Although quite pro-family, IMHO.
I often wonder how we ever managed to shop "in the old days".
The missus, occupation 'home duties', did all the shopping. In those day your little woman stopped work at about 6 month pregnant and didn't work again until the kids were in high school. Not arguing for a return to those times but that's how it was. House prices, &c, were such that you could get by on a single income. Not now of course -- but the west's shopping hours haven't caught up with the needs of the working family.
Today's house prices are most certainly not pro-family.
From an eastern point of view it's hilarious to look at the West and see them pointedly not learning the hard-learned lessons from here.
Small, then all, supermarkets grudgingly allowed to open on Sunday but with the hardware aisle roped off so you couldn't buy a screwdriver or timber hammer (an automotive ball-peen was OK). Frank Penhallurick going to prison for opening his hardware store on a Sunday - and prepared to do it again. Eventually politicians saw sense and now shopping in Melbourne on weekends is a family day out -- the malls and the city are packed with people. Weekends are the busiest shopping days of the week.
Supermarkets used to open 24/7 but most shut at midnight now. Occasionally I head down to the local Coles around 10:00pm for lollies or icecream and there's always several people shopping, some doing the main shop.
One rationale for supermarkets was they run the fridges 24 hours and usually packed after hours so it made sense to open with one or two checkouts going and a security guard.
By the way I'm from the West and all my family is still there. My brother is in Rocky so he's OK, not so the others.
Edit -- the was one group of store owners that was devastated by the liberalisation of shopping hours: the corner store or milkbar. There are comparatively few around now. Most independant supermarkets, furniture shops, &c., adapted and thrived.