Moscow II: Advertising & Shopping

Every culture is different and influences also the marketing. While metro stations in Moscow were kept to their natural beauty, also the advertisement in alleys leading from one stop to another and in the escalator tubes still kept a low profile. Really overwhelming were the street art graffiti advertisement when you left the underground.

Apple, BMW, Subway, McDonald's --> all interesting brands were sprayed on the asphalt trying to guide your feet one way or another. Besides this, big billboards are the other method of choice to communicate products to the customer. There we talk 21st century - with LCD screens at the big crossroads.

But after all this luring where do the Russians shop? This as usual very much depends on the size of purse. There are street markets and mini markets for grocery shopping.

Next up the line, you will find shopping malls with all the brands and supermarkets you know from Europe for the middle class.

And then there are the shopping temples of the rich and famous.

ZUM - department store on Petrovka Street

Exclusive shopping passage on Petrovka Street

One exclusice shopping district leads on Petrovka Street from the Bolshoi Theatre to the pedestrian strip of Stoleshnikov Lane that is line with stores of Cartier, Escada and Chanel.

Escada

Cartier

And then there is Gostiny Dvor - the old merchant arcades that are the historic start of the nowadays shopping centres. The neoclassical building was started in the late 18th century and finished in 1830. The glass roof was added in the 1995 renovations and today it is used in a trade fair and exhibition style.

So your shopping options are various but never forget that you are in the most expensive city in Europe (#4 in the world)! Especially if you are German - we are not used to those prices. There 13 European cities among the TOP 50 most expensive ones in the world - but no German!:-) Even Munich feels quite expensive from time to time.