Korey Kendall Dr. Kay English Composition 1001 23 September 2014 Shopping? Or Dreaming? When shopping, are we simply following a list of items essential to daily life or are we envisioning our future? Are we searching for what we need or what we desire? Are we just “buying goods” or are we attempting to perfect ourselves in relation to the ever changing norms of society? It is these questions that Sharon Zukin attempts to answer. The author of, “Attention Shoppers: Your Dreams in Aisle 3”, an article published in The Chronicle Review, takes a step back from being a shopper herself to assess the consumer-goods industry as a whole and the mindset it instills in buyers. Zukin believes that despite a consumer simply grocery shopping, finding …show more content…
that perfect outfit for the first day of school, or buying a new car, they are always striving for the same end goal. That is, as consumers in America, we are always shopping for our dreams. Whether that is finding the cheapest price, a specific brand, or the most reliable product, we buy what we want, as often as we can. Through her writing style and appeal to ethos, Zukin delivers this quality message to her intended audience. At the beginning of the article, one can already see the audience Zukin intends to address this topic to. Zukin published this article in The Chronicle of Higher Education where the website description states, “Weekly news and job-information source for college and university faculty members, administrators, and students (The Chronicle of Higher Education). Therefore, one can assume that is the intended audience and the paper is written in a manner that the audience can comprehend. At one point in the article, Zukin says, “As baby boomers, we were never taught self-control” (Zukin P1). With the article being released in 2003, this a direct statement to a group of people that may fit the intended audience ranging from the age 55 to 75. Secondly, further in the article, she states that, “When we are 9 or 10: arguing with our mothers over buying clothes with cool brand names. When we’re 15 or 16: shopping with our friends. Those are rites of passage” (Zukin P2). The point being made assumes that the audience was once that age and experienced the same thing but has since grown to become a student or older. Zukin is appealing to pathos and attempting to draw in the reader by relating them to a nostalgic experience. Lastly, Zukin interviewed teenagers in New York, who are students (maybe not college), about their shopping experiences as well as their parents (Zukin P2). It is now clear to see that Zukin wrote this article to appeal to a large age group in the academic field. Whether the person may be a young adult or elder, they can still be a student or a part of a university faculty or administration. Throughout the article, Zukin uses factual information and many supporting arguments to deliver a quality message to consumers about the changes in shopping in the past thirty years. She began with saying how there was a dramatic increase in advertisements as well as superstores in the early 1990’s (Zukin P1). This beginning argument helps the audience clearly see that this article is strictly about shopping. Secondly, Zukin states consumers have developed affluenza, luxury-fever, and greed. The concepts that consumers buy stuff they don’t need, spend more money just because they can, and want something just because someone else has it too (Zukin P1). This is a correlation to the fact that consumers are now surrounded by everything they need or want. The more they see, they more they desire to have. Their eyes are too big for their wallets. Zukin seems to defend this by saying consumers cannot be blamed for this because market researchers and merchandise managers now target our values and lifestyles instead of our socioeconomic status (Zukin P2). The reason consumers see everything they want is because researchers put everything they want right in front of them. This proves the overall message that, “We [shoppers] can’t be blamed if we see our dreams in stores” (Zukin P3). Zukin effectively displayed this message by stating accurate information and supporting her arguments. Although it’s expressed in her writing, Zukin also possesses an incredible amount of ethos in her academic and professional profile. Currently a professor of sociology at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, she received her doctorate in political science from Columbia University in 1972. Her area of expertise deals with the consumer society and consumer culture – specifically shopping and urban change, gentrification, arts and urban economic development, and ethnic diversity (Sharon). Showcasing that expertise in the writing, Zukin explains her personal experiences shopping in relation the problem she’s presenting. For example, she personally witnessed in the 1990’s that superstores and advertisements were popping up all over America and it also had an influence on her shopping experience (Zukin P1). This establishes a little bit of credibility and makes her opinion worth listening to. She adds to her credibility by presenting in-depth research such as relating her arguments to “Abraham Maslow’s psychology of needs and David Riesman’s studies of social conformity” (Zukin P2). This research demonstrates Zukin’s work ethic and credibility because she is knowledgeable of her topic and able to apply it to other studies. Lastly, adding to her credibility, she also established the use of kairos by choosing an opportune time to release the article when shopping was continuing to flourish in the United States. In conclusion, through her academic background and ability to express knowledge to the audience, Zukin is a highly credible resource for information regarding the consumer society and culture of modern day shopping. For an article that was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the format of the article does not seem very scholarly.
Zukin shares her information in short, simple sentences of independent and subordinate clauses. She uses a word style that is very concrete and formal, utilizing ordinary and general terms. Words are meant to be taken literally with few scientific terminology being used when presenting research. Each bit of information is spread out in paragraphs regardless if it contains a lone sentence or a standard amount. For an educational article, most would expect well thought paragraphs filled with factual information and supporting arguments. Also, by knowing Zukin’s background information as well as reading the article, readers can tell that she is knowledgeable in the field of shopping. It is ironic because the consumer society and culture is her area of expertise as well as the fact that she is an active participant in shopping herself (Sharon). Lastly, Zukin asserts a tone in this article that is calm and informative but also personal in that she expresses zeal in her work. Zukin never argues with the audience but rather chooses to present the information and supporting arguments. This lets the audience decide for themselves if she is right or wrong (provided that there is no bias). Overall, the style and document design are not what is expected of a persuasive, academic article but Zukin does show her knowledge and enthusiasm in the …show more content…
topic. “Attention Shoppers: Your Dreams In Aisle 3” by Sharon Zukin justifies that American shoppers do not just look for their needs or wants, they shop for their dreams and aspire to obtain them.
Through the use of rhetorical elements, Zukin attempted to address the public with an issue relatable to many within the consumer society and culture. She supports the issue with research conducted in the form of industry statistics, face-to-face interviews, and personal experiences. She establishes her credibility through her scholastic and professional background as well as providing in-depth information proving her knowledge in her area of expertise; consumerism. The text was presented in a format unlike most educational articles where the tone was calm and informative and the content was very general and straight forward. Zukin was very persuasive in the fact that she showed enthusiasm in her writing by providing personal experiences as well as plenty of information and supporting arguments to solidify her knowledge in that area of work. The message was supported well by her writing style, appeal to credibility, and persuasive approach in order to effectively gain the attention of the intended
audience. Works Cited "Sharon Zukin." Brooklyn College. Brooklyn College, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2014. "The Chronicle of Higher Education." The Chronicle of Higher Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. Zukin, Sharon. "Attention, Shoppers: Your Dreams in Aisle 3." The Chronicle Review 50.17 (2003): 5. Print.
... middle of paper ... ... People are unable to judge their own flaws, causing them to be gullible and believe whatever they perceive to be correct, shown through pseudoscience and consumer testimonials. Overall, this article highlights the use of Marketing Techniques used in everyday life in order to show importance towards business products.
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.
Overall, his claim that males respond best to simple, seemingly straight-forward advertisements was well thought out and supported through sufficient evidence. Gladwell successfully provided the proper amount of evidence supporting his claim and had he showed opposing views or views of the consumer it only would have added to an already successful paper. This essay is a perfect example of the importance of a thorough introduction to provide the reader with a concise synopsis of what the paper intends to covers. Had Gladwell excelled in both areas he neglected, this would be an extremely interesting, thought-provoking look into the world of advertising.
Everyone is in a consumer’s hypnosis, even if you think you are not. When you go to a store and pick one brand over the other, you are now under their spell. The spell/ hypnosis is how companies get you to buy there things over other companies and keep you hooked. Either through commercials or offering something that you think will make your life better by what they tell you. For example, you go to the store and you need to buy water, once you get to the lane and look, there is 10 different types of water you can buy. You go pick one either because the picture is better or you seen the commercial the other day and you want it. During the length of this paper we will talk about two important writers, Kalle Lasn the writer of “The Cult You’re in” and Benoit Denizet-Lewis writer of “ The Man Behind Abercrombie & Fitch”. They both talk about similar topics that go hand and hand with each other, they talk about the consumers “Dream”, how companies recruit the consumers, who cult members really are, how people are forced to wear something they don’t want, and about slackers.
Kilbourne focuses on academic writing and refers the readers as if she is talking directly to the people who are unaware of the negative effects of advertisements. Kilbourne offers a lot of visual examples to provide tangible evidence based on her arguments on advertisements. This strategy attracts the readers because of visual pictures and ensure fast understanding of the point she is trying to justify. It also encourages the attentiveness of the reader in the story. Therefore, using this amazing technique she proves her point by portraying various postures and poses of advertising irrelevant to the
The data have shown customers’ interest; the retailers can serve their customers more effective when they know what their customer want. The product will catch customers’ attention because they know where exactly to put it. That lead to more product being sales and more money being generated. According to the video “How store track your shopping behavior”, from the study of men’s habit of shopping, they know how to get men pay attention to their products. They change it up a little bit and get a really interesting result:”85% increase in product touch, 44% increase in sales, and 38% increase in dollar sales”; that is huge increase numbers. That number show how impactful the study effects their business performances. It is the result of understanding their customers’ need and desire. The ultimate goal is to increase product sales. They have to depend on the customer to reach that goal. Making the customer feel comfortable and encourage them to buy more goods is a process toward that
The logic in the article is simple, just as the motive to present a topic that can in a more detailed passage seem complex, as a very simple graspable and an unadorned science. It is also for that reason that I find the message persuasive, since the main elements of marketing come through very strong throughout the whole article. As a reader, I
... of consumer behaviour, lays emphasis on the objectivity of science and the consumer as a reasonable and sensible decision maker. While, the interpretive point of view is in contrast to that of the positivist, in that it emphasises on the importance of the subjective meaning of the consumers individual experience, hence, it suggest that whichever behaviour a consumer performs is subject to diverse interpretations to a certain extent than just a single explanation to it.
Consumerism occurs everywhere, whether it is an abandoned factory, between a group of friends or in a warm, loving middle class home. Through the eyes of the protagonist Kunzru presents how popular consumerism is by noting,“Sasha was telling me that the sushi at Bar Fugu was “to die for” because he meant it or because it was a snappy slogan. Vikram started talking to me at nauseating length about tires. ”(Cite) The statement proves that anyone and everyone is a consumer or a person attempting to advertise some sort of product for a reward whether it is money or free stuff.
Right out of the gate, in his article titled “‘Have It Your Way’: Consumerism Invades Education, Simon Benlow articulates on a memo received at his facility, a reminder to ‘serve his customers’. A more than powerful persuasion to prompt his article on consumerism invading education. Benlow goes on to explain his flamboyant theory, attacking the public’s common slogans and lazy consumerist attitudes, saying that today's common business and corporate methods lull and trick the public into being passive, consumerist zombies. Although the entire article reveals a very controversial topic, one may argue the most staggering idea involved is that the consumerist way of life we have come to know has
When comparing two different ways of shopping most people do not even think about the difference, they do both and not even realize it. In today's society people shop while at work, after work and on the weekends, whenever time permits. Stop and think how can I get more time in the day for family or just myself? The best way to figure that out with all the recourses we have is to go into a store and spend time looking through racks and waiting in endless lines to just purchase something. I compared going into a store verses online shopping; to see which one will save you time and money.
An adept and self-governing group called Consumer Reports (CR) takes the initiative to put together a risk-free, satisfactory, and well-grounded marketplace for individuals such as purchasers. The non-profit organization was built in the year 1936, at the peak of advertising’s fame. The intention of advertising is to persuade its audience to do certain activities, like buying, through the use of social media. Back then, people did not have any bases or clue of what is considered to be a good and bad product. Ever since the staff of Consumer Reports felt the need to take action, they have laid the foundations of a wide scope of information for consumers; good items are already separated from the bad ones. The pro-shopper organization turns down offers of paid ads and free samples to ensure that they remain detached and autonomous for buyers who depend on them for honest reviews, and from the influence of advertisers. This is how they function: A number of mystery clients and specialists are recruited and asked to purchase and put the products into assessment. Through those steps, the commentator is given the opportunity to test the item firsthand, and evaluate it in an objective manner. Being unbiased is important in making reports for the reason that it affects the credibility of the evaluation.
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.
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.