At first, this may not mean much, but it shows that the short story is set in a time of American prosperity in due to the end of the Second World War. . The store they used in the story was located in a beach town, which led the three girls in swimsuits to go shopping at A&P. If the story hadn't taken place in a seaside town, the entire plot would have been drastically altered; Sammy would not have felt the need to show off in front of the girls because they would be wearing acceptable clothing in the store, which would have prevented Lengel, the manager, from confronting the girls while they were placing their order. Sammy wouldn't have felt the need to quit his job just to defend the girls, because there would be nothing to resist. Sammy would then have kept his job and moved on in life. This whole twisted A&P scenario greatly shows the importance of the main setting and the outcome of the story. Sure, John Updike could have placed the A&P location elsewhere, but the fact that it's in a beach town makes the whole specific scenario depicted in the short story seem more likely to happen..