An American has been shocked by a common occurrence in Australia that she said would not happen back in her home country. Crystal Chanel has been posting on social media all the interesting things she has experienced after moving over to our country at the start of the year.
The California native is now shacked up on the Gold Coast and when she visited her local shopping centre on the weekend she couldn’t believe that most of the stores were closed by 5pm. The former hairdresser told Yahoo Lifestyle it’s a bizarre trend to her.
“Honestly, I was shocked,” she said.
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“In the US, weekends are peak shopping times, stores stay open late because that’s when everyone finally has time to get things done.
“So, walking through a mall at 5pm on a weekend and seeing everything closed felt surreal. It wasn’t frustration, just confusion, because it’s such a huge cultural difference.”
She revealed that most stores in her motherland will be open until at least 8pm, with some even staying open much later than that.
While the likes of Woolworths, Coles, Kmart and IKEA might keep their doors open until 10pm and 9pm, respectively, they’re the outliers.
Whereas when Crystal was walking through the Gold Coast shopping centre, all the smaller stores had shut their doors for the day.
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‘They have lives’: Aussies defend 5pm close time
Crystal posted about her experience on social media and she was quickly met with a bunch of people defending the 5pm close time for stores – especially on weekends.
“You… had all day… they have lives,” wrote one person.
“Because in Australia we value our own time and family time,” added another.
“When I moved here from Canada this was odd to me, but now I’m so grateful I live somewhere that still prioritises people’s lives over consumerism,” said a third.
The California native didn’t have a problem with the idea of work-life balance, but was just surprised stores didn’t cater to people who might not be able to do their shopping in the day time.
“It’s just a completely different rhythm of life,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.
Why do Aussie stores close at 5pm?
It’s not necessarily because retailers care that their workers have time to spend with their family and friends.
UNSW consumer expert Professor Nitika Garg told Yahoo Lifestyle time is money.
“I think because our minimum wage rate is so high… and we just assume nobody wants to work after 5pm, and we don’t want to obviously give the penalty rates, because retail cannot afford that,” she said.
While it can differ depending on the type of contract they’re on, retailer workers can access 150 per cent of their minimum pay if they work after 6pm during the week.
Aussies are used to shops closing at 5pm, but visitors find it very odd. Picture: Getty
They’re already getting higher pay for working on weekends, and if people are out doing other things, it might not make financial sense to stay open.
Nitika was also shocked by the 5pm close time when she moved to Australia 14 years ago.
She said it’s not only the US that has stores open much later, but also in Asia, India, and Europe.
The consumer expert understands retailers closing earlier on the weekends, but is still perplexed why this still happens during the week, especially considering people might only finish work at 5pm and wouldn’t have any time to do their shopping.
Crystal agreed with this idea.
“Businesses in the US try to catch that after-work rush because that’s when people can actually shop,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.
“So seeing stores close right as people finish their day felt backwards to me. But I’ve realised it’s more of a lifestyle and culture thing here, not a flaw, it’s just different.”
But what about Thursday late-night shopping?
Thursdays will often see retailers across the country, particularly in shopping centres, stay open much later than 5pm.
Nitika revealed that this practice was due to how workers get paid in Australia.
While people get paid weekly, fortnightly, or monthly, she told Yahoo Lifestyle that they will typically receive their funds by Thursday.
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Retailers realised that staying open on the day that money landed in peoples’ account could be an way to make some easy sales.
“The Thursday thing is very outdated now,” the consumer expert said.
“It’s not like people are living paycheque-to-paycheque and they get they get their pay on Thursday and then th rush to the store.
“It might still work for some people, but it is sort of an ancient practice.”
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