In the UK brown paper bags are never used. We use plastic bags, often in a design specific to the shop. Yet on TV Americans almost totally seem to use Brown bags, often without handles so they have to carry them in their arms.
Is this a TV tradition or a reflection of real life?
In the majority of true supermarkets, you have a choice. The question “Paper or Plastic?” can even be used as part of a joke. Some people have a bias for one of the other but I have noticed that many places default to plastic if you don’t specify. From working in the industry, I know that plastic bags are much cheaper than paper ones.
Also, brown supermarket bags usually don’t have handles so that part is accurate. They are usually plain with no writing too although some supermarkets do print on them. Plastic bags usually have the store logo on them.
Most grocery stores have gone to plastic bags, as have most stores in general. You can still request paper bags at most groceries, but few people do, from what I can tell.
About 10 years ago, I worked in a grocery store for the summer and the baggers were told to ask “is plastic ok?” instead of “paper or plastic?” because of the difference in price between the two types - the plastic bags were significantly cheaper than the paper ones, especially when you look at the number used by the average store.
Correction: Sometimes they do have both handles and logos. I’ve often seen paper bags with logos, and I know that (for example) paper bags from Trader Joe’s (a nation-wide chain) uses bags with handles.
Paper bags were THE bags used up until about the late 80s/early 90s. I used to work in a grocery store and got out just as the plastic ones were coming in.
The ability to properly bag groceries was nearly an artform. There used to be (and may still be) an annual contest for baggers. In fact, the winners usually ended up on the Tonight Show. IIRC, Johnny Carson used to bag groceries. Later, the winners would go on Letterman, who also bagged groceries as a teen.
I was pretty good at bagging regardless of how the customer wanted it. I especially liked the “Can I get it all in one bag?” challenges.
I HATE plastic bags. Baggers these days will put just one or two items in a bag and you end up with 20-30 on a big shopping trip.
That’s why there were two usually’s in there. I know Trader Joes and other nonconventional supermarkets have bags fancier just like other types of upscale stores do. However, if you want to know about the typical U.S. pattern, plain brown paperbags with no handles are found in most supermarkets.
Until about twenty years ago, brown paper was the rule. Today, plastic bags with handles are the rule, although you can ask for paper if you prefer.
The stored really push plastic, so I assume that the plastic bags are far cheaper.
One paper bag holds about what four plastic bags hold, so in some circumstances I prefer paper, but most of the time I go along with the flow.
Depends upon your definition of “usually” and “most”.
Around here (Seattle area), all the supermarkets I’ve been to offer brown paper bags with handles and store logos printed on them or plastic bags with logos printed on them.
Most grocery stores around here seem to offer a choice, although plastic is what you wind up with if you don’t care. My wife and I prefer paper (for basically the same reason as Mr. Blue Sky).
Both Trader Joe’s and Ralphs (we find reasons to shop at both) feature paper bags with handles. These are pretty important to me, and in my experience it’s rare to see handle-less paper bags these days; I’m sure they’re out there, though.
Do the paper and plastic bags have the same volume?
A Platic bag from a UK store would probably hold more than a paper bag of the same volume.
I worked for a paper distribution company and they sold both bags. Plastic was substantially cheaper than their plastic counterparts. The most common paper bag was the 1/6 (bushel) bag. The most common plastic bag was the 1/8 (bushel). A 1/6 plastic bag was available.
Due to the shape of the plastic bag, however, it would not hold the same volume as the paper one.
The paper bags were stronger and could hold more weight by volume. They also had the advantage of being able to stand up on their own. Plastic bags just flop around and stuff spills out.
Plastic bags, however, do have a lot of uses after they have performed their jobs of hauling groceries: trash bags, covering plants in the cold, etc.
Both true. Paper bags are good for heavy items, like cans, and glass bottles. Plastic bags rip very easily, but they can be re-used as trash bags for bedroom- and bathroom-sized garbage cans.
Your average American paper bag will hold more than your average plastic bag; it’s bigger and sturdier. Many come with handles these days, too. But plastic bags are easier to haul around in quantity, and easier to store for re-use.
I re-use plastic bags for certain purposes, but paper bags are great to have around for other jobs. I try to keep a few paper bags at all times.
What about the ultimate in consumerism: using both, one inside the other? You get the strength of the paper with the handles of the plastic.
YES!! Plus, they fall over in the back of the van and dump everything out. I know not one bagger that knows what to do with a loaf of bread using plastic bags. They either put it on top of some heavy stuff and it falls out or they put it in a bag with nothing else in it. 
I prefer paper bags for many reasons:
[ol]
[li]They hold more stuff. I can get a big shopping trip in 6-8 paper bags as opposed to 15-20 plastic bags.[/li][li]It’s great for people who like their groceries organized. Me: freezer/fridge stuff all together (2-3 bags); boxed stuff/can goods together (3-4 bags); toiletries and non-food items together (1-2 bags); produce in another bag. But meat always goes in a plastic bag first and then in a brown bag with other meats or on top of canned goods.[/li][li]They stand up on their own. The rectangular bottom means I can fit them close together so they don’t tip over.[/li][li]They’re biodegradable. They don’t pollute landfills for thousands of years.[/li][li]They’re very useful after the fact. Cut one up and lay it down to protect furniture or the floor for crafts projects or use them in crafts instead of buying brown paper. Throw them down on the floor near the doors for muddy or snowy days.[/li][li]They make great recycling bins: one for my cans; one for collapsed cardboard & paper; one for plastics. As containers, they get recycled too. The glass stuff goes in a big plastic kitty litter bucket.[/li][/ol]
I only want plastic bags when I’ve only got few items. And for meat to keep it from bleeding on my other groceries. Even so, I’ve got way too many plastic grocery bags stuffed into a kitty litter bucket in my pantry. I hate them. Nobody recycles them around here. And the paper bags seem to get used for other stuff more than the plastic bags. 
Mr. Blue Sky, I’m afraid that bagging as an art form has been lost. Nobody really knows how to properly bag anymore around here. That’s why I prefer to shop at the Bag-Your-Own grocers. I’m kinda picky like that. And I’m tired of smooshed bread.
I do that with my KFC order. KFC and McDonalds are the only places I know of that give your purchase in a paper bag by default. But they are not superstores.
The US and UK bags must be quite different because The UK ones can cope with considerable weight, probably about twice as much as a paper bag with handles. I am not bragging. I’m just trying to understand the cultural differences.
The only two good places I know of in Albuquerque to get good paper bags (sturdy, with some sort of built-in handle) are Raley’s and Whole Foods.
What? Can you name these stores? Around my home, the even the poor, nasty places like Wal-Mart bag your groceries for you, not to mention normal places and high-end places. Meijer, Kroger, Farmer Jacks, Super K-Mart, Nino Salvaggios, and so on. I hate to sound like a snob, but I won’t shop at a place that won’t bag my groceries. The non-snob part is true: I prefer to watch the register so I can avoid being overcharged (a snob just wouldn’t care). I couldn’t do that and bag at the same time.