Hopping off the train in a new neighborhood, there’s nothing like the relief of a Target bullseye. Although you’ve never entered this particular Target, the logo tells you roughly what you can buy and how the encounter will proceed.
This post is not sponsored, but I need no incentive to sing the praises of the soulless corporate chain. In the big box store, you need no introduction, local history, or promise to return. The role of customer is enough for us to transact peaceably.
I like my local corner store guy too. He has seen me through a few bad hair days, I know which Korean dramas he watches, and he has given me cockroach advice. But not every deodorant purchase needs to deepen your relationship with local culture.
A predictable errand leaves more time and attention for what you actually came to the neighborhood to do. The store can repeat itself while you do something new. I look forward to the day when fully unstaffed convenience stores are entirely unremarkable.
There are places you visit because someone will be glad to see you. There should also be places you can use without becoming someone to be glad to see. A database can remember what I buy without my having to catch it up on how I’ve been.