The Magic of The Mall by Jon Goss - Book Report/Review Example

Picking Apart Scholarly Articles: Jon Goss In Jon Goss’ article “The ‘Magic of the Mall An Analysis of Form, Function, and Meaning in the Contemporary Retail Environment” (1993), the author attempts to demonstrate how shopping center developers have learned and implemented strategies that tend to manipulate shoppers to make them purchase more. This includes the way that the space is organized in order to facilitate the shopping experience and the study of how to display products in such a way as to encourage shoppers to purchase them. The discussion also goes into more detail regarding how these designers manipulate the emotions of shoppers by presenting them with various reasons for making the excursion, such as incorporating entertainment venues, etc. Through his analysis of how the shopping mall is now being designed and the study behind it, Goss accurately describes the results of his study in his article when he calls it “The Magic of the Mall.” The author states his argument expressly well within the context of the paper. Halfway down the second page, he states: “This paper argues that developers have sought to assuage this collective guilt over conspicuous consumption by designing into the retail built environment the means for a fantasized dissociation from the act of shopping” (19). The collective guilt he is referring to is described in the opening paragraphs as being the guilt of the shopper who feels it is somehow sinful to participate or lose oneself in the concepts of mass consumption. This is a wide-spread sentiment among the population and, if retailers wish to continue raking in the profits, developers must find ways of relieving the guilt. They do so by providing alternative activities within the space in order to provide the illusion that consumers might be engaged in other activities while on the premises. Even this early in the article, it seems the author is at least slightly disgusted by the manipulation evident in these designs. This is manifested in his portrayal of the “moral corruption inherent in commercialism and materialism, and sustained by a modern intellectual contempt for consumer society” (18). This anger toward the designer is again emphasized as the author describes the designers as predominantly white middle class males and envisions the way they interpret the average consumer: “Consumers are constructed as passive, sensual, and vulnerable victims of the ‘force field which they don’t understand,’ just as the designers’ discourse is both manifestly elitist and gendered – from ‘market penetration analysis’ to the persistent tropes of seduction, stimulation and physical manipulation” (19). While the author does not specifically enumerate their own bias, they do admit that a great deal of the analysis is necessarily based upon subjective data collection. The literature review builds up the ideas that have led into this study. It begins with an examination of the concept that the buyer helps to define what she buys as much as what she buys helps to define her. This leads to the idea that the perceived built world that we live in has become more real to us as consumers than the actual real world that exists outside of our created spaces. Once this is established, the problems of retail investment are enumerated, including the saturation of the market and the decline of community incentives, which push developers to determine new means of attracting consumers if they wish to sell their properties. For most, this has translated into the concept of theme shopping or shopping as entertainment as a means of keeping shoppers on the premises for longer periods of time, which is shown to increase the likelihood that they will purchase something. With this in mind, the literature is then examined that reveals why the direction of this new shopping mall design has tended to focus on more village market/community center settings. This concept of the mall has thus evolved into a mall as community gathering space and is actively marketed as such. The danger of this, though, is that it remains a private property and is thus not subject to the same laws of free speech, equality and tolerance that the rest of the nation is subject to just as it remains a space of flux for the consumer who transitions constantly between entertainment and consumerism. While the authors listed in the literature review discuss these various aspects of the mall space, the author of this article actually looks at various mall designs and analyzes the way in which architectural and design features actually contribute to the various cues received by consumers to indicate the space usage. To do this, the author examines specific aspects of the mall design, such as the entrance details, the fantasy elements and the eye-catching embellishments that present a representation of otherworld splendor. “Such design features celebrate the drama and aesthetics of motion, drawing the eye and the person to upper levels” (34). The form of the design is discussed in terms of pedestrian flow as they move through the mall by spacing anchor stores, amenities and conveyances at strategic places so as to continually pull the shopper through the mall and past the specialty shops. The function is discussed in terms of the interior design with the presence of fountains and waterfalls as a means of continually pulling the shopper to discover the next ‘surprise’ for the aesthetic or consumer sense. Finally, the meaning of the mall is discussed as the various themes are indicated, denoting how these themes function to transplant the shopper to another time and place and thus soothes them into a sense of security and comfort, encouraging them to linger. This method of analysis, a relatively subjective, but supported, characterization of numerous themes malls that have emerged around the country, is seemingly limited in its overall scope yet the conclusions seem appropriate. This is particularly persuasive in that the suppositions made regarding the effect of the various elements discussed are supported by other studies that have been conducted in addition to having a common sense resonance within the mind of any modern-day consumer. General psychology knowledge also tends to support the conclusions reached. The limited range of shopping malls is therefore acceptable in this study because the general principles discussed can be easily applicable to any known modernized or themed mall and the same results can be realized. The conclusions support the paper’s argument that developers are purposely attempting to present a representative reality to their shoppers as a means of keeping them within the confined space of the retail areas and increasing the likelihood that they will spend money in the form and function of the design and the meaning that is thus communicated. The results of the study should be of concern to anyone interested in the healthy operation of a free and democratic society. By presenting themselves as alternative and secure public spaces, the new theme malls not only function to encourage greater levels of consumer spending, but also circumvent the true public spaces. This is important because the mall, being a private holding, is not required to allow free speech and the right to gather. They can employ numerous discriminatory practices such as refusing to lease to minority businesses, restricting the types of businesses that can operate and refusing to serve segments of the population. If I had been on a panel to select research proposals, I would probably not have selected this research as a worthy topic of investigation. However, having seen the results, I would have realized my mistake in undervaluing the understanding such a study provides. References Goss, Jon. (1993). “The ‘Magic of the Mall’: An Analysis of Form, Function, and Meaning in the Contemporary Retail Environment” Annals of the Association of American Geographers. March 1993, Vol. 83 Issue 1, pp. 18-47. Read More