Shopping in a grocery store in a foreign country is a scary, intimidating and often mysterious experience. You don’t have your bearings.
Not because of differing store layouts. I’ve circumnavigated U.S. stores like Safeway, Harris Teeter, Ukrop’s, HyVee, Wal-Mart, Lund’s, Schnuck’s, and Rainbow like my name was friggin’ Cristobol Colon.
Shopping abroad is intimidating because you have no idea what anything is—especially packaged goods. You lack the brand compass.
Foreign products are both scary and mysterious. The pictures are different. The on-package copy isn’t the same. And, most importantly, the brands are not even close to being familiar.
Living in Spain and shopping weekly amongst unfamiliar brands, I’ve realized the importance of all that branding work.
I’m alot more confident and happy with the bag on the right. Why? They’re identical. I’ve used both, and my chicken froze exactly the same.

It’s important to realize that brands you’re familiar with provide you with an extremely important compass when purchasing.
I work in the online side of marketing, and we often talk about engagement—via email, Twitter, etc.—and how our marketing service is important in this New World of Marketing and Advertising. This post is meant to give a shout out to the brand experts.
Mass media. Carefully tailored messaging. Protecting the brand.
Thank you. You have no idea how much happier you make me.
In the grocery store, you can’t try before you buy. That differs hugely from my world where I download trials frequently. In-store, I need the brand to guide me. I need the brand to help me quickly move through the store and get what I need. And, what’s more, I want to feel confident about my purchase without thinking.
Here’s one of those extreme examples—a few years ago in London, I once asked for Band-Aids at a Boots. And when they looked at me like I was from Mars*, I was about to say the generic term for this product. Then I suddenly realized I had no idea what this type of product was called—are they adhesive bandages?
If you’ve shopped abroad, you know what I’m talking about. And my perspective doesn’t come from living in Spain—where the Atlantic now greets the setting sun and we say Hola—the lack of a brand compass is true even for Americans visiting Canada.
Yes, I’ve started buying Aquarius and Bueno bars—but I’d kill for a Gatorade and a Snickers^.
I’d love some Zest, but I’m stuck with whatever that crappy soap is in my shower. Not to mention, I sat in the grocery storey examining the new soap’s box for a minute .
Come to think of it, I’ve never even read what’s on a Zest package.
What’s your experience shopping abroad? Don’t you hate it when you don’t feel comfortable with the products you’re buying?
*For the curious, they’re called plasters in the Queen’s English.
^We certainly have Snickers and Gatorade here in Spain. They’re just much less common, especially Gatorade.












Ryan Singer, 37signals podcast
Ryan Singer, product manager and designer at 37signals, talks about the company’s design process.
Download the MP3
I found this interesting as 37signals’ process relies on everyone pitching in at a variety of levels–information architecture, user experience, design and back-end development.
At times, I’ll hear that these types of a role demand a person with “hybrid” skills. But I’m not so sure that the hybrid label works anymore; it’s important essential that everyone in the shop can contribute at a variety of levels.
It’s both intimidating and exciting. What do you think?