Emotional high from cheap deals
Is our love affair with bargains worth the steep ethical price? The search for bargains is so ingrained in today’s discount shopping society that few consumers stop to think about where their clothing and other purchases come from, experts in consumer psychology say.
The viral image of a Joe Fresh label in the rubble of a Bangladesh building shocked many Canadians, in part because the contemporary shopping experience is so “decoupled from the broader social context,” said Dr. Sourav Ray, chair of marketing at the DeGroote School of Business.
And yet it’s the cumulative impact of each individual’s purchasing decision that is so worrisome in the wake of the tragedy in Bangladesh, said Ray.
The collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza killed more than 500, including workers in a factory that manufactures clothes for Joe Fresh, owned by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. But many Canadians had no idea the popular, inexpensive, fashion line was sourced through Bangladesh’s $20-billion garment industry, notorious for low pay and dismal safety.
“The consumers’ role in all this is we have to be more vigilant about where the products come from,” said Dr. Ashish Pujari, a McMaster marketing professor focused on global sustainability. “Consumers should demand to know where things are being sourced, whether there’s a third-party certification that is independent, transparent, authentic.”
The tragedy pushed the issues of ethical shopping and socially responsible business higher up the public agenda, but the average shopper’s priority is still the bargain price.
That’s because North Americans are so distanced from the consumer goods they buy, said Ellen Ruppel Shell, a Boston University communications professor and author of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture. And yet, she said, there’s the beginning of a concern about sourcing as people start to “reconsider this whole low-price paradigm.”
“What if consumers knew there was a tag that said this is going to cost another five or 10 per cent, but this product is ethically sourced, we guarantee it,” Ruppel Shell said. “I think some consumers wouldn’t buy it, but many of us would.”
Ethics advocates cite the success of retailers such as Toms Shoes as proof that consumers are pining for socially responsible products. The buy-a-pair, give-a-pair organization began four years ago in a small barn outside Buenos Aires with 12 people stitching together more f ashionable versions of the traditional slip-ons worn by Argentine cowboys. More than a million pairs have since been given to needy children.
Even so, the desire for a bargain remains a defining characteristic of today’s shopper, said Dr. Kit Yarrow, a San Francisco researcher who specializes in consumer behaviour.
“People just sort of emotionally react to discounting,” said Yarrow.
“When people start to fear they’re missing out, or feel competitive with other shoppers, it’s like their emotions trump their reason- ing. The body takes over the head.”
One force behind the drive for discounts is that during the last downturn in the economy, retailers were left with bulging inventories, which they dramatically discounted, and which consumers loved.
“It only takes a couple of times before consumers begin to feel they’re entitled to reductions. Now there’s a sense of consumer entitlement around bargains.”
It’s also about winning, Yarrow said.
“People increasingly distrust businesses in general. When they can find a bargain, they feel like winners.”
That’s why consumers are so pumped for any kind of discount, even if they may suspect it’s sketchy. A combined force of RCMP, OPP and Hamilton police raided Haggler ’s Flea Market last month and charged two men with selling counterfeit goods, including designer knock-off purses, jeans and sun- glasses.
Last week, police raids in Burlington, Oakville and Toronto uncovered the largest illegal DVD production ring in Canadian history, nabbing counterfeiters who could produce close to 128,000 copies per week. Bargain hunting customers from the U.S. and as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom ordered movies and TV shows from the organization’s online stores.
“Some of the shoppers I’ve talked to are hilarious in describing the elaborate mechanisms they’ll go through in order to feel like: Ha, Ha, I got it for less,” Yarrow said.
“This is an area of confidence and control that really resonates with people. When they can get a bargain, they feel like: Nobody takes advantage of me. That emotion is really powerful with consumers today.”