Consumers are Passive Victims Manipulated Into Buying Commodities They Cannot Resist - Essay Example

Consumers are passive victims manipulated into buying commodities they cannot resist Introduction “Shopping is reactive, true, at the same time it is positive. It is assertive, it announces allegiance. That is why it is taking so much deliberation and so much time” (Falk, and Campbell, 1997, p,18). Shopping is a major activity which cannot be isolated from the daily lives of people. When a person shop something, he is referred as a consumer in economic terms. Product manufacturers bank heavily on the abilities of consumers in purchasing their goods in order to establish their products in the market. Consumers are free to take independent decisions while purchasing certain products from the shops. However, the purchasing habits of the consumers are heavily dependent on certain market parameters. Consumer power in the current marketing system is always a controversial one. Some people believe that consumers have enough power and authority in the current marketing system because of globalization and liberalization. The entry of large retailers is mostly welcomed by the consumers since they are getting quality products at affordable prices. According to Parthasarathy (2004), “The emergence of information and communication technologies have helped spread production and service networks beyond the confines of national boundaries” (Parthasarathy, 2004). It is easy for the current consumers to purchase any product they need from their domestic and international markets. E-commerce is growing day by day because of the huge developments in internet related technologies and therefore an American or Indian consumer can consider purchasing products from Chinese or European market through internet. Because of the availability of so many alternative options, current customers can conduct bargaining more effectively than the consumers in the past. In short, Many people believe that current consumers are active elements in the marketing system. On the other hand, there are many other people who believe that the current consumers are passive victims in the marketing system. In their opinion, advertisers and marketers are exploiting the weakness of the consumers very much and the poor consumers forced to purchase items based on the false promises provided by the marketers and advertisers. For example, Microsoft is holding monopoly in operating system market and consumers forced to purchase Windows and MS Office like Microsoft products for huge prices. In the absence of any competitors, Microsoft is able to exploit the consumers and consumers have no other go, but to pay the prices fixed by Microsoft for getting operating system and other useful products for their personal computers. Fashion industry in another major area in which consumers were cheated by the product manufacturers. “The world of fashion offers consumers the image of a utopian world where there are no conflicts and no unmet needs. Through a glamorizing interpretation, it provides a fantasy of enjoyable moments and beauty ideals that are fascinating for consumers” (Atik, n. d., p.60). This paper analyses the consumer power in fashion industry and concludes that consumers in fashion industry is undergoing severe exploitation and they are passive victims rather than active elements. Consumers in fashion industry Atil (n.d.) has pointed out that while fashion magazines can be inspirational for consumers’ idealized images of self in life, and they can be instructional for constructing their styles, consumers also experience some tensions, coping with the images presented in these magazines. Since these images are not representational of daily life, they often show reactions on a negative tone; on the other hand, paradoxically, they also try to fit in (Atik, n.d., p.59) Fashion industry is one of the major industries in which the consumers are passive elements and get victimised. All people, irrespective of rich or poor, young or adult, male or female and Christian or Muslim, like to become beautiful as much as possible. Marketers and product manufacturers know this consumer psychology very well and they exploit it with the help of numerous advertisements and marketing campaigns. For example, fashion magazines are one of the major advertisement channels used by the advertisers to exploit the sensitive feelings of the people. Apart from fashion magazines, other print medias and electronic medias are used extensively by the marketers to exploit the weaknesses of the consumers. Majority of the claims put forward by the fashion product manufactures are exaggerated ones of fabricated ones. For example, there are many products in the fashion market, which claim to help re-growing of hair. There are millions of people in this world who are undergoing severe stress because of untimely hair loss. Hair loss can change complete image and appearance of a person. Nobody wants to lose their hair during their teenage period. Rogaine, Propecia etc are some of the medicines available in the market which claim that hair regrowth is possible. Millions of people all over the world use such products in order to get rid of hair loss problems. However, only few people are getting some kind of benefits whereas majority of the people develop a feeling of cheating after the usage of such medicines. The advertised claims are far away from realities. In other words, hair regrowth product manufacturers in fashion industry is trying to exploit the sentiments of the consumers and consumers appear to be passive in countering such threats. Vidya Balan, the new face for GoodKnight Naturals, says, "When it comes to applying products on my skin, I am very cautious. Goodknight Naturals mosquito repellent cream has unbelievable properties which make my skin feel safe whilst protecting me from mosquitoes during outdoor shoots, and the best part is that it is non-sticky (Chawla, 2009). Vidya Balan is a beautiful Bollywood actress who has millions of fans in India. It should be noted that mosquito repellents contains toxic chemicals which is harmful to human health. There are many studies which proved beyond doubt that even the smell coming out from the mosquito repellents are harmful to human health. In the above advertisement, Vidya Balan not only smells the mosquito and also apply it on her body. Here, the mosquito repellent manufacturer is trying to exploit the consumer weakness with the help of the celebrities like Vidya Balan. Numerous researches have proved that the consumer purchasing decisions are strongly associated with the effectiveness of the advertising. Poor consumers will make use of the GoodKnight like mosquito repellent more frequently since these products were endorsed by their beloved celebrities. The opinions of Dyer (1987) is relevant here. Stars are involved in making themselves into commodities; they are both labour and the thing that labour produces. They do not produce themselves alone. We can distinguish two logically separate states. First, the person is a body, a psychology, a set of skills that have to be mined and worked up in to a star image. This work of fashioning the star out of the raw material of the person varies in the degree to which it respects what artists sometimes refer to as the inherent qualities of the material, makeup, coiffure, clothing, dieting and body building can make more or less of the body features they start with , and personality is no less malleable, skills no less learnable (Dyer, 1987, p.5) As mentioned earlier, majority of the people in this world have the habit of imitating their favourite celebrities. Celebrities like Marlin Monroe and David Beckham have influenced the living styles of millions of people all over the world. Poor consumers never think in terms of the abilities of the celebrities while they blindly trying to imitate them. David Beckham has enormous skills in playing football whereas Marlin Monroe had exceptional skills in acting. Their physical beauty along with their abilities helped them, to become stars or celebrities. It should be noted that there are plenty of people in this world who are more beautiful than Beckham or Marlin Monroe. However, such people may not have the abilities of either Beckham or Marlin Monroe. Same way there are plenty of people who has more acting or playing abilities than Monroe or Beckham. For example, Maradona has more skills in football playing than Beckham. However, Maradona has never become a debonair image just like Beckham. In fact Beckham is cited as the best example for metrosexuality. “Metrosexuality is a term that was used for the first time to describe the urban heterosexual male, with a strong sense of aesthetics, by a British journalist in The Independent, a major British Daily in late 1994” (Sen, 2006). Earlier, males were nor much concerned with their looks or appearances just like females. So, fashion industry targeted females for marketing their products. However, the situation is changing at present. The number of males who give more importance to their appearance is increasing day by day. The term metrosexuality has evolved as a result of such changing trends in fashion industry. Now metrosexuality is a factor which affects male purchasing decisions. In other words, current males have strong concern for their appearance and are ready to spend time, money and attention to aesthetic details of their exterior. For example, it should be noted that blue colour jeans is a fashion trend among the males all over the world. many males in the world believe that blue jeans can increase their appearance compared to other clothing. It is fact that blue jeans may suit better to some people whereas for other people black or brown jeans may suit better. However, male consumers who are aware of things like metrosexaulity is going after blue jeans and they don’t bother much about how such jeans may help them to boost their image or appearance. Quiet often people misinterpret a people with metrosexual attributes as gays guy. In other words, people are spoiling their image unknowingly when they try to imitate others. A prominent member in the fashion industry, Dove has recently conducted a Campaign for Real Beauty which helped them to taste enormous success in the market. Dove targeted females in the past whereas at present it targets male community also because of the changing trends in male fashion industry. It should be noted that Dove is brand from renowned Unilever company. Dove has spent millions of dollars to study the changing beauty concepts of the men and women and they were successful in updating their products based on the feedbacks they received from the market. Dove’s skincare and hair care products are products are moving rapidly in the market. It should be noted that Dove is using the services of celebrities to market their products. “Dove regularly uses magazine advertising to place itself at the heart of the beauty arena, highlighted by its £2.8m spend in 2004” (Dove, n.d.) Poor consumers are trying to become Angelina Julie or Brad Pitt with the help of beauty care products from Dove like companies and getting cheated. The pleasure which are derived from the consumption of goods and commercially packaged experiences, by ordinary people who can afford them are defined by most of those who buy them, and by many who cannot afford most of the items of modern consumption, as a good thing (Bocock, 1993, p.110). Ordinary people are normally desperate to increase their beauty in order to attract others. Sex is often the motivating factor behind the efforts to enhance the appearance. People have a general perception that only beautiful people will be attracted by the opposite sex. In other words, sex is closely associated with beauty. Because of the above perception people try to improve their natural looks and sex appeals with the help of cosmetic products. They fail to recognize the fact that “Sex is after all a thing that came naturally” (Dyer, 1987, p.22). Cosmetic product manufacturers exploit such misconceptions of the people with respect to their appearance and sexual activities in order to sell their products. Consumers are not actively researching anything about the propaganda spread by the marketers and advertisers. “The mass media - television, screen, radio, print, and increasingly the Internet - are major conduits of images, advertisements, news and information into the average household” (Experts Workshop on Information and Consumer Decision-Making For Sustainable Consumption, 2001, p.10). Product manufacturers are actually spend a substantial amount of their revenue for advertising purposes. They know very well that whatever the rubbish products can taste success in the market, if the advertising and sales promotion campaigns are cleverly conducted. According to Baudrillard (1998), “All production and expenditure beyond the needs of strict survival can be termed as waste (Baudrillard 1998, p.45)”. In other words, people should give preference to their immediate needs while taking some purchasing decisions. Spending too much money for enhancing appearance is not good for ordinary people even though it may be a good idea for celebrities like film stars. In the case of film stars, their beauty play a role in maintaining them as stars. So, it is necessary for them to spend enough money to maintain their beauty. At the same time spending thousands of dollars for enhancing beauty is not a good idea for an ordinary person, especially in the current recession times. However, there are many people who spend more for enhancing their looks even at a time when they struggle to find enough money for meeting their basic needs. Bocock, (19930 has pointed out that “The consumption of many goods is now linked with libidinal desires, sometimes in ways which were defined by culture in the recent past as being perverse” (Bocock, 1993, p.106). Americans are believed to be the best consumers in the world compared to people in other parts of the world because of the huge economic growth in America until recent times. It should be noted that even though India and China are the most heavily populated country in the world, product manufacturers targeted American market more because of the spending ability and habit of American consumers. Americans save less and spend more and they believe in a lavish life style. However, the recent recession has caused huge financial problems in America and people started to cut down their expenses on unnecessary purchasing. At the same time, it should be noted that Indians spend less and save more for the future even if they have more than enough resources at present. In short, people in different cultures have different spending habits even if they have similar revenues. Young consumers did not consider themselves to be passive victims or conformist. They need to feel they are cool and in. This is a general expression, which suggests that they need to fit in and they accept only what has been given them on a silver platter right under their very nose. Media, for example MTV. And consequently everybody wants to be a hip hopper. The most critical perspectives on conformity were articulated in terms of ‘herd-like’ or ‘sheep-like’ behavior, an expression describing a mass of ignorant and mindless followers. A certain group of people sets some trends and indoctrinates and infects with their ideas the rest of society. And this part of society takes it. Because they fear that they won’t be in. And they wanna’ fit in (Pyšnˇakova, n. d, p.32). The influence of media on the purchasing behavior of the public is huge. Electronic media, television media and print media are influencing the consumer behaviors in one way or other. It should be noted that social networks like Facebook is influencing the consumer behavior in many ways. People usually share their opinions and views about certain products they recently purchased through social networks. Photo upgrading is a common activity in social networks. While watching the photographs of others, one would sometimes seriously enquire about the clothing of the person who has been photographed. If he/she feels that clothing as attractive and sexy, he/she will try to purchase one for him/her. He/she may not bother much to enquire about the feasibility of that clothing to his/her appearances. It is not necessary that the clothing suited to one person may be suited to another person. Complexion, appearance, skin color etc play an important role while deciding which cloth is suited to which person. The clothing suitable to obese people may not be suitable to thin people. However, while taking inspirations from other’s clothing, people usually may not think much about the feasibility of such clothes to them. In other words, consumers are not making any active effort to know the details of particular dress or clothing before they purchase it for them. Muslim women in patriarchal societies forced to wear purdah. They usually use black clothes to cover their entire body. Even if they have beauty consciousness, they cannot express it publicly as colorful cloth wearing is prohibited in their societies. For example, Muslim women in Saudi Arabia may not be able to wear any colorful dresses. They are passive elements while selecting their clothes. In other words, culture or religious beliefs prohibit people in patriarchal societies to become active elements in the market. It should be noted that in other markets, product manufacturers exploit the weakness of the public in imitating others whereas in fundamental societies, they exploit the weakness of the public in adhering religious beliefs. The outcome would be same in both the cases; severe exploitation of the consumers because of the passive nature of the consumers. Conclusions Majority of the consumers all over the world are passive elements rather than active elements as far market is concerned. In fashion industry, the passive nature of the consumers is more evident. People normally take inspirations from celebrities while they take purchasing decisions in fashion industry. Products endorsed by the celebrities are moving rapidly than the products which do not have any such backing. In other words, people are blindly trusting the words of the celebrities and product manufacturers and they are not bothering much to research more about the authenticity of the offers put forward by the advertisers and marketers. No two individuals are alike; either physically or mentally and therefore it is not necessary that a product suited to one person may be suited to another person. However, people are not ready to accept such claims and they try to boost their image with the help of expensive products. In short, majority of the current consumers are passive in nature while they take their purchasing decisions. References 1. Atik D. (n. d.). Consumer Experiences with Fashion Magazine Images. Review of Social, Economic & Business Studies, Vol.7/8, 59-70. [Online] available at: http://fbe.emu.edu.tr/journal/doc/78/04.pdf 2. Baudrillard, J. (1998) The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures. London: Sage  3. Bocock, R. (1993) Consumption. London: Routledge 4. 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[Online], Available at: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/youth/Source/Resources/Forum21/II_Issue_No5/II_No5_PostRevol_Czech_consumer_generation_en.pdf [Accessed on 26 November 2011] 10. Sen M. (2006), Metrosexuality: The Changing Indian Masculine, [Online], Available at: http://webspace.webring.com/people/gh/husociology1/metro8.htm [Accessed 26 November 2011] Read More