Having read about the 24 hour supermarket machine, we just had to try it out for ourselves.

The menu was easy to operate, and our purchase was delivered quickly.  But I had a feeling, that the 2000 items had been selected to give a wide variety of types of item, rather than trying to offer different brands of the same item.

Trying out the 24 hour supermarket machine

This is obviously an attraction for those who have left something at home, a toothbrush, for example, and are happy to have any type as long as it’s available any time of the day or night.

Since there is a normal type of supermarket in Puerto del Carmen next to the machine, anyone wanting something more specific may need to go there during opening hours instead.

One of the interesting things about visiting foreign countries can be the different type of food available.  Either there are local, previously unknown, delicacies.  Or there may be the same brands, but with different varieties of their products.  Sometimes there are even the same brands under different names (one of the best-known examples being Twix, known previously in Germany as “Raider”).

Of course, this can make shopping in a foreign country, especially in a foreign language, an interesting experience.

Now, I found the idea of a 24-hour supermarket in Puerto del Carmen innovative.  What I am not so thrilled about is reading today that the supermarket chain Lidl are building a store near Arrecife.

Not that I am opposed to Lidl – I shop there myself in Germany.  But I am wondering how much local produce they will be stocking, and how much it will be geared towards the tourists on the island?  Will you need a car to get there?

Let’s hope that it doesn’t have an adverse effect on the smaller supermarkets.