If, like me, you like to go shopping, you’ll want to know the US equivalents of UK shops. With only a few exceptions, I’d say UK shops are definitely better than the US, and certainly a lot cheaper.
Here are a list of major UK stores, and what I’d consider to be their equivalents in the US. This is purely my opinion though! Also note, I’m only really familiar with stores in Washington State, plus some Florida and California, so there may be other equivalent stores in other states.
Asda / Tesco = Walmart
Considering Asda is owned by Walmart, you can’t get more similar! You’ll find Walmart stores are way bigger than Asda stores, especially the Walmart Supercenters. They tend to sell pretty much everything, with more home goods, electronics, & toys than Asda sell.
I’ve heard some people compare Tesco to Target, but it’s not, and there are no links between the two companies. Target doesn’t stock a wide of a range of food as Walmart does, it has more home goods, clothing and electricals than groceries.
Each state will have it’s own supermarket / grocery store chains. Here in Washington we have Fred Meyer & QFC (both part of the Kroger group), plus Safeway.
Marks & Spencer = none
There are no equivalents of Marks and Spencer that I’ve found. There are plenty of department stores – JC Penney’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom… But none of them have a food department. If you’re looking for better quality food than grocery stores (supermarkets) sell, Whole Foods Market & Trader Joe’s are your best bet. Whole Foods Market is a little more expensive, but sells higher quality food and more organic produce. Trader Joe’s is very popular, especially with the younger crowd, with it’s produce (& bags!) often going viral.
Next = none
Another store that doesn’t have an equivalent over here. There are plenty of clothes stores, but none that come close to being like Next in that they sell their own brand of clothing, plus accessories and homewares. The nearest I’ve found that sells clothing for the whole family is Old Navy.
Department stores & supermarkets sell a full range of men’s, women’s & kid’s clothing, but with the former they mostly sell other brands rather than their own.
Primark = none
I miss Primark! Primark have begun opening stores over here, primarily on the East coast, including a large store in Florida Mall with a whole floor dedicated to Disney. There are no other US equivalents though.
New Look = Forever 21
Forever 21 is probably the nearest equivalent to New Look. But it does cater more to the younger crowd more so than New Look, whereas I (a middle aged woman) often bought clothing from New Look.
H&M = H&M
You’ll find H&M stores in most shopping malls here in the US.
Hobbycraft = Michaels / Hobby Lobby
Michaels is a bigger and better version of Hobbycraft. Hobby Lobby is another big craft store, although I’ve not managed to visit yet, so can’t comment on how good it is.
Boots = Walgreens
Walgreens is very similar to Boots in that it sells toiletries, cosmetics, medication, and a limited selection of groceries. You’ll also find some No7 products in Walgreens stores. But you won’t find a branch of Walgreens inside your local mall. They are all stand alone stores.
Poundland = Dollar Tree / Dollar General
Dollar stores are popular here and you’ll find them more or less everywhere. Dollar Tree is the predominant store here in Washington state. Although you won’t find anything on sale for a dollar, everything is $1.25 upwards. Dollar General is another discount store. Another popular discount store in the US is Five Below, but we don’t have any here yet in Washington.
TK Maxx = TJ Maxx
TK Maxx here is called TJ Maxx. Same store, just one initial different!
Lidl & Aldi
At the time of writing, Lidl only have stores in these US states – DE, GA, NJ, NC, SC and VA.
Aldi have more of a US presence, with over 2300 stores, mostly over the western half of the country.
WHSmith / Waterstones = Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble is a large bookstore, which is more like Waterstones than WHSmith. Primarily selling books, with a small range of educational toys. One thing to note is how much more expensive books and magazines are here. You won’t find a three books for $5 deal here, paperback novels are $12+ even when discounted.
Currys PC World = Best Buy
Best Buy is a one-stop shop for all things electrical, much the same as Currys PC World. From washers and ovens, to computers and TVs.
Argos = none
There is sadly no equivalent of Argos here in the US. If you want a “You name it, they sell it” kind of store you’ll need to look to amazon.com.
Smyth’s = none
Since the demise of Toys ‘R’ Us, there are no large out-of-town toy stores anymore. I’ve only come across one chain toy store in malls here – Wishes. From what I can gather they seem to be local to Washington State. You will find independent toy stores dotted around, and the likes of Walmart & Target sell a wide range of toys & games. Plus of course amazon.com.
B&Q / Wickes = Home Depot / Lowe’s
Home Depot is like a carbon copy of B&Q, selling all of the same things, with the same kind of store layout. Lowe’s is another DIY & home store.
DFS / CSL = Ashley Furniture
When looking for a sofa for our new house here, the only chain store selling sofas that we could find was Ashley. They have stores in most states, and there may be other chain stores selling sofas in other states. They also sell dining & outdoor furniture, and bedroom furniture. You’ll also find sofas available online at the major supermarkets, plus online stores such as Wayfair & Amazon.
Dreams / Benson’s For Beds = Mattress Firm / Mattress Depot
Mattress Firm & Mattress Depot are the stores where you go to when you want to buy a mattress. Note that I said mattress and not bed! Although they sell a wide range of mattresses, you won’t find a big range of bed frames there like you do at UK stores. They only tend to sell adjustable metal bed frames. For divans and other types of bed frame you’re best to look online. We got all of our bed frames from Amazon and Walmart, but bought mattresses from Mattress Firm.
Pets at Home = PetSmart / Petco
When we first arrived here, we visited PetSmart to buy everything we needed for our dog. They didn’t have as good a selection as Pets at Home, and were very expensive compared to alternatives we found afterwards. Dollar Tree sells a good range of basics for dogs & cats. You’ll also find a good range of pet food, toys and basics at the likes of Walmart and Target.
B&M / Home Bargains
Ah B&M, how I miss you! Nothing like it at all (come on America, why not?!)
Costco = Costco
Kirkland, near Seattle, is where Costco was born, hence the “Kirkland” brand name that Costco uses for many of its products. You can’t go far without coming across a Costco around here! You can use your UK Costco membership card to shop in store here, but you won’t be able to use it to purchase online.
Card Factory / Clinton’s = none
Again, sadly, stores with no equivalent here. You’ll find greetings cards, gift bags, etc, for sale in Walmart & Target. But you’ll normally pay $5+ per card. The only place I’ve managed to find cheaper cards is at Dollar Tree, but the selection isn’t that great. No cheap rolls of wrapping paper either.
O2, EE, Vodafone = AT & T / Verizon / T Mobile
Different names, similar offerings, bigger prices! You can get free phones on contracts, but you’ll likely pay a lot more than in the UK. Pay-as-you-go is known as pre-paid here, and again is much dearer than the UK.
Halford’s = O’Reilly Auto Parts
O’Reilly Auto Parts is similar to Halford’s in that it sells car parts, auto equipment, that sort of thing.
Lush = Lush
You’ll find Lush stores in most malls here.
Clothing stores
There are a bunch of clothing chains that you’ll find in most malls – Aeropostale, American Eagle, Hollister, PacSun.
Old Navy is a good store for clothing for the whole family. Prices can be high for some things, but you can find bargains, and they often have sales on.
Sports Stores
Dick’s Sporting Goods is a one-stop shop for everything related to sports and the outdoors. Whether you want a soccer ball or a kayak, you’ll find it at Dick’s!
Homeware
The store HomeGoods was a God-send to us when we were looking to furnish our new home here. It’s owned by the TJ Maxx group, but just sells home goods. Selling everything from artificial plants and ornaments, to towels and kitchenware, all at discount prices. It’s one of those “If you like it, buy it now” places, as once an item has gone, it’s gone.
The big supermarkets always stock a good range of homeware, and of course, amazon.com is a common place to buy anything for the home.
Coffee Shops
Here in the US Starbucks rules! Starbucks was born in Seattle, and you can visit the (almost) original store across from the famous Pike Place Market. For that reason, you can’t travel more than a few hundred yards in many places in Washington without coming across a Starbucks. I’ve known there to be three separate Starbucks stores all within a few hundred yards of each other.
As I write this, Costa Coffee only has locations in Atlanta, GA, and one in Seatac airport in Washington State.
Fast Food & Other Restaurants
Although you’ll find all of the big fast food restaurants here in the US – after all, this is where most of them were born – the food in them won’t necessarily be the same. For example, burgers and chicken nuggets at McDonald’s taste different here in the US to the UK, as does the food at KFC. We all actually prefer the UK versions.
For US fast food, Chick-fil-A and Panera Bread are personal favorites. For treats we visit Crumbl Cookies way too much!
The US has many more restaurant chains than the UK does – Chili’s, Olive Garden, IHOP, The Cheesecake Factory, Red Lobster, Applebee’s, etc, so you’re never short of somewhere different to eat. However, we still hold a candle for Nando’s. They do have a number of restaurants in the US, but none here in Washington.
US Shopping Tips
My number one piece of advice if you’re moving to/living in the US is to sign up for every shop app and rewards account that you can. Trust me, it will save you a fortune! Yes, you’ll get lots of emails from them (set up a separate gmail account just for this purpose), but it will be worth it for the money you save.
Walmart doesn’t have a free rewards program, but offers Walmart+ for a fee. Target has the free Target Circle program, and local grocery stores, such as Fred Meyer and Safeway have reward card apps, which will offer savings on goods throughout the store.
For clothes stores, fast food, restaurants, and everything in between, most have reward programs. Usually offering a freebie or discount when you first join, and sending offers through on a regular basis. They are definitely worth signing up for.
Things from the UK that you won’t find the the US
There are so many things that you just can’t get as standard in the US, unless you go to a specialist British food shop, or pay over the odds on amazon-
Squash / Cordial – America, what do you have against Ribena & orange squash?!
Gravy – American gravy is just not the same as good old Bisto.
Stock cubes – they have bouillon, but it’s just not the same as an OXO cube.
Chocolate – for various reasons (less cocoa & more sugar; different manufacturing process; no vegetable fats allowed in milk chocolate) the chocolate here just doesn’t taste as good as back in the UK. They also don’t sell chocolate eggs at Easter, or chocolate advent calendars at Christmas.
Tea bags – You’ll find plenty of tea bags in the tea bag section at the grocery store, but proper English tea bags are harder to find. I’ve only ever seen PG Tips for sale in Target, a small box for sale for around $6. The only other English breakfast tea bags I’ve been able to find are Twinings.
Back bacon – I’ve searched high and low, every supermarket, every farmer’s market, and the only place I’ve managed to find back bacon at is a specialty British food store, who were selling it at a very high mark-up. I’ve seen people say that Canadian bacon is the nearest you can get. It’s not. Canadian bacon sold in the supermarkets here is round pieces of pre-cooked meat – nothing like back bacon.
Sausages – many different types of sausages here, not one anywhere near a good old Richmond’s pork sausage. You also won’t find a sausage roll anywhere.
Crisps – known as chips here. Although there are plenty of ready salted and salt & vinegar versions, you won’t find the variety of flavors that you do in the UK.
Biscuits – ask for a biscuit here and you’ll be given something that resembles a scone (but doesn’t taste like one). The cookie section at the store will be packed with all types of cookies, but not a custard cream or digestive in sight.
Crumpets – while I’ve bought English muffins from the grocery store, I’ve never seen any crumpets on sale anywhere.
Beetroot – pickled beetroot is a nice accompaniment to many a meal. I found a jar soon after we moved here, but haven’t been able to find any since.
Baked beans – whilst I’m not a fan myself, I’ve not seen any tins of Heinz beans lurking on any US shelves.
Weetabix – plenty of other cereals available, but nothing akin to good old Weetabix.
Fish & chips – I’ve been to a couple of places that purport to sell fish & chips. In reality, the chips are just fries, and not the hand-cut chips you get in a UK chippy. I’ve also not been able to find any decent frozen fish in breadcrumbs/batter to cook at home. Haddock is non-existent.
Sunday roasts & carveries – whilst you can buy the meat, it’s hard to make proper roasties here. I’ve not been able to find goose fat anywhere. I make my own Yorkshire puddings, and use the exact same recipe I used with success in the UK, but the result is never the same. I don’t know whether it’s the flour that’s slightly different or what.
Self-raising flour – you’ll only find all-purpose flour in the stores, which is equivalent to plain flour. So you need to add baking powder to make it like self-raising flour.
Sellotape – not something you’d think you’d have trouble getting hold of in such a big country. The tape they sell is either clear tape but in a large parcel tape size, or tiny little rolls of clear tape that are neither use nor ornament. Just give me a standard roll of tape!
Dishcloths – they tend to favor sponges here for dishwashing, it’s hard to find a good proper dishcloth.
So, if you’re planning a move to the US, I’d plan to bring as many of these items with you as you’re able to. Just be sure to check the food importation rules first!
Specialist British Food Shops in the US
Whilst you can buy things like squash and tins from the above, they will make the shipping costs a lot more expensive. Try looking on amazon for things like that, as they can work out cheaper.