Consumerism, though I have used the word many times, I have not examined its real meaning and I thought this is as good a time as any to do it.
But a prelude first. 11 years ago, in the small town Thirupur, Tamil Nadu - the Manchester of India, from where clothing spills out into the world, I was in charge of opening a 3000sft store. Nothing warms a retailer's heart as much as seeing people in the store. I stood like a satisfied father outside a maternity ward, the wife inside with a bonnie baby, a store trading briskly! Just then an elderly lady, traditional she seemed by her attire and rich by her diamond solitaires, stepped out of a Benz. 2 helpers in tow.
Lady walks into the store and hails a store supervisor by a wave of her hand and when he arrives, she hands over a scroll of a shopping list to him and stays her ground. Supervisor, new to his task, also stares back not knowing what to do. Obviously, the Lady was convinced that the supervisor must go and fetch the articles in the shopping list, whilst she waited. Now I see it!
Self-help shopping had arrived in town, or so it seemed. I stepped in to help, and taking the shopping list from the now relieved supervisor, and looking down at it, I saw a neatly written list in Tamil. I can’t read Tamil. I asked her “mami, what is this item?” pointing to the first on the list, “can’t read Tamil?” she asked, (sounded as if “then why are you here?”), “sorry, mami I can’t”. She said “that is tooth paste”. “Which brand ?” I asked, and again puzzled, she turns her two palms upwards and says “Colgate” ! I thought I almost heard “Colgate, obviously”. It was time to act.
I grabbed a trolley and told her that I would take her to the bay where there was toothpaste. Hesitantly, though she followed me to the mid-section of the store, and I showed her the 3 x 3ft sections of tooth pastes and brushes. She started at the bays and softly with a smile on her face asked me “India produces so many tooth pastes? What is that?”, “Meswak the herbal toothpaste” I said. And she in the next 2 hours shopped 9 trolleys-full (not all toothpaste of course), for Rs9000. She had the time of her life !
5 of us wheeled her trolleys to the check out counter and we were 4th in the queue. This irritated her. She was restless; she did not want to wait for 15 minutes after shopping for 2 hours. She reached out into her bag and gave me wads of cash, and rattled off her address and told me to deliver this home, and bring back the extra cash. And I happily did.
I was wiser. Self- Help shopping changes everything :
• the power in shopping shifted from the Large FMCG companies to the consumer for the first time in self-help stores. These companies for 50 long years had held market share not so much only from the quality of innovation in the products, as from the distribution reach, and strength of brands built in yesteryears from Doordarshan as the single ATL medium for up to well into the 1970s.
• the consumer, in s elf-help store, sees the options available, optimizes spends between not only brands but also pack sizes, which play a huge role in the success of a category.
• consequently, smaller and also the innovative entrepreneurs have an equal chance in a self-help shopping environment.
I have always been a proponent of providing choices to the consumer. Good economics and commercial prudence on the part of the retailer will work to keep the assortment relevant to the consumers' needs. (Let me not imply that Assortment management is as easy as this, it is not)
I now pop the question - what is consumerism? Is it good or bad?
I see the word used in all cases, as a negative .But it might be good to define what consumerism really is. It is not negative in its literal definition.
“Consumerism is the equation of personal happiness with consumption” (Source: Wikipedia- not that this is authoritative- it just seemed right). The word was first used by Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857-1929).
Let me end with the latest in the negative angle in this line of thinking- It is called “ENOUGHISM”- coined by John Naish in 2008. Definition,”..there is a point where consumers possess everything they need and buying more, makes their life worse off”
I will discuss that in my next blog.
Meanwhile enjoy this YouTube extract on Enoughism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe5yFYryYLI
But a prelude first. 11 years ago, in the small town Thirupur, Tamil Nadu - the Manchester of India, from where clothing spills out into the world, I was in charge of opening a 3000sft store. Nothing warms a retailer's heart as much as seeing people in the store. I stood like a satisfied father outside a maternity ward, the wife inside with a bonnie baby, a store trading briskly! Just then an elderly lady, traditional she seemed by her attire and rich by her diamond solitaires, stepped out of a Benz. 2 helpers in tow.
Lady walks into the store and hails a store supervisor by a wave of her hand and when he arrives, she hands over a scroll of a shopping list to him and stays her ground. Supervisor, new to his task, also stares back not knowing what to do. Obviously, the Lady was convinced that the supervisor must go and fetch the articles in the shopping list, whilst she waited. Now I see it!
Self-help shopping had arrived in town, or so it seemed. I stepped in to help, and taking the shopping list from the now relieved supervisor, and looking down at it, I saw a neatly written list in Tamil. I can’t read Tamil. I asked her “mami, what is this item?” pointing to the first on the list, “can’t read Tamil?” she asked, (sounded as if “then why are you here?”), “sorry, mami I can’t”. She said “that is tooth paste”. “Which brand ?” I asked, and again puzzled, she turns her two palms upwards and says “Colgate” ! I thought I almost heard “Colgate, obviously”. It was time to act.
I grabbed a trolley and told her that I would take her to the bay where there was toothpaste. Hesitantly, though she followed me to the mid-section of the store, and I showed her the 3 x 3ft sections of tooth pastes and brushes. She started at the bays and softly with a smile on her face asked me “India produces so many tooth pastes? What is that?”, “Meswak the herbal toothpaste” I said. And she in the next 2 hours shopped 9 trolleys-full (not all toothpaste of course), for Rs9000. She had the time of her life !
5 of us wheeled her trolleys to the check out counter and we were 4th in the queue. This irritated her. She was restless; she did not want to wait for 15 minutes after shopping for 2 hours. She reached out into her bag and gave me wads of cash, and rattled off her address and told me to deliver this home, and bring back the extra cash. And I happily did.
I was wiser. Self- Help shopping changes everything :
• the power in shopping shifted from the Large FMCG companies to the consumer for the first time in self-help stores. These companies for 50 long years had held market share not so much only from the quality of innovation in the products, as from the distribution reach, and strength of brands built in yesteryears from Doordarshan as the single ATL medium for up to well into the 1970s.
• the consumer, in s elf-help store, sees the options available, optimizes spends between not only brands but also pack sizes, which play a huge role in the success of a category.
• consequently, smaller and also the innovative entrepreneurs have an equal chance in a self-help shopping environment.
I have always been a proponent of providing choices to the consumer. Good economics and commercial prudence on the part of the retailer will work to keep the assortment relevant to the consumers' needs. (Let me not imply that Assortment management is as easy as this, it is not)
I now pop the question - what is consumerism? Is it good or bad?
I see the word used in all cases, as a negative .But it might be good to define what consumerism really is. It is not negative in its literal definition.
“Consumerism is the equation of personal happiness with consumption” (Source: Wikipedia- not that this is authoritative- it just seemed right). The word was first used by Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857-1929).
Let me end with the latest in the negative angle in this line of thinking- It is called “ENOUGHISM”- coined by John Naish in 2008. Definition,”..there is a point where consumers possess everything they need and buying more, makes their life worse off”
I will discuss that in my next blog.
Meanwhile enjoy this YouTube extract on Enoughism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe5yFYryYLI
