It's not unusual for retailers to localize their stores — for example, to put more boots in colder climates and more sandals in hotter locales.

The same holds true when it comes to food. So how are groceries in St. Louis tweaked to cater to local tastes?

I put this question recently to Bill Shaner, chief executive of Earth City-based Save-A-Lot. The limited-assortment discount grocery chain has more than 1,200 stores around the country, including just under 30 in the St. Louis region. But, alas, it doesn't appear we're a unique lot here in St. Louis. Shaner said the local palate is fairly mainstream. But pork steak is especially popular here. As is the company's fish breading mix and some local barbecue sauces, he said.

"In the past, say five years ago, we had the same assortment in every store in the country," Shaner said. "But now about 85 percent is the same, and 15 percent of our assortment is more tailored to the area."

So in Save-A-Lot stores in Mississippi, you might find items like catfish nuggets. In Louisiana stores, you would be more likely to come upon creole spices and crawfish. And in Boston, where the grocery chain has a sizable Puerto Rican customer base, the stores carry more Goya products such as certain beans, rice and seasonings.

In more rural areas, Shaner said, the company would be more likely to sell 50-pound bags of potatoes. But in urban areas, where people tend to buy less at one time but shop more frequently, Save-A-Lot would be more likely to have 5 to 10 pound bags of potatoes in stock.

"Many people in those markets walk to our stores or take the bus," he said. "So they don't want to carry a 50-pound bag of potatoes."

MOTHER'S DAY

What high gas prices?

Consumers are expected to overlook pain at the pump in order to pamper Mom with more indulgent gifts this year.

Moms obviously deserve the attention, but I was still surprised when I saw how much people are planning to spend. According to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation, the average person is expected to spend $140.73 on gifts for Mother's Day this year — up from $126.90 last year.

So I guess flowers and a heartfelt written card don't cut it anymore. Instead, more people are planning to buy Mom electronics like smartphones, cameras and tablets. They are also planning to reach for more jewelry this year.

Another interesting tidbit from the survey is that men (aka "Momma's boys") plan to spend more than women — $168.84 on average, compared with $114.01 — this Mother's Day.

ROYAL WEDDING

And finally, a couple of thoughts about the royal wedding:

As I followed the buildup to the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton, I couldn't help but draw some parallels between this grand, lavish wedding and some of the over-the-top Indian weddings I've attended over the years replete with helicopters, pyrotechnics and mind-boggling dessert spreads.

Mary Shenk, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, has studied why Indians spend so much money on weddings. According to her research in Bangalore, the average Indian family spends about a year and a half of their income on a wedding.

"If you think about that in American standards, it would be $60,000 to $70,000 for a wedding," she said.

So what gives? Well, Shenk argues that Indian weddings are a form of "costly signaling," a theory that comes out of evolutionary biology. Think of the showy feathers of a male peacock that help attract females. Now, apply the same idea to weddings.

"A lot of time, people are signaling wealth and social status that they may not be able to show in other parts of their lives," she said.

Sometimes, the motivation may be to help their unmarried children attract better spouses or to ensure that their daughter is treated better by her in-laws.

Now let's apply this to the royal wedding. Nobody doubts that the English royal family is wealthy and well-connected, Shenk said.

But the elaborate wedding is a way to prove that the family has maintained its status, she said. After all, it managed to garner lots of media attention. And the guest list wasn't too shabby, either.