Let's look at some important differences between France and the United States. Even though France is a huge market, it is not a mass market, at least not in the U.S. sense of the term. The retail distribution is mostly made up of specialized stores and boutiques instead of large chain stores. Large chain stores do exist, but they are the exception, not the rule. Thus, it is easier for a small shop owner to assess customer profitability and make retention decisions on the spot.
Relationships are for keeps in France.
When you shop at the same bakery each day for years at a time, the baker gets to know you and assess your relative worth to the business. This is not the case with large French retailers, who cannot possibly know all of their customers personally. In an embedded market, social relations alter market operations, empowering factors like mutual trust and obligation. In an embedded market, members of an affinity group build strong bonds of trust and, through mutual favors, a pool of social capital on which each can draw. The Parisian marketplace consists of a series of embedded markets where social capital is as important as money.