“I’m from London and when I go to St Lucia the supermarket shelves are filled with Caribbean and American items and I’m always fascinated,” someone commented, with another saying Costco in Korea was “a highlight” during their trip.
Another person travelling around Malaysia agreed it was a fun activity, going as far as to say it was the “best”.
“This may be controversial, but I think that the best thing to do while travelling is go to the grocery store,” they said in the video, which has been viewed more than 366,000 times.
They argued it was a kind of sightseeing as you could purchase “souvenirs” and have a cultural experience.
Viewers seemed to agree with the idea, saying they did the same thing when in a foreign place.
“I hit the grocery store too when I go to another country. It’s like learning about another culture through their consumption! And I buy food as souvenirs too!” one person wrote.
Someone said it was “so interesting” to see how Costcos overseas were different and another said they did enjoy the same comparison but with McDonalds.
A tourist wandering around a supermarket in Spain also found the activity to be a form of sightseeing.
“Checking out the grocery stores in different countries IS sightseeing,” read the text caption on the video, which showed her and her friends grabbing various items they could not find at home.
Dozens of other TikTok videos tagged “grocery sightseeing” point out, not the products in foreign supermarkets, but the buildings themselves.
“Buying my coldcuts in the most beautify grocery store in the world,” one person captioned their video while shopping in a Despar supermarket in Venice, Italy, which has Neo-Gothic architecture and historic murals.
Others express surprise at the items they can find in another country compared to their own.
An American filmed their reactions when exploring an Australian supermarket for the first time and pointing out the products she’d never seen before, such as multiple TimTam flavours and the variety of Vegemite jar sizes.
