Comments on: Shopping is now a leisure activity

By: Gemma

Gemma — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:25:07 +0000

Hey

I’m just in the middle of my disseration and wondered what views you had on my title?

Dissertation

Are we dominated by our relationship with consumer goods? How far are we in control of this relationship?
I am going to consider the following:

1. What is our relationship with consumer goods?
2. What does it mean: ‘to be in control of our relationship’
3. What suggests were not in control?
4. What suggests we are in control?

gemma

By: Piaras

Piaras — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:20:33 +0000

I wouldn’t say it’s a gender thing. There’s examples of some great stores out there like the flagship Apple store in New York. In fact every Apple store I’ve been to in the States is slick and I’d happily spend time there. There’s also the flagship Nokia store in NYC and NikeTown in London.

They just haven’t made the transition to Ireland yet. I was in the 3 store on Grafton Street the other week and pretty much walked in and then straight out again. There’s a big difference between looking pretty and being an experience.

Funnily enough I wasn’t thinking about Apple writing the original post, but I’m after setting up a digital picture frame for a neighbour and it suddenly dawned on me that companies should try to be more like Apple. Not only are their stores fantastic (in a large part due to the Genius bar), but that sense of magic goes through everything they do rgith down to their packaging. Opening an iPod is a bit like sitting down on Christmas morning and tearing off the packaging under the Christmas tree.

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 08:13:33 +0000

Piaras,

Agree with the other posters - well thought through and researched posting on your part. Your observations on car dealerships struck a note with me. i think the evidence for the ‘experiential’ nature of retailing is to be seen in the way that sector has evolved - as you say in terms of the showrooms - but also in terms of how they have had to create destinations such as entire car retial parks such as at Airside where there are about a dozen dealerships in one car buyers nirvana location.

For me shopping will never be a leisure pursuit - I can’t think of anything worse than spending a Sunday entombed in these temples to consumerism. I’m with Tom on this - a gender thing? Perhaps you have some thoughts on this?

By: john

john — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 15:56:55 +0000

Piaras really well written post, thanks

By: Piaras

Piaras — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:52:17 +0000

Richard - You should see the size of my reading list, I can tell you what I’ll be flicking through for the next six months probably. Scary stuff.

fmk - I agree with you on the gambling. 5 euors on a match does get you to pay attention to the result though

By: fmk

fmk — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:22:09 +0000

shopping is now being branded as a leisure activity? oh god, the world is going too fast for me. i still have shopping flagged as a therapy thing. and i’m only just getting used to trying to get my head around the notion that gambling is being marketed as entertainment (how losing a wad of cash on the roulette wheel is classed as entertainment is sooo beyond me, but i’ll work on it).

By: Richard Hearne

Richard Hearne — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:32:57 +0000

Great post.

Where do you get the time to read everything

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 11:03:50 +0000

There certainly is a long way for physical retailers to go. I would view browsing online as a pleasurable activity, mostly because of the fantasyland I enter where I can afford everything I’m looking at!

Shopping in town, or in the local shopping centre, is a chore, and I can’t remember the last time I went shopping without knowing exactly what I want, where I was going to go and how quickly I could expect to get out of there.