There are 2 methods we go grocery. We either follow a list, #MyWay or we follow the aisles, #Highway. The latter is basically, you go in and be led by how the store was designed. You follow the signboards, smells, paths, corridors on how the psychological experts in the respective grocery store chain designers set the aisles after having studied human behavior and applied all the operations research theories potentially applicable.
Deep-rooted somewhere in there is the aspect of consumerism as based on how where do consumers spend the most time, how are they likely to buy more is what is shown to the big companies who then pay for those premium shelves and locations. All this is obviously confirmed by their own experts.
The problem I have with consumerism is the choices they now give us in the name of product diversification. I wanted to buy some shampoo. If I was going to do this around 15 years or so back, I would go and pick up the brand I like and be done with it. Now, there are choices within the choice. Why there are many brands to choose from was already an issue, now we have types of shampoo to choose from under the brand you selected? What next? From the type of shampoo, you select, you choose whether you want it or not after all? Time will tell where the next level of consumerism goes.
For now, I see the shelf and there is for silky hair, for scalp moisturizing, for itchy scalp, for classic clean, for refreshing for etc etc. I forgot, the next new thing is "for men". Just so we men, don't feel like we are using feminine products. Using a shampoo was not a fad for anybody not many years back. Soap was sufficient. Then it became a fad for women as they had long hair. Then men started keeping long hair and shampoos were used by them, secretively of course. Then women started cutting their hair short, some even going bald for fashion sake. How this all evolves and how they keep selling stuff to us.
My dad still uses just soap for his hair, no shampoo and he does just fine. He has better hair than many people who use shampoo. Just stupid consumerism as I see it.
Then I had to buy toothpaste. When I found the brand I wanted, I see, the gel version or the not-so-gel version. I never used a powder but that is an option too. Then there is a mouth rinse. The whitening version, the regular version, the tartar cleaning version, the fresh breath version and of course the one for sensitive teeth, the one for sensitive gums, oh come on.
I guess, more choice means more consumers. Selling shampoo to men, selling razors to women. Selling moisturizing creme to both. Selling water, flavoured water. Selling popcorn, butter flavoured, cheese flavoured, nacho flavoured, popcorn flavoured?
Even Panadol has version of their product. One for headache, one for flu like symptoms, one for ALL, one for something that is easy on the stomach, one for muscle pain. Oh God!!
It used to be so simple. Here is a quote from me for that,
"Once we start complicating the simpler things in life, we wouldn't have enough time for dealing with the complicated things around us."
What has the world come to, what is going to get to if we continue this way? This bubble has to burst. We are just kept so busy in these worldly choices that we are too tired to make decisions where they should really count. Who cares about the real problems this world is facing? Maybe we care but we don't do anything about it, we are wasting too much energy on helping this world run, which we hate in the first place. Instead, we should fight this and release our energies for the better good.
No comments:
Post a Comment