Shopping hours
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Customs and regulations for shopping hours (times that shops are open) vary from country to country.
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[edit] Shopping days and impact of holidays
Some countries do not allow Sunday shopping. In Islamic countries some shops are closed on Fridays during noon. In Israel many shops are closed on Friday evening and Saturday during daytime.
Each state in Australia sets its own standard trading hours, but in most of the country the shops are open seven days a week for at least part of the day.
For some shops and other businesses Christmas Day is the only day in the year that they are closed.
In the US a shop may often be open all days of the year except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day (most often - virtually everything closes on that day in virtually all communities), and Easter Sunday, although in smaller communities many stores will be closed on all Sundays.
In Islamic countries shops may have special opening hours during Ramadan.
[edit] Australia
Store trading hours in Australia are regulated by individual states and territories.
The states of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are the only states in Australia to essentially deregulate laws on shopping hours. All retail businesses in the states, regardless of size or product offer are able to stipulate their trading hours to suit their individual customer demand (although they are required to remain closed on Christmas day, Good Friday, and on Easter Sunday, except northern Territory which can remain open on any public holiday.). The two main supermarket operators Woolworths and Coles generally trade between 6am and 12 midnight 7 days a week, although some inner-city stores in Sydney & Melbourne operate 24 hours a day. Melbourne generally has the most relaxed rules. Almost all shopping centers in Melbourne now trade late on both Thursdays and Fridays as well as being open longer hours on Sundays. Melbourne is also famous for beginning the trend of 36 hour trading in the lead up to Christmas. Some of the larger shopping centers will open from 8am until 6pm on Christmas Eve.
Shopping Hours in South Australia are still regulated. however the state government has passed numerous changes to relax the laws. Despite these changes retailers still face complicated and confusing trading laws, which stipulate trading hours based on size and product offer. Supermarkets, which trade with less than 7 workers and with a trading floor less than 500m² are exempt from the laws. Larger supermarkets are required by law to close at 9 p.m. on weekdays, 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and are only permitted to trade between 11 am and 5 p.m. on Sundays.
In all areas of Queensland, trading hours with major supermarkets are 8am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8am-5:30 on Saturdays and Sundays trade on 9-6. Most major shopping centers close at 5 every day, with the exception of one night a week with what is so named 'late night shopping.' If a supermarket is to be found in a major shopping center, they will still cease trading at 9pm, with special access for just the supermarket.
In rural areas of Western Australia trading laws are governed by local district councils, and many have permitted Sunday trading in their districts. Shopping Hours in the states capital Perth are regulated by laws similar to South Australia. Trading hours are stipulated in law, and are based on size and product offer. As in South Australia, smaller supermarket retailers are exempted. Larger supermarkets are required to close at 6 p.m. on weekdays (9 p.m. on Thursdays for 'late night shopping' and on Fridays in the Perth CBD), 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and are forced to remain closed on Sundays (except in the Perth CBD and other tourist precincts such as Fremantle).
[edit] Austria
With the exception of the country being predominantly Catholic rather than Protestant, the German situation very much applies for Austria, too. Until the 1990s, all shops closed on Saturday noon (mostly at 12) and only reopened on Monday morning. Entrepreneurs such as Richard Lugner lobbied for an expansion of shopping hours, and gradually laws are being changed and more and more exceptions granted. Meanwhile, as in Germany, outside regular shopping hours the train stations of big cities have taken on the role of Nahversorger (supplying the local population with groceries).
[edit] Canada
Store hours in Canada are regulated by each province or territory, and in some provinces individual municipalities as well.
As a general rule, there is little regulation of shopping hours across the country. In the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan as well as well as all three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) there are no restrictions at all and stores can open 24/7 365 days a year. As well, Nova Scotia permits any store to open every day of the year except Remembrance Day (November 11).
The remaining provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador) require stores to close on most major holidays. Furthermore, four provinces have further restrictions on Sunday openings. In Manitoba, stores may only open on Sundays with Municipal approval and only then between 12pm-6pm. Prince Edward Island only permits Sunday openings after 12pm from Victoria Day to Christmas Day. New Brunswick only allows Sunday openings year round with both Municipal and Provincial approval, otherwise it is only permitted from August until the New Year. Some communities in New Brunswick (such as the cities of Fredericton and Saint John restrict Sunday openings to 12pm-5pm.
The province of Quebec is the only province in Canada that regulates shopping hours outside of Sundays and Holidays. As a general rule, stores are only permitted to open between 8am-9pm Weekdays and 8am-5pm Weekends, excluding holidays.
In practice, few stores in Canada (outside of a small number of grocery stores) remain open 24 hours. Most shopping centres open from 10am-9pm Monday thru Friday, 9:30am-6pm (or in some cases 9pm) on Saturday and 12pm-5pm or 6pm on Sunday. Many larger stores, such as Wal-Mart Canada and most major grocery stores remain open 8am-10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-6pm (in some provinces 8am-10pm) on Sunday, except in provinces where further restrictions apply.
[edit] Germany
Shopping days and opening hours in Germany were previously regulated by a federal law, the "Shop Closing Law" (Ladenschlußgesetz), first enacted in 1956 and last revised on March 13, 2003. The federal government has however since handed over the authority to regulate shopping hours to the sixteen states with effect from 7 July 2006. Since then, states are allowed to pass their own law regulating opening hours. Should a state decide not to pass its own law, the federal Ladenschlussgesetz will continue to be valid within that state.
Under the old Ladenschlussgesetz, which currently only applies in the states of Bavaria and Saarland, the general rule was that from Monday to Saturday, shops may not open prior to 6 a.m. and may not stay open later than 8 p.m.. Shops were also obliged to close all day on Sundays and public holidays (both federal and state), and special rules applied concerning Christmas Eve (December 24) should that day fall on a weekday. There were, however, several exceptions. For example, petrol stations (Tankstellen) and shops located in railway stations and airports may stay open past the normal hours; most petrol stations in larger cities and all gas stations on Autobahns are open 24 hours a day. Shops in so-called "tourist zones" may also open outside the normal hours, although restricted to selling souvenirs, handcrafted articles and similar tourist items. In connection with fairs and public market days, communities are allowed four days per year (normally Sundays) when shops may be open outside the normal restrictions, however such shop openings may not take place during primary church services and must close by 6 p.m.. Bakeries may open for business at 5:30 am and may also open for a limited time on Sundays. Restaurants, bars, theatres, cultural establishments, are generally unaffected by the shop opening time restrictions. As most public holidays in Germany are religiously based, and since the religious holidays (Protestant and Catholic) are not uniform across Germany shops may be closed due to a public holiday in one state while on the same day may be open in a neighbouring state.
The shop-closing law was the subject of controversy in recent years, as larger stores (and many of their customers) would prefer to have fewer restrictions on their hours of operation, while the trade unions, small shop owners and the church are opposed to a further loosening of the rules. On June 9, 2004, the German Supreme Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) rejected a claim by the German department store chain Kaufhof AG that the shop-closing law was unconstitutional. Among other things, the court cited Article 140 of the German constitution (Grundgesetz) (which in turn invokes Article 139 of the 1919 Weimar Constitution) protecting Sundays and public holidays as days of rest and recuperation. However, the court in effect invited the Federal parliament (Bundestag) to reconsider whether the states (Länder) and not the federal government should regulate shop-closing hours.
The federal government handed over the authority to regulate shopping hours to the sixteen states effectve 7 July 2006. Since states are allowed to pass their own law regulating opening hours. Should a state decide not to pass its own law, the federal Ladenschlussgesetz will continue to be valid in that state.
No state has so far passed regulation that allows for general store opening on Sundays.
Monday-Saturday: 0:00-24:00, regulation for Sunday varies in different states:
- Baden-Württemberg
- Berlin
- Brandenburg
- Bremen
- Hamburg
- Hesse
- Lower Saxony
- North Rhine-Westphalia
- Schleswig-Holstein
Monday-Friday: 0:00-24:00, regulation for Saturday, Sunday varies in different states:
Monday-Saturday: 6:00-22:00, regulation for Sunday varies in different states:
States with no liberalisation of opening hours:
[edit] Ireland
Standard opening hours are:
Monday - Wednesday, Friday, Saturday:
- 08:00/09:00 - 17:30/18:30
Thursday:
- 08:00/09:00 - 20:00/21:00/22:00
Sunday:
- 10:00/11:00 - 17:00/18:00/19:00
Many supermarkets are open 24 hours, or have longer opening hours (eg. 08:00 - 22:00).
Large shopping centres are typically open longer hours everyday (eg. 09:00 - 21:00/22:00 weekdays, 09:00 - 19:00 Saturdays, 10:00 - 19:00 Sundays).
In the two weeks running up to Christmas, it is common for many shops to have extended opening hours; some may operate 24 hours a day right until midnight on Christmas Eve.
Most shops in smaller towns don't open at all on Sundays. Almost all shops are closed on Christmas Day, though most are open on other holidays. Off Licenses (liquor stores) are closed (by law) on Good Friday as well, though it is thought this law will change soon.
Convienience stores, petrol stations and some chemists (drugstores) are normally open from early morning (05:00/06:00/07:00) until late night (22:00/23:00/00:00), or often 24 hours, and New Year's Day is also Sunday hours.
In rural areas or in traditional trades, Wednesdays may be a half-day for businesses, closing at 12:30, but this practice has long passed in urban areas.
[edit] Netherlands
Regular opening hours: Monday 11 am-6 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday: 9:30 am-6 p.m.; Saturday: 9:30-5 p.m.; Sunday (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and smaller tourist towns): 12-5 or 6 p.m.. In many other towns shops are open every first Sunday of the month (koopzondag).
Each shop is allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Some DIY-stores and IKEA stay open until 9 p.m.. Most towns have their weekly shopping evening (koopavond), when shops stay open until 9 p.m., either on Thursday or Friday. Supermarkets usually remain open until 8, 9 or 10 p.m. on weekdays and until 6 or 8 p.m. on Saturdays. In some towns supermarkets are open Sundays between 10 am-6 p.m. Many towns have one or more little supermarkets (avondwinkels) that are open until later in the evening, occasionally all night. Convenience stores also have longer shopping hours; they are at many larger railway stations ("Albert Heijn to go") and some busy streets.
A regular size supermarket that is open until midnight seven days a week is the Food Village at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam (located in the area of the airport before ticket checks, hence not only for air travellers).
for more opening hours in the Netherlands take a look at the website Openingstijden / Opening Hours Netherlands, you can browse shops per city.
[edit] United Kingdom
In Britain, most retail shops are generally open 6 or 7 days a week.
Typical opening times are:
Mondays - Saturdays 9am to 5:30pm Some shopping centres stay open until 8pm or later
Sunday- 10am to 4pm (or 11am to 5pm) Sunday shopping has become popular in recent years and most large shops in towns are open for business. Shops in England and Wales are only allowed to trade for 6 hours on Sundays, shops in Northern Ireland may open 1pm-6pm. In Scotland, in theory, Sunday is the same as any other day although in practice many shops do not open at all or just open for four hours in smaller towns. In some Free Church dominated areas - for example Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis - Sunday is considered a day of rest and consequently very few if any shops open at all.
Large supermarkets are open for 24 hours except for Sundays. Again Scottish legislation allows true 24-7 trading and the large chains do not close at all.
Many supermarkets and superstores otherwise open from 8am until 10pm from Mondays to Saturdays and 10am to 4pm (or 11am to 5pm) on Sundays.
[edit] United States
In the U.S., the various levels of government generally do not regulate the hours of the vast majority of retailers (though there are exceptions), with the main exception being shops licensed to sell spirits and other alcoholic beverages (for shopping hours, see alcohol sale hours by state.) Shopping hours vary widely based on management considerations and customer needs. Key variables are the size of the metropolitan area, the type of store, and the size of the store. In major metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles, many drugstores and supermarkets are routinely open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, while department stores, shopping centers and most other large retailers are typically open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and often with shorter hours on Sundays — generally 11 a.m. or noon to 5 or 6 p.m. On holidays, the tendency is to remain open (with the exception of the most important holidays like Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day where stores are generally closed), sometimes reducing hours or occasionally maintaining normal hours for that day unless local or regional laws dictate otherwise.
Most locations of the country's largest retailer, Wal-Mart (especially its Supercenter hypermarkets), are open continuously except on Christmas Day, unless local laws dictate otherwise. Many stores in the U.S., such as the Meijer hypermarket chain, will in fact advertise "Open 24/7 364 days a year," implying that the store is open at all times except Christmas Day. Other hypermarket chains tend to follow Wal-Mart's lead, although not always remaining open around the clock (hours such as 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. are common). Boutiques and smaller shops often close early at 5 or 6 p.m. (occasionally with one late evening, usually Thursday or Friday), and may be closed one or two days per week (most often Sunday).
In many smaller cities and rural towns, there are strong religious traditions that cause most local retailers to stay closed on Sunday, and the few that are open may have reduced hours. However, many of the same communities will have at least one Wal-Mart that is open around the clock.
Las Vegas, Nevada is the notable exception to all the traditions just described. Las Vegas is world-famous for its 24-hour local culture, since it is a city with large gaming and tourism industries that operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Since most of the employees in the city's primary industries work overnight shifts — and because Nevada has absolutely no laws in regards to operating hours for any type of commercial activity — many businesses cater to such workers. Thus, Las Vegas is home to many 24-hour car dealerships, dental clinics, auto mechanics, computer shops, and even some smaller clothing stores.
