Shopping Tips
1. Opening Hours
Most of the shops are usually open from 10am until 7pm, seven days a week. The city has many 24-hour shops, ranging from simple grocery stores to hip boutiques.
2. Credit Cards
Only top places accept credit cards. Some shops may advertise the fact that they accept cards, but this is a perestroika-period hangover from when stickers advertising Western goods and services were stuck up even if not actually offered. Carry plenty of cash when shopping. You may be asked to show your passport when paying by credit card.
3. Haggling
Haggling is not practised in shops, but in markets, especially the ones selling souvenirs, it is expected. Do not expect huge discounts, as the price you are offered is probably only about 15 per cent more than the minimum the stall owner is willing to accept. If you are buying in bulk, discounts can be higher.
4. Refunds
Refunds in Russia are given only if you have the chek (original receipt). However, for electronic items, you may be directed to the manufacturing company’s local service centre. The law on refunds is subject to change, but if you can read Russian, the most recent version of the law is usually displayed on the shop’s noticeboard.
5. Shopping Areas
St Petersburg’s main shopping areas are found around the commercial part of Gostinyy Dvor, but the items here are most expensive. There are also large shopping malls within the city centre, including Sennaya and PIK near Sennaya Ploschad metro station, but prices for a great deal of goods are likely to be even higher than in the West.
6. DVDs and CDs
Although the government makes noises about clamping down on illegal DVDs and CDs, Russia, along with China and the neighbouring Ukraine, remains one of the biggest producers of bootleg films, music and software in the world. Pirate DVDs are available all over St Petersburg for about $4 a film. Quality, however, may not always be good.
7. Shopping for Clothes
Russians, especially women, are extremely fashion conscious – a reaction to the severe lack of choice during the Soviet period. Imported clothes, especially the designer labels at St Petersburg’s boutiques, are very expensive.
8. Electronics
There are no bargains to be had in Russia when it comes to electronic items, such as music systems and DVD players. Many of these items will be a lot more expensive than in the West – the result of a severe lack of competitive pricing on the domestic market. Indeed, many Russians bring electronic items home with them from their trips abroad.
9. Alcohol
AAlthough a law forbids the sale of all drinks containing alcohol, including beer, between 11pm and 8am, liquor is, nevertheless, very easy to come by. Alcohol is absurdly cheap, and even Soviet champagne goes for less than $10 a bottle. Imported beer in bars is the only exception, costing the same or even more than it would in the West.
10. Buying Food
There are lots of supermarkets and grocery stores in the city, many of them now open 24 hours a day. Prices in St Petersburg are generally cheaper than in Moscow. Vegetables are more expensive during winter, when they have to be imported. Bread is subsidized by the government and is of a very good quality.
