Shopping in Sweden
Shopping is a compulsory component of living in Sweden, many people first arrive in the country and start shopping at the nearest supermarkets to them. But this is a pricier option, but not to worry in time you will get to know of the nearest big brand supermarket to you that have cheaper prices and many options to choose from.
Sweden quite a lot of supermarkets but there are six big names that you can find everywhere in the country. They are Coop, Lidl, Willys, ICA, Hemköp,7-Eleven.
All the stores sell different products, from world names to locally made products, these also have store brands that are cheaper and even as good in quality. ICA is divided into the much smaller but well-stocked ICA Nära or the larger ICA Maxi.
Same with Willys which has the Willys Hemma (smaller but very well stocked) and the normal Willys. Bigger stores are often times located outside of the main towns or cities and small stores are easily spotted within the town streets.
One good thing for students is that a lot of these stores have online shopping stores where you can shop for grocery items and have them delivered to you. This doesn't only save cost it also saves you the time and stress.
Some helpful tips to saving money or to have a not too stressful shopping experience in Sweden are as follows;
- Use any translation apps to better aid in knowing the Swedish names for your favorite products. Don't underestimate this factor as many items look similar but are way different, so if you do not know the Swedish language please have google translate.
- Carry your own shopping bag as you will have to pay extra for them in Sweden.
- There are many student discounts for shopping, like with a ‘Mecenat’card or ‘Studentkortet’ they provide price slashes on several items from food to clothes and even student books.
- New books can be expensive so why not just rent them, many university bookstores have the option of renting second-value course handouts or even academic books
- When next you shop in a big store like Lidl or Coop or even home brands like IKEA, opt for their customer cards, you gain shopping points whenever you shop with them and can use them to get discounts.
- Recycle! Recycle! Recycle!, you get a coupon for every time you recycle your cans or bottles and even plastics, these coupons can be put towards shopping expenses or even monetized.
