For this exercise I decided to visit the Holyoke Mall to observe the many different behaviors people displayed while shopping. As I was sitting at one of the benches on the second floor I noticed a pattern of certain actions and behaviors. The first thing I noticed was how so many people were walking through the mall on their phone texting, playing games, etc. Even if they were with someone they still gave their phone more attention. It blows my mind that some people feel the need to constantly look at their phone instead of enjoying the time they have with their friends/family. Some people were so distracted by their phone to the point where they were walking into people or displays. It is so annoying that now a days everyone is so latched
The article also talks about how we immediately pick up our phones. I have witnessed this happen at a concert before. In which the performers were trying to hype up the crowd but instead of everyone going along with it and dancing, people stood still phone in hand recording instead. I believe that smartphones have also caused people to lack the ability to live in the moment.
Over the years, the American department store has developed and evolved as not only a commercial business but also a cultural institution. While it has weathered many storms and changes since its inception and throughout history, its most predominant enemy has been a change in the lifestyle of the American people (Whitaker, 2013). As the customer’s needs and wants have shifted, department stores have struggled to keep up with demands. It has been argued that the decline of the department store has been ongoing for the last 50 years (Whitaker, 2013). This dissertation aims to understand how the department store has historically played a role in consumer culture and spending, and additionally, how this has evolved and changed in today’s retail market. Although department stores may not be able to take all the credit for inventing modern shopping, they certainly made its conventions and conveniences commonplace. They set a new standard for the way the consumer should expect to be treated, the type of services that should be provided, and the convenience that should attend the process of acquiring the necessities and niceties of life all in one place. They made shopping into a leisure pastime. This environment meant shopping was a means of freedom to look around, pick up objects with no obligations to buy. As one historian remarked, department stores: “encouraged a perception of the building as a public place, where consumption itself was almost incidental to the delights of a sheltered promenade in a densely crowded, middle-class urban space” (Whitaker, 2006). Although this perception and view of the department store has changed over the years, this paper aims to follow the trail of how and why that happened.
The suggestion regarding the shopping mall becoming its own liturgy is understandable. People are often fascinated by the mall’s environments. In addition, the mall may become a place of worship to an extent. Spending unhealthy amounts of time at mall may have attachment effect. Nevertheless, attending the mall,
Whether aware or not, people are distracted by the mere presence of their smartphones and it disrupts how they think and act. With just a
The local Barnes and Noble on Veterans Boulevard houses a host of fascinating characters, creating a museum of people for the watchful reader who, seated in a plush chair in the corner of the store, can occasionally look up from his book and shoot curious glances at the people surrounding him. As customers, browsers, readers, and studiers walk through the double doors of the book lover’s haven, the seated observer can watch each individual move towards his task, whether it is simply browsing the countless shelves of the store for an interesting find or selecting an assortment of magazines with which to waste time in the company of his Starbucks coffee. Although one may not initially notice the different groups of people that frequent Barnes and Noble, when he studies the people walking in and out of the store, he will notice three distinct groups. While some customers are honestly and directly searching for a specific item in the bookstore, the coffee-drinking readers, the impish denizens of the children’s section, and the aimless shelf browsers compose the three separate clusters of people that cause Barnes and Noble to be a museum of sorts, forming an interesting view for a curious spectator.
I walked into the front of the store to see a crowd of people searching for a good grocery cart. One that wouldn’t wobble every second that you pushed it. I took a look at many of the faces as they were beginning or ending their shopping experience. The people walking in looking for a cart seemed unsure or not pleased to be there in the first place. While the people leaving looked happy and eager to get home. I took this as a clear sign that this was not the most enjoyable place to ...
When you enter this small department store they have bright lighten and fashionable outfits throughout the store. Burlington has two floors; an escalator is available for shopper’s access. There are several pictures hanging on the wall in Burlington. The problem I observed at Marshalls is the store is constantly messy. Clothes are never on the correct rack and clothing is always on the floor.
Many people walk and don’t even look up anymore. Riding the bus today has become a very silent ride. You have people listening to music, checking emails, statuses, and other social network sites. You can’t even get a simple hello or how are you doing like the old days. Even in classrooms students can’t put away their phones .
Anthropologists study customers’ shopping behavior to put together a pattern of how people shop, and from that, they arrange the items
Pahl, Jon. (2003). The Mall as Sacred Space. In Behrens Laurence & Rosen Leonard (Eds.),
A sociological observation was conducted at York dale Toronto shopping center and food court at various time intervals. There were different spectres of ethnicity and different ways people acted. I chose this mall because it is one of the largest malls in Canada and the problem of reactivity could be avoided.
Throughout the world I believe that cell phones has become a major distraction that is affecting everyone's social life negatively this generation. Sometimes cell phones can be useful and helpful to the world, but in this case it is destroying everybody's social skills. Lately, cell phones are being very interruptive while having a conversation with someone or at an occasion. Secondly, people aren't able to have conversations face to face like we all used to communicate with each other. Lastly, us humans have become obsessive and addictive with using our cell phones. "In a 2015 study by the Pew Research Center, 89 percent of cell phone owners said they had used their phones during the last social gathering they attended." (Turkle 1). How would we be able to change this habit?
Etiquette has essentially been tossed aside as society has yet to learn a balance between technology and "real" life. An example of poor balance is the use of cellphones while being accompanied by others at a dinner table or restaurant. This is emerging as a common occurrence in contemporary society and it is a characteristic of humanity which would have never been witnessed at the onset of the cellphone age. Cellphones must be turned off at the dinner table and in restaurants unless there is an meaningful reason to have it on. It is impolite to be texting or browsing the internet during a conversation with another individual. Furthermore, cellphones have started being used at the movie theater during a movie and even in the car in the midst of driving. Allowing oneself to be distracted by a text conversation or phone call while driving is extremely dangerous and can often be fatal. According to the National Safety Council, 1.6 million crashes per year are a result of distracted driving from a cellphone. Another example of unacceptable etiquette is the astonishing number of heads of individuals staring downwards at a cellphone while walking on the street or in the hallways of a school. Checking Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites needs to be halted until one is not consistently bumping into and disrupting others. On a
Everyone likes shopping, but everyone has their own way of spending when they go shopping. I love shopping, but I hate being at the mall, if I don’t need to be there then I won’t be there. I’ve noticed that when I have money, I do not buy anything, and when I do not have money I want everything I see. From my experience I’ve observed that there are people who shop smart, people who are just plain addicted to shopping, people who join another person while shopping, basically called window watchers.
Shopping is something that has to be done whether you enjoy it or not to get essentials needed. We all go places where merchandize is being sold for a specific reason. Whether you go to the mall, shopping centers, or your local grocery store, you 'll always encounter many types of shoppers. Shopping isn’t always as fun as it sounds to everyone, but it is something we often do. This is the only way we get products we need, by personally buying them. You have three main shoppers including impulse buyers, list makers, and bargain hunters.