Shopping hours will eventually be deregulated

According to Bild, it's just a matter of time until shopping hours are totally deregulated. Damn, we'll soon have nothing to bitch and moan about.

Berlin – Riesiges Echo auf den Plan von Wirtschaftsminister Wolfgang Clement (SPD), den Ladenschluss fast vollständig aufzuheben.

Was ist geplant?
Die Geschäfte sollen montags bis samstags rund um die Uhr öffnen dürfen. Ob das auch an Sonn- und Feiertagen gilt, können die Länder entscheiden.

Ab wann kann ich rund um die Uhr einkaufen?

Frühestens im nächsten Jahr! Die Regierung will noch abwarten, wie das Bundesverfassungsgericht über eine Kaufhof-Beschwerde gegen das Ladenschlussgesetz entscheidet.

Müssen alle Geschäfte länger öffnen?
Nein. Jeder Ladenbesitzer entscheidet selbst, ob er die erlaubten Zeiten voll ausschöpft. Noch ist unklar, wer mitzieht. Hubertus Pellengahr, Sprecher des Einzelhandelsverbandes HDE: „Die großen Kaufhäuser werden wohl nicht rund um die Uhr öffnen. Die 24-Stunden-Öffnung ist eher etwas für kleine Kioske, die den Tankstellen Konkurrenz machen wollen.“

Well thank gawd for that!

so the UK goes continental and allows pubs to open 24 hours, while Germany goes all insular and allows shops to open round the (24 hour) clock...good trade!

When I was in Southampton a couple of months back I passed a flash looking shopping mall (the only flash looking thing in Southampton). I tried to go to M&S but found out that the whole mall closed at 18:00, except for "late opening until 20:00 on Thursdays". Thank God Germany doesn't have such useless shopping hours.

yeah, Harry, but shops in Britland can open 24 hours if they want...just look at the 24-hour opening of some supermarkets such as asda and tesco.

Where in Germany are you Harry? as here the shops shut at 6pm and some at 1pm ..on a saturday!! Some of the bigger supermarkets open till 8pm or 6pm on a saturday but thats it! and EVERYTHING is closed on a sunday!

it isnt that long since the shops can open later than 18:30.
a few years ago that was it then.

If I read the German right there, isn't it still up to each state to decide what is acceptable for opening hours? Then the shop can choose to decide between those hours when to open?

Good old Baden-Wuerrtemberg will make sure that they keep things as they are.

By the way, I've been out of Germany for a while, has the Dosenpfand been got (good) rid of yet? If not, why the hell not?

I was told about this new system by a storeman at a large shop that I deliver to, bleedin hell was me moaning that he might have to work silly shifts. He was going on n on n on... I said he could swop shifts with me if he liked, nawwww he wasn't having any of that either. Still, he said he had a good job as storeman... he just didn't like getting deliveries!