Essay Example on Consumerism Flourishes: Impact on US Economy & Culture

Consumerism is playing a significant role in the contemporary United States economy. It has changed American culture, for the fact that individuals purchase products, and services based on their own inspirations. Products and items are disposed at exaggerated discounted, something that fuels demand (Pheiffer1). For example, the culture on Black Friday is a sales flush period that Americans take note of since items are sold at great discounts. It normally comes during the festivity season, and this affects the way Americans shop during the off-season periods. They usually reserve cash to purchase products when the Black Friday offer reaches. The purpose of the essay is to observe and scrutinize how American consumer behaviors are impacted by Black Friday offers.

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Black Friday is regarded as one of the greatest shopping events of the year in Americans. It is an annual habit that Americans have adopted shopping more during the Black Friday period more than any other time. A study conducted in 2015, shows that 33% of Americans shopped proactively for products during the Black Friday as opposed to 25.32% in the United Kingdom (McKinsey 2-3). The following year, 25.75% of Americans shopped proactively, as opposed to 21.84% in U.K (McKinsey 2). The main reason that attributes to the difference is great discounting during this period. 65% of Americans are being driven by discounts while shopping compared to 46% in U.K (McKinsey 3-4).

The growth of e-commerce technology has played a role in enhancing the customer's purchasing experience during Black Friday (Straubhaar, Robert, and Lucinda 361). It has demystified the habit of Americans in shopping for products online more than physically going to the malls or retail stores. It is important to note that consumers spend more on electronics and household products during the Black Friday since they are sold at the greatest discount rates than consumer products. Black Fridays put Americans in a situation where they spend too much money on products and services, which they never use. Despite the fact that Black Friday culture has positive impacts to the economy such as creating opportunities, creating employment, and increasing the standards of living, it also results to overspending, which leads to excessive wasting or unhealthy craving of products/items.

On the other hand, Black Fridays came due to growth in the new production system. There is competition of different manufacturers in the market, who produce products/items of quantity and quality (Straubhaar et al. 32) In order to ensure that there are mass sales, the costs have to be set as sufficient rates so that people cannot be obligated to take only necessary goods, but also be keen on other factors. For instance, Americans buy products based on the criteria of appearance, or consideration of types of brand. Black Friday therefore, use discount tricks to encourage consumers buy old products first instead of the new ones. This, however, is reasserting an influence in the 21st century since, despite Black Fridays contributing to high level of consumption, Americans adopts that as a lifestyle. It actually enters day to day life hence depicting that the well-being and happiness of a person depend on the level of personal consumption.

The culture on Black Friday is putting the American economy in crisis (Pheiffer 16) People stand in a line for long hours creating a scene since sometimes shoppers fight over products/items. For example in Walmart, people usually trample underfoot as they strive to get desired items. At many times, Black Friday culture is boring and exhausting, especially to the aging population. There are many products such as cheap electronics, many flat screens, to mention but a few that various companies dispose to consumers. However, the shopping environment is not calm or comfortable since consumers are desperate as they want to buy items that will enable them find opportunities to save. They always want to take advantage of every product on offer.

In a similar approach, suppliers use this approach to maximize sales by enabling fulfillment since they prioritize selling old products first (Straubhaar et al. 441). Companies are, therefore, finding powerful ways to integrate customer experience since there is reassurance of in-store traffic. Consumerism impacts the culture on Black Fridays as there are more retail opportunities. Americans use both online and offline channels to make their purchases and this increases sales volumes. Statistics from the post-turkey sales denote that channels are shifting customer engagement by moving products/items closer to convenience (Straubhaar et al. 359). Conversely, consumerism has made Americans be money-minded, particularly on Black Friday culture since the practice can lead to severe economic depression.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the culture of Black Friday affects Americans consumer behavior negatively and positively. There are many opportunities such as creation of employment and increasing living standards. Moreover, when consumers concentrate on Black Fridays, they upshot to aggression and errant activities. Shoppers behave badly, changing the physical environment of the stores. It is through the culture on Black Fridays that there is overspending, a situation that results in an economic downturn.

Works Cited

McKinsey. "Black Friday Shopping Report: Consumer Habits are Changing First." Periscope. (2016). 1-12, https://www.realwire.com/writeitfiles/Black_Friday_Shopping_Report.pdf

Pheiffer, Gary. "The Psychology of Black Friday." (n.d). 1-16, http://customer-psychology.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/The-Psychology-of-Black-Friday.pdf

Straubhaar, Joseph, Robert LaRose, and Lucinda Davenport. Media now: Understanding media, culture, and technology. Cengage Learning, 2013, https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=ZfCwJQ1E8JYC&pg=PA359&dq=black+fridays-+consumerism&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjI2_DW3NbkAhXYAWMBHQrNDsgQ6AEISDAE#v=onepage&q=black%20fridays-%20consumerism&f=false