Material Culture: Everyday Life

“Consumers shop for meaning, not stuff”

Up until now, I always considered myself a pretty reasonable spender while shopping. However, it turns out I too shop for meaning more often than not. This made me think of how many times I have bought a certain product just because of its packaging and advertisement, than the usefulness of the product itself. 

For example, the most money I spent on one product was on a pair of tweezers. As a person who takes good care of her eyebrows, I know how to appreciate a good pair of tweezers. Just like any other person, when it comes to cosmetics, I have learned over time which products suit me and which do not. However, I found myself spending a lot of money on pair of tweezers just because of their packaging. It was a matte pink pair of tweezers, that had a pretty bird drawing on the packaging, and I thought “why not?”. For the price they were being sold, they should have been very useful… Unfortunately, they were not - they were too thick, and broke in the end. 

Another example of my reckless shopping for meaning is glasses cases. I started wearing glasses only a year ago, and in this very moment, I am a proud owner seven glasses cases. Even though I have a perfectly good case, I find myself constantly buying new ones. When I take a walk and pass an optical shop, I take a good 15 minutes to take a look at all the cases they have in the shop window. Each time, some interesting case with a lively design catches my eye, and I simply must have it, not because I need it, but because I liked the packaging. One time, I even bought a case in which my glasses barely fit, and I don’t even use it, I just keep it on display on my shelf. 

And last but not least, I have been re-decorating my apartment for the last month, and I decided to buy everything new. In my last quest for apartment stuff, I bought these ridiculously expensive pillows for the sofa in the living room. They are this red velvet pillows with a smooth, soft surface that is very comfortable to the skin. I was perfectly aware that the first time someone spills a drink on them they are completely ruined, however that was not going to stop me from buying them. So now, I have perfect pillows, which cost me an arm and a leg, and do not go along with any of the furniture I have in my apartment. Maybe this was not the first reckless thing I bought because of its design, but I am pretty it will not be the last. 

All in all, I think I’m one of many examples that support Laura Oswald’s quote “Consumers shop for meaning, not stuff”. We live in an age of physical, just as she said, so we focus more on the meaning presented by the packaging and advertisement than the actual use and need for certain products. For instance, any food commercial that presents a family in this idyllic atmosphere of love and joy is a good representation of this quote, because in those commercials we see people with family, friends and children, and it makes us think that by buying the product we get all that joy and love, as if the product itself keeps us all together. Even though this is not the case, we find ourselves buying the product, because we are trying to compensate for those feeling we think we lack in our lives and which those products present and guarantee us.