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Americans Created the Supermarket. We Also Might Destroy It.
By shopping for groceries online, are we sacrificing the pleasures of capitalism for cold, hard convenience?
Everywhere, but especially in New York City, everything costs money. A MetroCard swipe will run you $2.75. A single drink at a noisy bar can cost upwards of $12. Even the free experiences, like a walk in Central Park, can be enhanced if you’re down to shell out some cash for a serene boat ride. This is the reality of living in a late-capitalist metropolis: the feeling of being ceaselessly squeezed for everything you’ve got. But there is one shopping experience that remains magical, even in this era of compulsory consumerism: the supermarket.
The supermarket is the only retail store where I actually enjoy shopping. The options feel limitless, the shelves endless. But above all, the supermarket is a rare place where you can spend money on something you fundamentally need — nourishment. As I search for a just-soft-enough avocado or a perfectly plump orange, I reconnect with my most ancient intuitions, consuming energy in order to sustain my existence. In an era where everyone is always asking us to purchase things we don’t really need, the supermarket is the last sacred space that offers both commerce and communion.
But the rising popularity of online grocery shopping has led us to a place where convenience has become more desirable than visiting a place that offers us the most pleasurable fruits of capitalism. The tactile experience of purchasing food is no longer as important to the average consumer than being able to get the products we need with the mere click of a button. And the exploitative labor practices behind online food shopping are so well hidden that we barely even question the human cost that comes along with our hunger for ease.
The experience of going to the supermarket is an incredible way to understand what any culture values.
Recently, I spoke to upwards of a dozen people who purchase their groceries from the internet, as well as gig economy workers who deliver that food. Some told me that buying food online helps them avoid impulse purchases and ultimately…
