There was a time not so long ago that large department stores were a completely foreign concept in India - but not anymore. The Big Bazaar is one such department store to have set up shop across the country. Since its first outlet opened in Kolkata in late 2001, the Big Bazaar has spread to towns and cities at an alarming rate.
These multi-level shopping meccas stock everything from food to fridges, and cookware to clothes. However, the Big Bazaar isn’t your ordinary department store. It’s been especially designed to appeal to the Indian consumer. You may be thinking, what does that mean? In short, organized chaos.
With a slogan of "Is se sasta aur accha kahin nahi!"("Nowhere cheaper or better than this!"), the Big Bazaar targets itself directly at the average Indian’s love of following the crowd and scrambling for a good discount.
You won’t find neatly ordered aisles at the Big Bazaar. Instead, stores are laid out to replicate a market environment, with items all thrown in together. Promotions such as "Sabse Saste Teen Din"(Cheapest Three Days) and "Purana Do, Naya Lo"(Give Old, Take New) result in shoppers flooding the stores, to the point that some stores have become so overcrowded they’ve had to close.
If you visit the Big Bazaar in the daytime during the week, it is possible to have a deceptively pleasant and hassle free shopping experience.
However, don’t make the mistake of going there during a sale, on holidays, evenings, or on Sunday. When I did this, I had to wait for almost an hour just to be served at the checkout. Forget about getting the all items I wanted, I was happy to get out of there in one piece!
I’ve also found that the full price is all too often charged on sale items, so do check your receipt to make sure that discounts have been properly recorded.