Free shopping: the first supermarket without prices opens in Manhattan, queues at dawn to grab food and household items

In New York City, on the streets of the West Village, hundreds of people braved the cold for something that until recently seemed unthinkable: a completely free supermarket. The initiative bears the signature of Polymarket, a company specializing in online predictive markets, which has inaugurated a temporary pop-up store where there are no prices, cashiers or receipts.

You enter, fill your bag and leave. All without paying. The queue had already been stretching down the block since the early hours of the morning. There were those who arrived at 6 with a folding chair and those who waited for hours just to bring home eggs, meat, fresh produce, snacks and even flowers for Valentine’s Day.

The weight of high prices

The opening comes at a delicate moment. Food prices in the city have risen significantly in recent years, putting pressure on families and workers. For many, the free shop was more than a curiosity: a real breath of fresh air.

Among the shelves there were fresh products, basic necessities and household items. Some customers filled three bags in just a few minutes. The event also has a solidarity aspect: Polymarket announced a donation of 1 million dollars to the Food Bank For New York City to support the fight against food insecurity in the five boroughs.

Between provocation and strategy: the case of prediction markets

The operation did not go unnoticed on a political level. Mayor Zohran Mamdani had recently revived the idea of ​​city-run public supermarkets. Polymarket’s private initiative seemed to many to be an indirect response, almost a provocation. But regulatory tensions remain in the background.

Prediction markets – i.e. digital platforms where users buy and sell “contracts” linked to the outcome of future events – have come under the scrutiny of state authorities for possible violations of gambling regulations. Just as criticism grows, the company, which is a leader in the sector, chooses to show itself in a different light: that of social responsibility.

An experiment destined to leave its mark

Returning to the New York supermarket, the store will remain open while supplies last for a few days. It is unclear whether the experiment will be replicated. Yet, beyond the controversy, the image that remains is that of a compact city lined up, strangers exchanging smiles in the cold, blue bags filled with care. A temporary gesture, of course. But capable of sparking a profound debate on the cost of living, the market and new forms of social intervention in the metropolis that is the symbol of global capitalism.

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