Saks, scarcity and spending
Stephanie Rosenbloom, writing in the New York Times' Business section (Thursday, May 19) notes that major chains "like Home Depot and Saks" posted earnings on Tuesday that suggested the beginnings of a rebound in categories hit hard by the recession, like home improvement and luxury goods.
The creation of perceived scarcity is a time-honoured persuasive device. But is anything sold be a major retailer truly scarce? Only if you buy into the idea that this season's It Bag will never grace the planet again. Merchants have a bag of tricks to crate the illusion of scarcity: time-limited sales and promotions, of with the silliest are the invitation-only shopping sites with their shopping carts that empty if you do not buy within minutes.
Twinning scarcity with exclusivity is catnip to anyone who needs a shot of artificial esteem. Wait lists, pre-orders or offers to preferred customers, same thing. Display tactics such as putting only one of an item on the floor work spectacularly, and staff are trained to never let on there is backstock: it's the only one in your size!
I too am vulnerable to the illusion of scarcity, especially in these situations:
1. The rare, artisanal "find"
If I find something made by an artisan, am told it is one of a kind, and, if there is a sweetener like a percentage of the profit donated to a cause I support, I'm a goner. That's how I ended up with a crate of pottery, or last week, a lovely but not strictly needed silk scarf made by an Indian women's cooperative.
2. I'm Here, It's Here
When traveling, especially at the end of the trip, I am afflicted with angst that I will likely not stroll this souk, troll this boutique again.
Hello Balinese bags, Monoprix bangles and aruveydic toothpaste crammed into drawers, where they surface years later. "They'll make great gifts", I sometimes rationalize, but then forget or they're not right for the person.
3. What You Resist, Persists
Am I the only one who has proclaimed a shopping moratorium only to blow it spectacularly?
Similar to the the Go-On-a-Diet-Gain-Weight phenomenon, this is a well-known psychological response to deprivation. We don't like it very much when deprivation is done to us, and when we do it to ourselves, our little reptilian brain hisses, "Fix this now!"
"Couldn't help myself"? I can, and sometimes don't. In my case this means pearls.
Homeopathic consumption may help: instead of a dress, buy a lipstick. A friend of mine in AA says that when the urge to consume hits, they were advised to go to a thrift store with $20, no cards. (Part of the recovery process concerns making wise choices, but at the same time learning to enjoy pleasures not inherently harmful.)
But you are still spending, and if suckered by the scarcity lure, likely buying what you don't need. Retailers want you to spend habitually, so that $20 softens you up to keep going.
As for Saks, I understand the strategy; like many retailers, they're in survival mode. But I find it offensive to be manipulated by an illusion. The quote struck me as crass, with an undercurrent of contempt for the customer.
If the economy rebounds, with stores like theirs successfully stoking our luxury lust, I'll miss seeing the 'shop your closet' concept fade. But given last weeks' market volatility, maybe that wise idea has some legs.
The chairman of Saks, Stephen Sadova, said that Saks had shifted from "defense to offense", adding,
"A year and a half, two years ago, people were asking 'Is luxury dead?', 'Will people ever pay full price again?' What we've learned this last year, certainly this last quarter, is that they're paying full price, they're responding to the concept of scarcity, and they love brands."
Twinning scarcity with exclusivity is catnip to anyone who needs a shot of artificial esteem. Wait lists, pre-orders or offers to preferred customers, same thing. Display tactics such as putting only one of an item on the floor work spectacularly, and staff are trained to never let on there is backstock: it's the only one in your size!
I too am vulnerable to the illusion of scarcity, especially in these situations:
1. The rare, artisanal "find" If I find something made by an artisan, am told it is one of a kind, and, if there is a sweetener like a percentage of the profit donated to a cause I support, I'm a goner. That's how I ended up with a crate of pottery, or last week, a lovely but not strictly needed silk scarf made by an Indian women's cooperative.
2. I'm Here, It's Here When traveling, especially at the end of the trip, I am afflicted with angst that I will likely not stroll this souk, troll this boutique again.
Hello Balinese bags, Monoprix bangles and aruveydic toothpaste crammed into drawers, where they surface years later. "They'll make great gifts", I sometimes rationalize, but then forget or they're not right for the person.
3. What You Resist, Persists
Am I the only one who has proclaimed a shopping moratorium only to blow it spectacularly?
Similar to the the Go-On-a-Diet-Gain-Weight phenomenon, this is a well-known psychological response to deprivation. We don't like it very much when deprivation is done to us, and when we do it to ourselves, our little reptilian brain hisses, "Fix this now!"
"Couldn't help myself"? I can, and sometimes don't. In my case this means pearls.
Homeopathic consumption may help: instead of a dress, buy a lipstick. A friend of mine in AA says that when the urge to consume hits, they were advised to go to a thrift store with $20, no cards. (Part of the recovery process concerns making wise choices, but at the same time learning to enjoy pleasures not inherently harmful.)But you are still spending, and if suckered by the scarcity lure, likely buying what you don't need. Retailers want you to spend habitually, so that $20 softens you up to keep going.
As for Saks, I understand the strategy; like many retailers, they're in survival mode. But I find it offensive to be manipulated by an illusion. The quote struck me as crass, with an undercurrent of contempt for the customer.
If the economy rebounds, with stores like theirs successfully stoking our luxury lust, I'll miss seeing the 'shop your closet' concept fade. But given last weeks' market volatility, maybe that wise idea has some legs.
Comments
I'm with you on allowing a little spending. Sometimes a new lippie or bottle of nail polish is all it takes.
I have never spent thousands on a bag...but it's early days!
Pseu: Luxury bags are nearly always sold via scarcity hype.
metscan: "Is it really necessary to buy new stuff every season?" The merchants would wish us to think so.
hostess: This post is about the manufacture of scarcity and its power to manipulate- whether to get us to part with $20 or $20,000.
To everyone:
Is it early morning reading that only Pseu has commented on the point of this post, the manufacture of scarcity as a persuasive ploy?
In my current sleep deprived state I am cranky. But I guess just because I found Saks' spokesperson's comments crass does not mean you would. So I am changing a line or two in this post to vent further.
I'm still shopping my closet and finding things that I stuffed in it, unworn. I guess that means I overbought!
I agree with you about the quote from Saks, my blood was boiling as I read that article and something similar in the WSJ. I find that kind of manipulation maddening and insulting, but I can be guilty as charged on 1 and 2 as well. I don't tend to go on moratoriums as I think they don't work, much like extreme diets, and I can be happy with a strict budget with a goal in mind as long as I can have small indulgences. Not that I haven't fallen for #3 on occasion; I just hope I have learned from past experience.
It doesn't really matter if it is $20, $200, or $2000 to me, the manipulation spoils it at any price.
Although I believe homeopathy in medicine is pretty much a fraud, it's a great concept when applied to shopping and I often employ it, happily generally avoiding anything I really won't use.
I do confess though that your blog is probably responsible for my now much greater appreciation of les perles. :P
mardel: And I stayed up way too late watching both parts of Che. Four+ hours of Marxist ideology (failed but you can see the point) hardly puts me in the mood for Saks' presidents attitude, biting the late-capitalist hands that feed him.
Someone: I'm with you on homeopathy, and prophylactic always makes me think of contraceptives. But if one shops at night, perhaps it has that effect as well :)
So if you see something you really, really love these days, there is less of a chance of it ending up on a clearance rack in a few weeks.
Conceptual scarcity is quite different from actual scarcity. There may not be another of this particular Mark Jacobs sweater, but in the richest country on earth, there will be another black (or red or any other colour) sweater.
The real scarcity you attribute to reduced inventories is the market's response to the bloat that existed before the recession.
So yes, if one must have *that one*, you will view the item as scarce- and buy. In the US, with personal debt runs at about $1.54 for every dollar of income, it's worthwhile to consider what is really scarce, and whether scarcity is a valid driver of buying choice.
But in thrifts exist scarcity-for the *specific* item- that Saks tries to create. There IS only one, almost never will you find the same thing in another size or colour.
But there is still astonishing choice. Last week in a thrift I saw at least eight varieties of champagne glass. Only one or two glasses per pattern, but incredible choice for a buck apiece.
Also, I worked in a vintage shop back in grad school and saw how the notion of scarcity worked. We would hold things for people for a few days, but often they were so scared we would sell the item before they returned that they would snap it up on the spot.
Going to a thrift store and seeing miles of items once ardently desired is a real desire-killer also.
Finally, I will proudly own the term prophylactic shopping--used it a few times in my blog to describe shopping to keep you from shopping too much (i.e. the lipstick instead of the purse).
Since the 1960s, the field of data analytics has developed, giving an infinitely more detailed picture of consumer behaviour.
Claim your coinage of "prophylactic shopping" proudly!
I find the everyday glassware available at charity shops and church bazaars can be much better than run-of-the-mill new stuff, because so much of the latter is very cheaply made in China and other low-wage countries. Nothing as durable as French Duralex and Arcoroc.
The underlying issues, as explored by Paco Underhill and other students of marketing psychology, is why we all need "stuff" (beyond the necessities of life) to feel complete. And that is true, in the richer countries among the poor almost as much as among the rich. Of course they buy far less stuff, but they also buy shoddy cheap stuff although it obviously won't last.
I think that quality won't ever go out of style, when money is tight, we may have to cut back so will crave great quality more.
For me, these days there's very little reaction to "luxury" - scarce, or otherwise. Originality, charm, quality, "me-ness" (for lack of a better word) -- that's what gets me to buy. But not always in the same way...
I divide my wardrobe and accessories into two categories -- the basics, like white cotton bootcut pants, that I'm perfectly happy to buy at Old Navy and wear for a season until they get ratty and I recycle them -- and the "Rubi" pieces, like a blouse I made for myself with a Kaffe Fasset challis print fabric, which will make those ON pants sing. Nobody else is going to have the blouse, so I don't really care if a million or so others have the pants.
And when I suspect that I've let myself be hornswaggled by some perceived scarcity, I usually leave the tags on the item and give it what my mom wisely calls "the Resurrection Test." As in, if I still love it after three days, I keep it. And if not, I take it back. No harm, no foul.
tiffany: My FIL laughs and says "Tourists spend money."
Imogen: Really great point about the environment, thanks!
Rubiatonta: I absolutely love your philosophy and admire your skills. That sounds like one gorgeous top.
re the Resurrection Test, I'd have to limit my sources, so many boutiques will only give credit instead of full refund.
I totally resent the Hermes approach to business, yet when other luxury goods firms are faltering, Hermes is still making money. It never ceases to amaze me that consumers will buy into the luxury scarcity story.
I receive far more attentive service at their boutique here than at high end dept stores or most boutiques. Still, the bag scarcity thing is weird, but I don't buy them.