Sunday, April 15, 2012
Shopping Game
As a guy who doesn't do a whole lot of shopping I am not sure how qualified I am to even write this post, but I am going to attempt it anyways. Shopping is a part of everyone’s life, but if you think about it there is actually a lot of strategy involved. First, you have to budget your money. People save up to buy a new pair of shoes or a new shirt, etc. It gets harder though, not only do you have to save up for these items, you have to use your money strategically. People put items on hold to make sure they aren't buying a shirt at one store when then might like another one better at another store. However, if you do happen to buy something you don't want you can always go back in return it. In addition, shopping can be like a game of hide and seek. Some stores are so big you have to go through it in order so you don't miss anything. Lastly, this part pretty much only applies to girls, but shopping can almost sometimes be like a race because once your friend buys something you can apparently no longer buy that same article of clothing or accessary. My girlfriend and her friends for example always send each other pictures of clothes after they buy them to make sure no one else buys the same thing. This all seems very silly, and that last part to me sounds the most outrages (that’s probably just because I am a guy and just don't understand) but it is a very real and potent game everyone seems to play. Shopping has a lot of strategy involved in it. While there aren't really any winners or losers except your wardrobe, it still takes careful planning at times and to relate even more back to this course has its own magical circle in that of the store, mall, or online shopping website. In addition, taking this one step further, shopping has even branched off to form other games such as raffles for shopping sprees and free clothes giveaways. Shopping doesn't seem like much, but there is definitely more to it than meets the eye.
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To correlate this with our class definitions of games:
ReplyDeleteI guess the magic circle for shopping would be just the presence of all these things you look at and want to buy but maybe cannot afford. The only connection to real life in this case is your actual money limitations. However, with a credit card, I guess one could engross themselves entirely in a shopping spree without immediately worrying bout consequences.
Shopping is certainly entertaining for shoppers, they get to see all this stuff they want and find surprises around every turn, whether it be new products or new sales!
Shopping has a goal to get what you want and find new things of course!
Shopping has strategy, like you said, go for the good sales and the in-fashion items.
Shopping even has competition, competing for stock inventory of shoe sizes or clothes styles. (Think Black Friday, where people wait outside for hours just for an advantage in the game).
I've never thought of shopping as a game, but I can definitely see game-qualities in it.
As a girl reading your post, I am very surprised that you have ultimately captured many big points about shopping that definitely relate to gaming. Like Dustin, I definitely feel that one thing I am used to in shopping is the COMPETITION. One example of this was just a few months ago when Missoni, a very high end clothing brand, created a line for Target. My friend Dani and I woke up at 5am in order to drive to a Target location about 30 minute away in order to ensure that we would get a hold of the products. As we got into the store, we had to essentially make a "run for it" and create a game plan in order to get a hold of as many items as we could. While I ran to the shoes section, Dani ran to the clothing section. As there were women running around left and right, we had to be aggressive, yet smart as well, grabbing more items than we could want and making our decisions of whether we were going to buy them or not in the dressing room. Because of our smart tactics, we were able to walk out some pretty good stuff. In general, I find it very interesting that sales, such as the one Dani and I went to, always sell out within a few minutes of being put on the market. While Dani and I were essentially on the same "team," fighting against other shoppers, we were able two be successful. I never realized how important an ally could be in the game of shopping until I got a hold of a pair of Missoni shoes that I now love!
ReplyDeleteShopping is certainly a game, especially around the holiday times. When the newest and most advanced pieces of technology are introduced right around holiday time, people wait outside stores on line for hours, even days to ensure that they get the newest item around. People base a lot of shopping around sales, in which they see a better way to get what they want, similar to a game, where if you are given a situation where the result costs you less, it is the right move. Shopping certainly has a goal and other players who are maybe not directly but certainly creating a competitive environment where people are competing for the same goods. The winners are able to wear the newest clothes and the losers must stick to the hand-me-downs, but either way, shopping is definitely a game, and an intense one it is.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post; you pointed out some really interesting points. While reading, I immediately thought about the Friends episode in which Monica buys her wedding dress. She finds the one she loves at a department store and plans to go to a discount store that opens a few days later because the same dress will be there for half of the price. While at the department store, Monica befriends another women who is also engaged, so she shares this information with her. A couple days later, Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe are first in line at the discount store. Monica brought bells for all of them, so they could ring it when they found the dress. The doors open and people pile in. Rachel gets toppled by the crowd. A few minutes later, Monica finds the dress. She goes to grab it only to see that the woman from the department store is grabbing the same one from her hand. They begin to fight over it, pushing and grabbing each other.
ReplyDeleteI obviously can't convey the true humor of the Friends episode in my own writing, but it really was hilarious. It portrayed the exact competition that you were describing in your blog post.