The Death of Shopping

I am told that there was once a time when a shopping trip excited even the most reluctant or stingy of patrons. The golden era of supermarkets and shopping malls in the 1960's (http://www.groceteria.com/about/a-quick-history-of-the-supermarket/) seems to now be a thing of distant memory. A small supermarket near me has just redesigned their store in a bid to match what seems to be the status quo in modern retail. Gone are the human conveyor belts which have amused generations of children and here are the endless rows of tyrannical self-checkout machines which seem insistent on chastising every customer because they didnt "place their item in the bagging area"

Looking at our current situation I struggle to see how shopping was ever an exciting pursuit. Now of course I realise that many of our number still love the idea of heading out to the high street to buy some new shoes or try on 15 different dresses (no gender bias intended - dresses are for everyone). But for every enthusiastic shopper you see skipping through department stores, there would seem to be 3 reluctant bag carriers following in their wake.

I thought that retailers were supposed to be providing us a service and a 'shopping experience'? Well the trend would seem to be an increase in manual labour for the customer and an overall decline in human interaction during the shopping process. In a time of recession it would seem prudent to be engaging the customer in any way possible, how else will they be separated from their hard earned cash?

Many towns are nurturing a growing traditional market community (collection of interesting articles here: http://www.wolvercotefarmersmarket.co.uk/news.html). I believe this a clear indication that there is still a place for one-on-one, whites of the eyes transactions. Far flung from the world of Robotic shopping, hoards of shoppers head to the grocery and meat stands of these street and farmers markets with a look of wide eyed fascination. Spotty pears and mud specked eggs are seen as a rustic qualification instead of grounds for a complaint as they would be in high street supermarkets a few meters away.

There is a fine line between offering choice and convinience and retailers taking the easy option in the form of unmanned supermarkets, self service retail outlets, and 24/7 online ordering. Retailers might say that they are giving us what we want, but are they infact taking the easy option at our expense?

Why not divert to your nearest street market, or spark up a conversation with nearest shop attendent next time you hit the high street and reacquaint yourself with the joy (or at least the humanity) of shopping.