Nowadays absolutely, at least for groceries. Then again I don't live there any longer :) Back when I was a kid? Not so much.
Just looked it up. They were actually allowed to open from 7a.m. but at least where we lived, the regular shops in the city would only open at 10a.m. Shops were allowed to open until 6:30p.m. and not sure how long they actually did.
We only had one car and lived too far from a large grocery store that would carry everything and at proper prices to walk/bike for larger volumes. So we only did them when my dad was home and could drive us (mostly - I do remember having to bike there from time to time).
But usually it meant doing it on Saturdays. Shops were allowed to open until 2p.m. on Saturdays and closed on Sundays. We definitely made use of the "long Saturday" - one Saturday per month, they were allowed to open to 6p.m.
Just looked it up. They were actually allowed to open from 7a.m. but at least where we lived, the regular shops in the city would only open at 10a.m. Shops were allowed to open until 6:30p.m. and not sure how long they actually did.
We only had one car and lived too far from a large grocery store that would carry everything and at proper prices to walk/bike for larger volumes. So we only did them when my dad was home and could drive us (mostly - I do remember having to bike there from time to time).
But usually it meant doing it on Saturdays. Shops were allowed to open until 2p.m. on Saturdays and closed on Sundays. We definitely made use of the "long Saturday" - one Saturday per month, they were allowed to open to 6p.m.