"See you later"

"See you soon," my Mum said cheerily on Saturday, "As They All Say Nowadays." "Do They?" I asked, and she said that, yes, every local shopkeeper and hairdresser and tradesman and, well, pretty much everybody, really, said "see you soon!" instead of "goodbye," "which is silly," she said, "since most of them aren't going to see me soon." I said quite honestly that I couldn't remember ever hearing anyone say "see you soon" in this context, but I had noticed a lot of people saying "see you later." To me, "see you later" means "see you later today," so I might say it to Pellinor when popping out to the shops, but I've noticed loads of people saying it at the end of a once-a-week dance practice, or when serving me in a shop.

So now I'm wondering if there are regional differences afoot, or just selective hearing on the part of both of us.