Shopping
Shopping in Paralives covers commercial lots, services, and item purchases across the launch town. L'Armoire, Market Antiques, Bloom, Headlines, cafes, and the museum gift shop are all accessible Day 1.
Loading...
Loading...
Shopping in Paralives refers to all activities that allow Parafolk to purchase goods and services. At the Early Access launch on May 25, 2026, shopping opportunities cover several named venues across the open-world town and will grow with post-launch free updates. All purchases are made with paradimes, the in-game currency. Players can send their Parafolk out into the open world to visit commercial lots and interact with the businesses located there.
When Parafolk visit commercial lots, they can sometimes buy items at prices that differ from the Build Mode catalog. Furniture from Market Antiques is discounted compared to the catalog. Bloom offers a free daily plant. L'Armoire sells outfits directly from mannequins. This creates a practical incentive for players to have their Parafolk visit stores in person rather than always relying on the Build Mode catalog, since some deals are only available by physically traveling to a venue. See Town Venues for the venue map.
Several premade lots in the launch town come with shopping functionalities. Each store occupies its own lot and offers a distinct type of product or service. The table below covers the confirmed Day 1 shopping venues.
Venue | Category | Example Price |
|---|---|---|
L'Armoire | Clothing boutique | 50 paradimes per mannequin outfit |
Market Antiques | Furniture and antiques | Discounted vs Build Mode catalog |
Bloom | Plant shop | Free daily complimentary plant |
Headlines | Hair salon service | Service fee per haircut |
Premium Gym | Fitness center service | Service fee per visit |
Creme Cafe | Cafe | Small per-item food and drink prices |
The Story Nook | Bookstore cafe | Small per-item food and drink prices |
Chez Maurice | Breakfast and lunch restaurant | Small per-item food prices |
Museum gift shop | Souvenir items | Low-paradime souvenirs (curios, postcards) |
Additional stores will be added or expanded post-launch, see Roadmap and Planned Features. For instance, a pet store will arrive once pets ship as a post-launch free update.
L'Armoire is a clothing store located in the Old Town plaza. The store has a mannequin-based outfit system that lets Parafolk purchase clothing directly from the mannequins on display. When a Parafolk interacts with a mannequin, they can spend 50 paradimes to buy the outfit it is wearing and put it on immediately.
Beyond the store itself, the mannequin item is available in the Build Mode catalog for use in any home build. Players can place mannequins in their household's home and display outfits they own by interacting with them. This lets fashionista Parafolk show off their clothing collections. The mannequin system ties shopping directly into the decoration and self-expression aspects of the game, bridging the gap between live-mode shopping and home customization via Customization System.
The Sunday Marketplace town event sets up temporary stalls in the Old Town plaza. The stalls sell oddities and themed goods that are not always available outside the event. The table below covers confirmed stall types.
Stall | Category | Day |
|---|---|---|
Oddities stall | Rare items and collectibles | Sunday |
Painter stall | Original art pieces from a local painter Parafolk | Sunday |
Other rotating stalls | Themed seasonal or one-off goods | Sunday |
Marketplace stalls are a primary way to obtain collectibles that are difficult to find elsewhere. The painter stall in particular feeds into the painting category of the museum donation track. The marketplace is also one of the events most often previewed in The New Paper on Saturday and Sunday issues.
Item pricing across the launch town fits into a rough price-band ladder. The bands are intentionally wide so that prices can vary within each:
Band | Examples |
|---|---|
Trivial (1 to 10 paradimes) | Bus rides on the PL130 line (3 paradimes), gift-shop curios, snacks |
Small (10 to 100 paradimes) | L'Armoire mannequin outfits (50 paradimes), cafe meals, themed accessories |
Medium (100 to 1,000 paradimes) | Furniture items at Market Antiques, larger decor pieces, regular shopping baskets |
Large (1,000 to 5,000+ paradimes) | Major appliances, large furniture sets, premium decor |
Career income scales with this ladder. A single shift at an Office Administrator position at Rank 31 pays 1,375 paradimes (the confirmed reference point), enough to cover a full marketplace shopping trip with leftovers for a couple of bus rides. Smaller earners need to budget more carefully; high earners can afford larger purchases without strain.
Bloom is a plant shop that gives out one complimentary plant every day. This makes it a worthwhile daily stop, even for households on tight budgets. The free plant pairs naturally with the broader Hobbies library and the post-launch gardening update. Plants purchased at Bloom (free or otherwise) can be displayed at home, gifted to other Parafolk, or kept in inventory for later use.
Headlines is a hair salon that lets Parafolk change their hairstyle during gameplay without returning to the Paramaker. Service-oriented shopping like Headlines, the Premium Gym, and cafe orders works slightly differently from product-oriented shopping: the household pays a fee and immediately receives a service or a consumable rather than an inventory item.
One of the key aspects of shopping in Paralives is that store prices can differ from the prices in the Build Mode catalog. Items sold at commercial lots may be cheaper than their catalog equivalents, and in some cases they may even be free. The daily free plant at Bloom is the clearest example. Market Antiques also offers furniture at discounted prices.
This pricing variation encourages Parafolk to explore the town and visit shops in person. While the Build Mode catalog is always available as a convenience, visiting stores can save paradimes. The system rewards players who incorporate shopping trips into their household's daily routines.
Shopping is closely tied to the open-world design of Paralives. Commercial lots are spread across the town's Town Districts, and visiting them requires Parafolk to travel through the world. Activities that cost money include having a coffee or meal outside the home, getting a haircut, or buying furniture and clothing at a shop.
The shopping system also creates opportunities for social interaction. Parafolk may encounter other characters while visiting stores, leading to spontaneous conversations or relationship developments. The commercial lots serve as gathering points within the town, adding life and activity to the game world beyond the household's own home lot. Cafes in particular are common Together Cards meeting venues.
Most named shops are reachable by foot from a residential lot, by walking the open world, or by taking the PL130 bus line for 3 paradimes per ride. The Bus Stops article documents the transit picture in detail. Households living far from the town core can route shopping trips through the bus to keep total time investment manageable.
Daily issues of The New Paper sometimes flag shopping opportunities. A coupon for L'Armoire, a discount day at Market Antiques, or a free-gift promotion at the museum gift shop can all appear as morning headlines. Following the paper's prompts is a low-effort way to find paradime-saving opportunities and is one of the strongest sources of in-game discounts.
The studio has confirmed that the shopping system will continue to grow after the Early Access launch. Additional stores, services, and functionalities will be added through free updates. Some commercial lots in the town may not have all of their features ready at launch, with certain shops planned to open alongside new game systems. The pet store is one confirmed example of a future addition that depends on the post-launch pets feature. As the game evolves during the approximately two-year Early Access window, players can expect more variety in what their Parafolk can buy and where they can buy it.