Business Hours

The hours of operation depend on the store, and can vary from city to city. Most stores will open between 9:00 and 10:00 am and close at 5:00 or 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Some stores will open as early as 8:00 am and some will close as late as 9:00 or 10:00 pm

Banks tend to close at 3:00 or 4:00 pm, restaurants at 8:00 or 9:00 pm, and bars at 11:00 pm to 1:00 am. Stores in shopping malls keep longer hours, with the typical mall store being open 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5:00 pm on Sunday

When most stores in a shopping area close at 5:00 or 6:00 pm weekdays, there will usually be one day a week when they are open late. The day varies from community to community

Some stores will be open on Saturday. A smaller number of stores will be open on Sunday. Stores with Sunday hours tend to open between 10:00 am and noon, and to close at 5:00 or 6:00 pm, even if they are open until 9:00 or 10:00 pm the rest of the week.

Large grocery store chains are usually open 24 hours a day, except possibly on Sunday. Some pharmacies will also be open 24 hours

Sales Tax

There is no national sales tax in the US, but each state has its own sales tax. The sales tax is charged as a percentage surcharge on purchases, and is printed on the receipt. Rates differ from state to state. Rates may even differ within a state. For example, Pennsylvania charges 6% sales tax in (city of Pittsburgh and surrounding communities where the sales tax rate is 7%.

Unprepared food such as groceries is exempt from sales tax, but prepared food purchased in a restaurant is not. Clothing and medicine may also be exempt from sales tax

Many airports have duty free shopping areas, where sales tax is not charged. This is only worthwhile when you are traveling to a country with a high sales tax rate. The average state sales tax rate in the US is 3%. You can usually find the same items on sale in the US for a lower price, even when sales tax is taken into account

Saving Money

Major department stores frequently have sales in which merchandise is sold at a discount, anywhere from 5% to 25% off the normal price. Not everything in the store will be on sale. Sale prices are usually advertised in the Sunday newspaper. Stores will use almost any excuse for a sale, such as holidays and end-of-season clearance. The Christmas shopping season officially starts the Friday after Thanksgiving, but some stores will offer sales starting the weekend before Thanksgiving. The major department store chains are Sears, Macy's, Lord & Taylor,and JC Penney.

Supermarkets are large grocery stores, often part of a chain of stores. It is generally less expensive to shop in a supermarket than in a small local grocery, and the selection is larger. The major grocery store chains advertise their sale prices in circulars that are distributed by mail toward the end of the week, and sometimes as an insert in the Sunday newspaper. The Sunday newspaper will also include collections of manufacturer cents-off coupons which you can clip and give to the cashier to save on purchases. Some supermarkets will double the value of manufacturer coupons. For non-perishable goods, it is worthwhile to stock up when the item goes on sale. The supermarkets may also have their own brands which sell for less than the popular name brands. Some supermarkets have membership cards which the cashier will scan to give you automatic discounts on some items. The supermarkets use the cards to track your purchases, enabling them to better target their promotions.

Discount stores sell name brand merchandise at prices which are less than the prices charged by department stores. The largest discount stores are Wal-Mart, K Mart, For electronic goods you can also go to Circuit City. For computer equipment, you can visit a CompUSA store, but you'll probably be able to buy it at lower prices by mail order from CDW, PC Connection, or Insight. Micron Electronics and Gateway sell high quality computers through mail order as well. For toys, go to a Toys R Us store. For discount clothing stores, there is, and Marshalls.

Department stores may have a clearance section, where merchandise they no longer stock is being sold at a discount.

Paying for Purchases

All stores will accept US currency. No stores will accept foreign currency. Many stores will accept US-denominated traveler's checks. Traveler's checks in foreign currency will be refused.

Most people, however, do not carry around large sums of money. Instead they pay for purchases with a credit card or personal check. Most stores will accept the major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express). Even grocery stores are starting to accept credit cards.

The larger department stores will try to encourage you to open a charge account at the store, often by offering a 10% discount on your purchases the day you open the account. Store charge cards work similarly to credit cards,

Clothing

Clothing stores often have trial rooms. It is strongly recommended that you try on any clothing before buying it, since clothing is tailored differently in the US and clothing sizes are not consistent

Clothing sometimes uses approximate size measures, such as XS (Extra Small), S (Small), M (Medium), L (Large), and XL (Extra Large). These letters are especially common on T-shirts. Each letter may represent a range of two or three numbered sizes

Dress sizes depend on both height and figure type. A junior size corresponds to a height between 5'2" and 5'5" with a slender figure. A misses size corresponds to a height between 5'5" and 5'7" with a well proportioned figure. A women's size corresponds to a height between 5'5" and 5'8" and a fuller and rounder figure