Imagine this: it’s your first Sunday in Paris. Sunny, clear skies: perfect weather to stroll around, grab a bite to eat, and do some window shopping. Maybe even buy something, should you see that perfect piece of jewelry or pair of shoes in the window. You take the metro into the heart of the city, anticipating all the beautiful storefronts and displays to see.
There’s only one problem.
All the shops are closed.
France has a long history of secularism, and the government has a strict separation between church and state. Today, about a third of French citizens say that they do not belong to any religion. But despite this, the culture of closing shops on Sundays remains. In fact, I would say that French retail has a strong culture and emphasis on employees and workers, as opposed to the United States’ customer-centric approach. I noticed many stores closed for as long as two hours for lunch breaks, and every nonessential shop (namely, everything except a grocery store) closed by 7:30pm at the latest.
As someone who worked in retail before, this blows my mind a little. In the U.S., and especially in New York, most shops stay open until 8 or 9:00pm, even on Sundays. It is common to see people in New York shopping after the sun sets, especially during summers when the weather is nice, and people are walking about.
During the evenings of our week in Paris, I kept thinking about how successful a store would be here if it had later hours. People are still out at night, it’s not unreasonable to imagine that they would like to peruse a bookshop or clothing store too.
However, I found a benefit to France’s employee-centric retail customer that also benefits the customer, and that is the relationship between the two. In the United States, it is not uncommon for retail employees to be considered “pushy,” or hovering by customers. As a former employee, I certainly felt that pressure to interact with the customer, and as a customer, I often feel pressured by an employee to make a purchase, any purchase.
But in France, every experience in a shop was relaxed. If I needed assistance or wanted advice, the employees were ready to help, but if I just wanted some time alone to browse, I was left alone.
In the United States, retail is often a low-paying job, and many workers are living paycheck to paycheck. That stress adds up, the “hustle” culture can be punishing, and often you can be desperate to make a sale. I don’t know what the retail industry is like in France in terms of salaries and wages, but I wouldn’t be shocked if employees were full time and had an annual pay, instead of paid hourly part-time. The security of a job can show up in ones’ work. This is one area where I think the U.S. could learn a few lessons in from other countries—and I would put France on top of that list.
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