Getting People to Buy what they Don't Need

[Tracey]

Here it go...consumerism in all it's glory. That's what all the holidays are...an excuse to buy more.

"Why people buy things they don't need is because of the way you market it, position it, make it fit their lifestyle. Nobody needs anything anymore, so how do you make it something they want?"...says acclaimed expert Pam Danzinger who gets people to buy what they don't need.

It's her job to figure out what retailers across the nation are itching to know: Namely, why do people buy stuff they don't need? And how to get them to buy their stuff.

"The clients I work with are very left-brained oriented. They make decisions based upon reason," she says. "They don't understand that when consumers are shopping, they're not driven by reason at all. It's totally  emotion. It's all about feelings."

Consumers often make snap decisions to buy something and then feel compelled to rationalize the purchase, Danzinger says. The author of Why People Buy Things They Don't Need, she identifies 14 such "justlifiers" and advises retailers to lure consumers with emotion, then "close the deal" by creating a rationale for the purchase.

George Ritzer, cofounding editor of the Journal of Consumer Culture says consultants such as Danzinger are contributing to the "endless treadmill of consumption."

"Getting somebody to consume more things they don't need is, to me, reprehensible," he says.

But Danzinger is unrepentant. She points out that in the days following the Sept. 11, attacks President Bush said Americans should continue to shop and travel as much as possible.

"I'm of the point of view that a free-market society is the only way we're going to grow," she said. "People need to do with their money what they want"
~

...and so the great land-filled pyramids continue its reach for the sky. Legacy to the 21rst century..

[deltablue]

Big and fancy words to explain plain and simple greed or low self-esteem in my humble opinion.
Marketers find the way to awake that side of consumers and they fall for it all the time.

People buy by impulse because they are greedy or would like to add a worth to their lives to feel better. They get an instant gratification.
Then comes the buyer’s remorse and all the related complications.


Deltablue
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Remember the three R's:
Respect for self;
Respect for others;
and Responsibility for all your actions.

[Tracey]

That's just it...simple greed never considers the greater consequences or effects of its actions...but seeks only to acquire more and more excess to feed its own gluttenous-never-satisfied appetite. Meanwhile, the planet is drowning from such consumption at a huge human/spiritual cost.

[deltablue]

Tracey you are right on point,
I am just coming to terms with the fact that the "survival of the fittest" theory will also apply in the spiritual sense. It is very sad especially as it takes so much more effort to spiritually famish oneself than feast or the least feed it to satiety.


Deltablue
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember the three R's:
Respect for self;
Respect for others;
and Responsibility for all your actions.

[Tracey]

I'm not quite sure I follow what you mean by "it takes so much more effort to spiritually famish oneself than feast or the least feed it to satiety."...perhaps you could elaborate a little further on this?

If I am to understand correctly...the 'effort' is to spiritually 'famish' rather than to feast?

Hmm..I'm not real sure about that...in the sense that it has been both my observation and experience that it takes great effort to cultivate and feed the spiritual self in a world full of littleness. On the contrary, in my opinion, it takes very 'little' effort to simply fall into the pits of wanton gluttony and self gratification...this is what we see all around us..and where great effort must be maintained in order to rise above it.

I agree with your statement of 'survival of the fittest' in the spiritual sense. Every step you make on behalf of your spirititul/conscious self is an intentional mindful act that will determine how far you are able to go. It is a walk not for the weary nor faint of heart but for the strong who are willing to see beyond the superficial surface of not only what the world displays but also from within one's own self. It is not always a pretty picture there...yet there it is...and for those willing to look and see.. will grow to realize more..and rise.

If one thinks of all the great effort that must be maintained in order to keep the physical body fit...then so is it to an even greater extent to keep fit one's spiritual temple..( but of course only for those who value it as such) the nature of this holy temple IS indeed 'greater' and so requires maximum vigillance to gaurd against such a world of littleness that continually seeks to undermine its value with excessive trinkets of triviality..

Your earlier statement.. "People buy by impulse because they are greedy or would like to add a worth to their lives to feel better. They get an instant gratification." ...hits the nail on the head. In my opinion, it is this 'instant gratification' that belies 'lack of effort' and subsists of the 'quick fix' syndrome that serves only to distract one from looking deeper into the greater meaning of their higher selves.


It takes alot of hard work and effort to realize one's greatest potentialities while living here on this earth.