Among 55-64 year-olds and 65-75 year-olds, this share rises to almost six out of ten people (57%), according to this study by the Society and Consumption Observatory (ObSoCo) and the Galimmo property company.
Supermarkets, bakeries and other butchers, an underestimated vector of social ties? This is in any case what emerges from a study on the subject published Friday and carried out by the Observatoire Société et Consommation (ObSoCo) and the Galimmo real estate company. We learn in fact that shops are not only the place where we shop, but that they also allow us to build relationships. Nearly one in two French people (48%) say they have already created friendships with other customers or shopkeepers while shopping.
“This social dimension is particularly strong among seniors and caregivers, two expanding demographic groups”the study highlights. Among 55-64 and 65-75 year-olds, this share rises to nearly six out of ten people (57%), while it is still 39% among 18-24 year-olds. Among caregivers, i.e. those people who provide assistance to a loved one because of their age, illness, or disability, nearly six out of ten (59%) also made friends on this occasion.
Also readMarket, supermarket, discount… where do groceries really cost the least?
Influence on quality of life
It is therefore not surprising to learn, still in this study (conducted online from July 15 to 24, 2024, with a sample of 1,000 people representative of the population of metropolitan France aged 18 to 75), that stores are real places of exchange. Seven out of ten respondents indicate that they sometimes strike up a conversation with salespeople, with other customers in the store, or that the shopkeepers recognize them and greet them by name. With, for each of these three items, a third of respondents who say that this happens to them “often” or “always”.
The attachment of the French to their small businesses is therefore particularly to be found on this social side. Proof of the importance of these places, seven out of ten French people (71%) say that the businesses in their city positively influence their quality of life. “This factor is important regardless of age since it is recognized by 69% to 74% of respondents depending on the age group”completes the study.
More than one in two respondents (57%) also confide that these places allow them to feel less alone where they live. And for more than half (52%), they also have an influence on the decision to come and settle in a city or not to leave. However, “the shopping center remains central in the purchasing journey”the survey notes, since 60% of French people visit it at least once a month, an increase of 2 points compared to the first wave of this barometer last year.
Related News :