Spectator by Seema Goswami: Decoding the modern shopper
Shopping is enjoyable, but also intensely personal. How you shop reveals a lot about who you are. Check out these types
Every time I come back from a vacation, my friends always ask me excitedly, “So, what did you buy?” And every single time I have to disappoint them by saying, “Er, nothing really,” adding apologetically, “I am not much of a shopper, you know!”
That’s not to say that I am some abstemious, self-denying, sanyasin who has lost all interest in worldly goods and possessions. Not at all. It’s just that when I am exploring a new city like Florence, or even an old haunt like London, it seems such a waste of time trawling through shops when I could be visiting museums, picnicking in parks, or just wandering aimlessly through the streets.
Also, when it comes to buying stuff, I am very much a needs-based shopper and a complete and utter creature of habit. So, when I need some linen shirts or kurtas for the summer, I head to Marks & Spencer and Anokhi. If I need occasion wear then it’s either Abraham & Thakore or Good Earth. Over the years, I have tried to expand my retail base, but like a faithful hound, I come back to my familiar haunts to sniff out my usual favourites.
I guess, when it comes to shoppers, all of us fall into a few readily identifiable categories. Here are just some of them that I have identified over the years.
The Ditherers: My late mother was the first Ditherer I ever encountered in life. She would spend ages debating between the many choices laid out before her. She would go from shop to shop to see that she hadn’t missed out on anything. And then, hours later, she would finally bite the bullet and buy something. But the moment she unpacked it at home, buyer’s remorse would strike. And back to the shop we went the next day to ask for an exchange. That’s a nightmare I will never live through again – and how sorry I am for that.
The Researchers: These are the people who never venture into the shops without first logging on to Google to research their many choices, going on Amazon and Flipkart to see what the online prices are like (not to mention the reviews), and then tweeting out to their followers to get their advice to buy anything from an electric car to a moisturiser. Only once they have all this information at their fingertips do they commit to making a purchase. And I have to say that they are rarely dissatisfied with their choice.
The Impulse Shoppers: I must confess that I dread going out shopping with this lot. Instead of focusing on what we have set out to buy, they are easily distracted by the first thing that catches their eye in a shop window. And once they start browsing, they can’t seem to stop. They pick up so much junk along the way that by the time it comes to making their main purchase, they find they have run out of steam – and money!
The Same-To-Samers: My husband is the prime example of this. Unlike me, who shops at the same outlets, he actually shops for the very same thing he has bought a dozen times before. So, he ends up with 15 identical blue linen shirts, a dozen identikit jeans, and many pairs of the same shoes. He says it takes the stress out of dressing; I say it takes the fun out of it. You decide which one of us is right.
