Shopping in a New Society

"Shopping in a New Society"
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"Shopping in a New Society"
Shopping is part of our daily activities and each individual or household has to dedicate a given time of their schedule to shopping. We frequently visit stores for consumables and perishable goods which have to be restocked each and every time due to their high perishability. In every sales deal, the consumer is the main focus and all sales efforts are geared towards customer satisfaction. Consumers have different tastes and preferences and each buy a given product for a given purpose. The psychological impression on the minds consumers as portrayed by vendors also determines to a large extent what brand consumers buy. Some brands are so much established in the market that consumers find no close substitutes. Shopping in a new society can be influenced by so many factors. Availability is one great factor. How available is the product one is in demand? Is the available product of the acceptable quality? Is the seller reliable? These are among the many questions that consumers ask themselves in the process of making procurement decisions. Quality and reliability especially are very important aspects as they represent the highest consumer considerations when deciding which products produce the highest utility CITATION Rob11 l 1033 (Divine & al, 2011). Sometimes I tend to ask myself whether I purchase what I need or what I like, or which is the biggest driving force between the former and the latter. The prevailing purchasing power of course plays a significant role in drawing the line between the two. During unfavorable economic periods, there is low purchasing power which shifts purchases to necessities. During these period consumables and basic necessities sell at relatively high rate compared to luxuries and other assets demanded by households. At such given periods, the shopping list is somehow predetermined and shopping carts in almost all stores hold similar items. Shoppers hold similar preferences which are converted into needs CITATION mac1 l 1033 (macy, 1). Every society holds its own values. These values bind the members of the society to a certain degree and dictate their way of life to some extent. What is perceived to be a staple food in a certain state in United States might not be a staple diet in Germany, and might be completely unknown or even unavailable. A person demanding such a product in Germany may then be restrained by such a factor. This represents an example of how diversity and geog...