Shopping now
Today, many people go to a large supermarket to do their shopping.
Lots of people also shop online using the internet and have things delivered straight to their homes.
Where did people shop in the past?
Shopping was different in the past. People did not have fridges or freezers at home. This meant they had to go to the shops more frequently.
There was often a particular shop that sold each kind of food.
On a street in a town, you would go to:
Image caption, A butcher's shop to buy meat.
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Shopping during World War Two
Prime Minister Winston Churchill's ration book from 1941.
- In World War Two, shopping changed. People could only buy a small amount of things like butter, meat and sugar. This was called rationing.
- Everyone had a ration book, even the Prime Minister and the King and Queen.
- Sometimes the outside of a cake was made of cardboard with a much smaller cake inside. This was because the rations didn’t give people enough ingredients to make a proper cake!
- Some food was not rationed. People were asked to grow vegetables in their gardens.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill's ration book from 1941.
The Supermarket
A supermarket in the 1960s.
- When supermarkets arrived in Britain, people could choose their food from shelves in the shop for the first time. Before then, you had to ask a shopkeeper for the food you wanted.
- The first supermarket opened in 1948 in Britain. They became more popular in the 1970s.
- Many of the popular supermarket chains started as market stalls.
- People would shop less often. This was because more people had fridges to store food longer. They also had cars to carry the food home.
Activities
Activity 1: Find the shop
Activity 2: Shopping quiz
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