One of the biggest givens of modern American life is that we live in a consumer society. We are inundated with products to buy and if you receive email (which no filter stops junk mail), watch TV or ads on YouTube, you, like me, see things you just as soon not see.
Consumerism was not always such a dominant force in Americans’ lives. Following the advent of mass production beginning two hundred years ago, the seeming realization of the American dream in the 1950s, the perfection of advertising, as portrayed by the TV series “Mad Men” (88% of Americans liked this show), urging us to fill our homes with stuff.
“Advertising tries to stimulate our sensuous desires, converting luxuries into necessities … the business world is bent on creating hunger, Fulton J. Sheen
Ads are embedded into the very fabric of society. Younger people today do not collect or buy as we did in the past.
Consumer Psychology
Consumer psychology is the study of how our previous life experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings influence the way we decide to buy products and services. To get a bit more formal, check out this definition from Auburn University:
“Consumer psychology is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society.”
Which of these quotes describes you?
“How many things are there which I do not want.” Socrates
“We buy things we do not need to impress people.”
Buying food and things, of course, is necessary for people to survive. Food, shelter, clothing, are rarely free. Buying can also be exciting, comforting, helpful, even fun.
Since COVID, 42% of Americans are buying more online than before the pandemic and going to stores 40% less. Younger consumers shop online the most – 55% of Generation Zers and 51% of millennials. 66% say they’ll keep buying online, even as stores reopen.
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