Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill

Author:Paco Underhill
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Shopping, Social Science, Marketing, General, Anthropology, Cultural, Consumer Behavior, Marketing research, Research, Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780684849133
Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, c1999.
Published: 2008-12-30T05:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

w, gender revolt (or reconfiguration, at the very least) having changed so much about our lives, and men and women off boldly shopping new terrain, the effect on children today is quite simple: Kids go everywhere.

Where did they ever go? To school, of course, which left their mothers free to perform the myriad tasks of the domestic superintendent, high among them the acquisition of food, groceries, clothing, and other supplies and services as needed. Dad bought booze, tires, cigars, lawn mowers, groceries (maybe once or twice a year) and Mom's birthday gift. Banking was done either by Mother or Father, depending on the household's particular division of labor. Only major purchases required the presence of the entire family, but how often did anyone get a car or a sofa? Not so often that the children who came along for the ride required very much in the way of accommodation.

Today both parents are almost certainly working at jobs, which means buying that cannot be done over lunch hours must take place during times the family might happily spend together. Shopping then becomes an acceptable leisure outing—less pleasurable, perhaps, than a week at Disney World, but not entirely without potential for fun, as we'll see. Also, divorce is common enough that the single parent (either on^) in the company of the brood is a common sight in movie theaters, restaurants and stores. On any given Saturday afternoon, is there a video store or game arcade in America that goes unvisited by divorced da^s with their weekend-custody kids? Kids go everywhere because we take them, but once there, they alter the shopping landscape in obvious and subtle ways.

There is also the fact that our children consume even more mass media than we adults do, much of it vying to sell them things. The marketplace wants kids, needs kids, and they're flattered by the invitation and happy to oblige. They idolize licensed TV characters the way children once were taught to worship patron saints, and manage to suss out the connection between brand name and status at a very early age. It's just one more example of how capitalism brings about democratiza-tion—you no longer need to stay clear of the global marketplace just because you're three and a half feet tall, have no income to speak of and are not permitted to cross the street without Mom. You're an economic force, now and in the future, and that's what counts.

All this, like every major upheaval, is both boon and burden. In practical terms, it means three things: 1. That if a store is somehow unwelcoming to children, parent-shoppers will get the message and stay away. I can't tell you how many stores that depend on female customers fail to ensure that all aisles and paths between racks and fixtures are wide enough for a baby stroller to pass. If they're not, at least half of all women in their twenties and thirties will be shut out at least some of the time. (A great many men shoppers will be, too.

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