The concept of shopping has evolved over the years
The concept of shopping has evolved a great deal over the years. Shopping previously meant buying things that one needs in day to day life. Common people hardly had the luxury of buying things just because they wanted to. This was strictly speaking the reserve of the wealthy class. However, as the years have gone by, even in the Third World countries, especially after liberalization, the circulation of money has increased and the power to buy things at will is now in the hands of the middle class as well.
As the concept of shopping has evolved so have the places where one can buy things that they fancy. From single shops in posh avenues to commercial market complexes, and from that to super markets and shopping malls, entrepreneurs are going all out to woo the consumer. Today’s world is a customer oriented world and what pleases the unwary shopper most are big ‘all-under-one-roof’ shopping experiences, where they can not only shop, but can eat, play games, watch movies, read books and get their hair and make-up done at the same address.
These so called “shopping experiences” are nothing but ploys to make people spend more than they actually want to or intend to. However, hardly anyone seems to be complaining as such super markets or malls, provide car parking spaces in the very complex of the market, which means a shopper will not have to walk on foot for long hauls if parking is not available and they get to shop for everything in the same place.
Shopping has been taken a step further with the introduction of online shopping facilities. Now a person who desires to buy something without wasting time, energy and fuel, can just log onto the numerous shopping sites available on the net and place orders for the item or items they want to buy.
They pay through their credit cards and the purchased item is delivered at their doorstep. Not only this, shoppers can bid for items at particular websites and then buy their product according to the amount bided. This enables a shopper to buy items at reduced rates, something that would have hardly been possible in a shopping mall.
However things are not really as simple as that as there are hidden costs involved in all such schemes. A discount at a big and expensive shop in a shopping mall will most definitely be a discount on the increased rates of an item. Then, an e-shopper has to keep in mind that although it would seem he was not paying almost nothing bought at an auction, the delivery charges and other miscellaneous charges added together would almost add up to the original quoted price of the article.
But is it really worth taking such a gloomy view about shopping? Not necessarily. Shopping has been clinically proven to cure people suffering from mental depressions, though temporarily. Also, as the markets are becoming more and more customer oriented, shopping is becoming more pleasurable. After all who wouldn’t want to eat out at a good restaurant and then catch a good movie, after a long day’s hard work?
Happy Shopping!
