and possibly hunting, although keeping livestock was probably easier...

Answer 2

It depends what you mean by 'used to'. I grew up in the '50's before there were any supermarkets in Britain, and I even remember when we didn't have a fridge. Shopping had to be done daily, and on foot. (No-one in the kind of place I lived, a big city with large working class areas, had a car). There were separate small shops for each kind of food: butchers, bakers, greengrocers, general grocers for dry goods and the less than appetising-sounding wet fish shop. As I remember that last one, the goods were displayed on a large, sloping marble slab open to the street, and the only refrigeration was packing ice. You could get the bus into the city centre and visit the indoor market or the more up-market grocers. The only take away was the fish and chip shop.

Later on the first supermarkets came along. The first one I remember was in the early 1960's and was more what we'd call a mini-market today. It seemed really odd to walk round and pick things up for your basket instead of going to a counter and asking for them. There was far less choice than now, no frozen food, no ready meals, no 27 different kinds of cheddar or boiled ham, no out-of-season fruit and vegetables. It must have been into the '70's by the time I saw sweet peppers, satsumas, or even garlic. (Though I'm sure that was exacerbated by lack of opportunities and imagination engendered by my upbringing). Things we regard as cheap foods now were expensive then and vice-versa. (Chicken was something we only had at Christmas.)Thanks for this question, it's made me appreciate anew what I have.

Answer 3

people grew their own vegetables and butchered their own animals or they traded goods