Shopping Trend
Meethali Raol
meetaliraol@gmail.com
Shopping Trend
Shopping involves purchasing of products by customers as you all must be aware about it. The tendency for shopping is currently wide-reaching and it has spread all over the world. The first modern shopping centre, the Country Club Plaza, opened in Kansas City 1922.The world's first and largest megamall was the West Edmonton Mall at 5.3 million sq. ft. (493,000 sq. m) in Alberta, Canada. The largest mall in the United States is the 4.2-million-sq-ft (391,000-sq-m) Mall of America, opened in 1992 in Bloomington. The first Shopping Mall in India is the Spencer Plaza 530,000 sq ft (49,000 m2) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu developed in 1895.
The two main categories are convenience goods and shopping goods. Although maximum shopping products are sold in stores, exhibitions such as retail, grocery, and specialty stores, some of the consumer purchases are made through other means, such as catalogue shopping, telemarketing, and online buying (also known as cyber shopping).
Convenience goods are goods that shoppers purchase frequently, immediately and with minimal effort. People do not spend a large amount of time shopping for ease items. They are made routinely, which includes common staples, such as vegetables, milk, bread and other day to day items.
Shopping products are items buyers will conduct a search for in order to find the one that best suits their needs, it includes selection process. Although while purchasing the goods customers will compare a variety of attributes, such as warranty, suitability, quality, price, and style. Automobiles, Clothes, Electronics and many more are often bought this way. Consumers may also visit a number of shopping places, such as retail stores, before they make a decision. Many consumers also visit different places just to find that in which store the product is available in reasonable amount, because of importance given to these types of purchases; consumers usually invest considerable time and energy before making such a purchase.
Some of the specialty items are also provided which have characteristics that compel buyers to make special efforts to find them. Consumers often do not consider price at all when they are shopping for specialty products, which can include almost any kind of shopping product, including particular types of food, expensive imported cars, or items from a well-known fashion designer or manufacturer that can all be considered specialty goods or other electronic items such as Smart phones, washing machines, television, refrigerators and many more. Usually, specialty goods have a brand name or other type of distinguishing characteristics. Shopping goods are often classified as specialty products based on the location and need of the consumer. For example, some olive oils or wines may be a convenience product in abroad countries but a specialty product in the India. Some of the consumers who favour specialty products may travel considerable distances to purchase that item. These types of shopping products can often be found in specialty stores, which carry a large assortment within a small line of goods. An example would be a store that carries only breads, but different types of breads available from foreign retailers.
At some places unsought products are also available that buyers do not wish to use or even thought about purchasing it. It could be a product that a consumer may not be aware or must be aware about it, but has never considered purchasing. Usually products without brand name can also be considered as one type of unsought products. In addition, some consumers often put off purchasing unsought shopping goods because they do not consider them to be important and also because they are not produced by branded companies. These types of goods are frequently brought to customer’s attention through campaigns, advertisings or through exhibitions and sales. Sometimes these unsought products are something new on the market, such as digital phones. At other times they are fairly standard services that some consumers would not bother shopping for, such as life insurance.
Previously people used to travel at lengthy distances to purchase their day-to-day necessities whether it is vegetables or milk as well as people in those days have to work hard so that they can fulfil their daily requirements, they also used to give there valuable things in exchange of food. In modern days stuff is easily available whether it is food, clothes or electronic equipments and many more at short distances, these is due to development in technology and country infrastructure.
Enlarged interest of people in shopping has made shopping tender commerce universal. It is truly welcome step for those who strive for occupations in retail sector because more amount of employments are now available in retail industry than ever. Technology has reached its height because it provides facilities such as online transactions of payments, gathering information about any products, connecting with individual staying far wide and countless services such as Cyber Shopping which is the latest trend in individual’s shopping. Research has estimated that more than $200 billion worth of online purchases will be made in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Digital is a dominant way to connect buyers with stores in this present period.
In previous era nobody would have ever thought that online shopping could be done, but in present period it can be done with the help of technology. The trade business is experiencing a dramatic change: In-store individual traffic is going away and online research is active, in addition to smart phones are becoming progressively important to the buyer's in-store shopping journey, it is because buyers want more information and customized experiences during their shopping journey. About 30% shoppers who tried to find information within a store say they didn't find what they needed and 20% of them left frustrated. And 70% of in-store shoppers who use smart phones for online research say their device has become more important to their experience because store provides small amount of variety in products compared to the online websites which consists of more than sufficient amount of products.
Retailers as well as different retail companies can also sell their products and they can reach to a wide range of customers. Rising technology has provided individuals to buy online products such as clothes, mobile and laptop accessories, kitchenware, toys, electronics, vegetables and so on. Currently diverse services are provided by the technology and internet. Customers experience flexibility also numerous qualities as well as prices are available for same products from different retailers and websites which is beneficial for them.
The B2C (business to consumer) development has made shopping stress-free for shoppers to select any product online from a retailer's website. Wide-reaching people order goods from different provinces such as Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Shopclues and many more. And so, online retailers deliver their products to individual’s house, offices or wherever buyers want according to the address provided by the customers. They also provide several facilities of payments such as cod (Cash on delivery), net banking, credit card, debit card and so on, this turn out to be easy for buyers to pick out their way of compensation. Another facility which is important, that if in case the product which customer has received is not up to the requirement of the customer and if it is not working properly individual’s can replace that product. Other facility provided by online retailers to the consumer’s is they can cancel their ordered product and cash is returned back to them if it is paid.
Individual prefer online shopping because websites provide several deals at near to the ground budget, one more purpose to shop online is that buyer does not need to consume their energy by going out and visiting different stores as it saves time and cost of travelling spent for shopping as well as by providing all products at the same place. Also certain people turn out to be tired of annoying abundant outfits in different stores and visiting each and every shop and consider it wastage of time so they prefer online shopping; especially old age people they do not have much energy compared to young ones and middle age people to drive at different places for shopping various goods so they prefer online shopping which is helpful for them.
While shopping online, it can be more difficult to negotiate price given, because you are not directly interacting with a sales person. Shoppers have to pay for the product the amount which is declared by the online retailers. Some consumers use various websites for price comparison in order to find the best price deals and from then on decide to buy from particular website which provides the same product at lesser cost so that small amount of money could be saved. Sometimes online shopping becomes scam because of few fraud people who make fake online websites just to earn money, so while shopping proper care is necessary to be taken so that every individual’s money is secured.
Now what happens when shopping twists out of control and becomes an addiction?
This addiction sometimes referred as "Shopaholic" or “Shopaholism” which can inflict disorder on an individual's life, family, and finances. On the other hand shopping activity gives one kind of mental happiness and satisfies the need to feel superior. The reckless shopper uses shopping as a way of escaping negative feelings such as depression, dullness, self critical thoughts and anger. Unluckily the escape is short-lived. The purchases are often simply gathered in large quantity, unused, and compulsive shoppers will then begin to plan the next spending bender. People also indulged in window shopping to satisfy this urge but window shopping does not compose an addiction. Insight of shopping has been side-tracked from just routine task into enjoying and interesting experience.
For most of the shoppers, it means some new clothes for work, small gift for a friend or purchasing the products which is necessary requirement, but for major chunk of the buyers they go for shopping these days to be entertained and for them shopping is much more than an enjoyable pastime as well as in some cases, it is a real and critical craving that can turn into a financial tragedy. Especially youths drive to shopping malls to be entertained and just for time pass. Shopping is embedded in our culture; so often, the impulsiveness comes out as excessive shopping. This kind of growth is not inspiring for the humanity.
What else should a concerned family member or friend look out for when they think shopping has become a problem?
Consistently a person will spend over their budget and get into deep financial trouble, spending well above their income. The normal person will say, ‘I can't afford to buy this product', But the one who has an addiction will not be aware of the boundaries of a budget. Most individuals go for compulsive buying, it means they will go for one pair of clothes and come out with 5 and Shopping becomes a chronic problem. Several people will hide their purchases because they don't want their concerned family or friends to know they bought it because they'll be criticized and few of them might have secret credit card and bank accounts, too. Because this problem affects mostly women, as alcoholism affects mostly men.
Several buyers go for purchasing and waste too much time in trying outlets, at last few people only purchase and others won’t buy due to money problem or because they had just came to do time pass. Subsequently, they misplace their concentration and are diverted away from other vital responsibilities of their life and relationships. Many times certain individuals do excess shopping which is harmful for them as well as their families because financial burden rises from spending more than required. Finally the one who cannot spend money to purchase goods often feel subordinate and in life-threatening cases some may get attach towards illegal activities to earn more money specially youngsters because they have the craze of buying every new product which comes new in the market and wants to create their standard by showing it to their friends circle, families or in society, it’s just one kind of show-off. They are more inclined to such threats because they are more vulnerable. Shopping only with friends or relatives who do not compulsively spend is also a good idea; it can help you to limit your spending. Find alternative ways of enjoying your valuable time is essential to break the cycle of using shopping way of trying to feel better about yourself.
Last but not the least I would like to highlight you all that shopping is done to fulfil the requirements needed to live the life but making it a habit and making it desire to purchase every products can create problems in your life. Keep in mind you are a worthwhile person, no matter how much or how little you buy. So always do stylish and brainy shopping…!
Meethali Raol
meetaliraol@gmail.com
