zombies
Scott Beale

In the News

Shopping, Anyone?

Posted November 7, 2008

It’s hard for The Whiner to pass up an opportunity to report on shopping and the living dead at the same time.

So, we begin today by highlighting an observation from John D. Morris, a retailing analyst with Wachovia. “You walk the mall and consumers look like zombies. They’re there in person, but not in spirit.”

John, we like the image, but let’s think about this: Who, or what, is the real zombie? (That is, if zombies are real — Some people might quibble over this, although we doubt that they’d dispute the idea that, these days, shopping malls are practically a dead zone.)

Yes. The Whiner respectfully suggests that retailers, not consumers, are this economy’s living dead. (We’re hurting too much to be dead.) After all, as The New York Times reported, during the four weeks leading up to November 1, sales dropped at Target, J.C. Penney, Gap, and other big retailers, even Saks and Nordstrom.

We ourselves practice shopping triage — trying to limit our purchases to only what’s absolutely essential. On our list of shopping no-no’s: no new clothes, no new shoes, no new books or CDs, and no bottles of wine that cost more than $8. We haven’t entered a department store or shopping mall in months.

What about you? What have you stopped buying these days? Are there stores you’ve stopped shopping at?

Reader Comments

  1. cemdigital

    One of the most pathetic parts of American life is how shopping has become a hobby, the pastime of choice for so many people. At our house, we too have stopped spending for now, but we never viewed shopping as something fun to do. All that time spent in stores robs people of real life experiences and exploration–seeing a historic house, or hearing a local concert, or participating in family movie night at the library, or hearing a talk by someone who has done something, knows something or is curious about something. We may be stock market poor at the moment, but maybe we will become experientially rich!