I can easily claim that the Russians are highly adventurous shoppers. Despite the fact that we prefer reliability and high-quality, we can easily buy even a faulty good provided we really like it. Nevertheless, shopping habits totally depend on a person`s income rate.
Shopping for clothes is the most exiting kind of shopping, so I`d like to start with it. Upper and upper-middle classes prefer brand name high quality designer clothes. I personally strongly doubt about the quality of such things but it`s absolutely obvious that they help to enhance the status of the owner. Wearing designer clothes with an embroidered logo isn`t regarded as naff in Russia, but it`s a clear indicator of a person`s social status. Moreover, they prefer making their purchases in department stores or shopping centers. However, middle and low classes prefer buying own-brand clothes or generics of the lower quality as they are significantly cheaper. Their favourite places to shop are market places as well as shopping centres.
Shopping for food is not so exiting, but it is vitally important for everyone. The majority of Russian people buy their produces in various supermarkets in spite of the fact that the prices there are twice or even three times as high as at market, but the range of goods is definitely bigger. Thus, there are a lot of market places in Russian towns and cities where you can find different food: fruit, vegetable, meet, cheese, poultry, ect. However, one should be careful when making a purchase there: not only might the product quality may be law, but also the shopper might be twisted round the finger! I should mention that there are practically no corner shops in Russia as the market was cornered by supermarket chains and it has became impossible for them to compete with `trade giants`.
So, these are the main shopping habits in Russia. However, they have slightly changed under the influence of European and American lifestyle and all the social barriers are beginning to dilute.