I do not believe the average consumer has control over his or her spending habits. The reason being is that credit cards are too accessible. Also stores such as Old Navy and Ikea sell merchandise at a reasonable price that most consumers find hard to resist. The way stores display their merchandise can be very intriguing to the customers. The more creativity that goes into the design and concepts increases the probability of customer entry. Often times this leads them to purchase more than necessary.
In our current society, credit cards are way too accessible. For this reason many people have multiple cards. Some even use one card to pay off the balance of another. One can walk into any major retailer and they may have their own credit card with incentives. They entice shoppers to sign up by offering them rewards that they can immediately put to use on their transaction at that time. Situations like that can easily influence people because they feel like they are getting a good deal. It is easy to lose sight of how much money they are spending with a credit card because there isn’t an upfront cash transaction. Not to mention the interest rates and fees that is associated with the card. Once these fees accumulate, the balance reflects a higher amount than was actually spent. It is also easy to swipe a credit card and not think about it. There are also new cards that allow users to just tap the debit machine without swiping or entering a pin. That can make one feel like they are not spending anything at all. To add to that light feeling users are given a thirty day grace period before they are required to start making the minimum payment. Although the grace period should be used to accumulate enough funds to pay off the balance, most people continue to swipe. Credit card companies make it easy to increase the credit limit as long as payments are being made on time. That actually keeps credit scores in good standing. Once that occur people tend to increase their spending habits whether they notice it right away or not. This once again makes it easier for consumers to lose control of their spending.
Secondly, stores such as Old Navy and Ikea sell merchandise at a reasonable price that most consumers find hard to resist despite the merchandise not being very durable. In the article Klein states, “You overlook the fact that the products are pretty crappy and fall apart” 2000 [pg. 14]. As mentioned in the article the quality may not be up to par, but customers still return to these stores to replace the faulty items. Also, as consumers we are always looking for a bargain and once we find that bargain it gives us a temporary feeling of happiness, which we try to achieve again by making more purchases. This happiness is sustainable when one receives complements from peers. People find it so important to find the balance between bargain and trendy. Since trends are constantly changing people are willing to buy the cheaper version of the latest fashionable item. This holds true even when the quality and durability is compromised. On the flip side this allows consumers with less disposable income to stay as fashionable as someone with a surplus of funds. The fact that some of Old Navy and Ikea’s products resemble a higher end brand but, offered at a cheaper price makes it easier to buy multiples in assorted styles. In the article Klein says “the idea behind theatre for the brand architecture is to commodity the products to make them as easy to buy as a gallon of milk.” 2000 [pg. 14] This means the low cost merchandise in these stores is easy to obtain. This leaves the consumer with the feeling as if they are actually shopping for a jug of milk in a convenient store with similar price range. The average shopper will see these low prices and grab many items. This technique works well for the stores because the consumer doesn’t realize how fast this adds up to a higher value. Although the technology is available to us, many