Conning The Consumer

Heyyy, its the holiday season or  its the winter collection or its the summer sale or the end of season sale. If it cant be somehow stuffed into these seasons, then its definitely the clearance sale. The fashion and numerous other FMCG retailers have the best knowledge of the seasons and the climatic conditions. Probably even better than the meteorological department itself. No wonder they plan months ahead and invariably manage to come up with a collection or product range apt for the season in an effort to lead you right into the jaws of the most legal con job.

Yes....Yesssss..I'm not being cynical and I'm definitely not going to hold placards and make noise outside any outlet tomorrow. Lets face it. How many times have you actually gone out for shopping having a list of N things in mind and come back home with N+X things, leaving you a lot less richer at the end of the day. I must confess that I have succumbed to this and am trying really hard to not get seduced. This shopping and buying frenzy has been known to be more addictive than alcohol (assuming that you don't shop for booze every time).

People sometimes stereotype women to be more of those kind of shopping addicts and men to be the ones with supernatural control over all those cravings. It is a fact that women accessorize a lot, but for the kind of limited options that men have, relatively speaking we men have the tendency to get addicted to material pleasures more than women. Keeping these things aside, the retailers are on a mission to play a harmony with our nerves. Whether its the 2 for 1 or buy 1 get 1 or buy now, pay later or 75% off (with 'upto' written in size 2 Arial), all these weapons are intended to burn a hole in your pocket.

Retailers like Primark, Westside, Shoppers Stop no doubt have a decent collection at more than reasonable prices, but their main aim is to tempt you into buying 2 pairs of jeans when you need only 1, 4 T-Shirts when you need only 2, a pack of socks when you don't need one and half a dozen underwears when you still don't have any holes in your current ones. While the profit margin on every item is less compared to the other big guns, their business is dependent on high volume of sales. As long as they can make you spend more than what you had in mind, it is as good as making you eat the forbidden fruit. At times, the temptation might seem like Megan Fox(too hard to resist) and or like Keira Knightley(luring) or like Aishwarya Rai(last resort, considering her current looks). Whatever might be your flavor, you are always being seduced and its a con job that the retailers have perfected.

As consumers, we really cant behave like hermits and ignore all the goodies out there. However, these are my tips to help you curtail your inner addiction. Always make sure than you carry cash while you shop in the supermarket. Only enough cash to get you through but not go berserk. Never use the big trolleys, try to use the baskets as much as possible. You have no idea how many less items you will drop into the basket as the load on your wallet will be directly reflecting on your hands. Always shop for your spouse. This way, your gifts always make it special to them and you'll also manage to spend the right amount so that you don't have to skip a few meals. 

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