Popular Culture Production and Consumption - Essay Example

Popular Culture Production and Consumption Introduction Popular cultures are essential in the determination of consumerism aspects in the social domain. There are a number of theories outlining popular culture with regards to consumerism and it is imperative to evaluate the theories to attain an explicit understanding on the issue. The first theory is the theory of mass society that concerns significant complications that have been applied massively to highlight the disappointment of the evening out trends of industrial society with regards to the decreasing effect of family together with community as well. In the sociological aspect, the analysis of contemporary society and the elevation of independence are critical for understanding the society. Considering the enlarging magnitude and complication, social incorporation has become challenging and should be addressed. There is inadequate control of behavior whilst individualism incorporates massive individuation of persons. The significantly flawed social cohesion and relaxed social regulations which, leads to disjointed results such as suicide. In fact, there are critical separation attributed to this behaviour in the society. The theory of the culture industry postulates that the masses are dominated exactly by a versatile culture industry abiding solely by the reason of consumer capitalism. Indeed, the control of society by a particular group that maintains power by partly taking care of and alternative part limiting the assertions of opposing groups, have no chance anywhere any longer. The provision of hegemony as an objective to attain for the social class which is plagued gets deprived of its privileges. The system has succeeded in overriding others except the government. The third theory is the theory of progressive evolution that, is distinct in its outstanding optimism as it views the capitalist economy to be full of opportunities. The theory views the society to be democratized in a number of means such as significant education, increment in the leisure time as well as affordable records. This theory does not consider the domination in any manner; the popular culture poses no threat to high culture and only fosters the credible needs of the population. Fashion greatly depends on the forces resulting from the population demands. In an ordinary set-up, many people tend to prefer the best commodities in the market so as to cope with the trends. Fashion is a subject to trend and as a result, the popular culture would embrace fashion. In the society, many people would opt for the trending culture and so to the company producing the most current and appealing products. In order to ensure the achievement of the substantiation of the predetermined objectives of this analysis, organizations such as Apple, Disney store and Hollister have been selected for evaluation. The products created by the Apple Company are critical concerning their purpose in the popular culture since the brand is constitute an ideal symbol for consumerism. The American company deals in electronic gadgets such as phones and personal computers amongst others. The company is also vital as it constituted one of the main proponents that foster the utilization of computers in public. Considering history, computers did not have mice and were mainly operated by keyboard codes before the company created the first PC with the mouse. Due to the impact of the company’s product in the technological industry, the company attained dominance and has remained to appeal to the population’s interest. The products of the Apple Company have been assimilated successfully into the popular culture as people ranging from different age groups opt for the Apple products in the market. The pursuit of fashionable clothing amongst the youth provides opportunity for greater understanding of the contemporary consumption and culture framework, due to individual and authenticity-orientated choices located in this practice. Fashion’s immediate social visibility and primarily consumption orientation thus provides a potent site for exploring the construction of postmodern identity and cultural taste (Molloy and Wendy, 14). Traditional understandings of the use of fashion as a social tool focus heavily on class perspectives. Cultural taste is a reflection of the struggles for social recognition or status. From this point of view, fashion is consumed as a marker of class status (Crane, 23). The relationship between the idea of society and the processes of creation of utility and utilization is disputed and complicated. Whilst a sociology of the business sector was created to record the "culturalness" of all aspects of financial life, the estimation of society requires a process of constructing social goods as important, which is started by those included in their production (Lawler, 11). This paper will plot different popular culture creation and consumption processes on a few retail stores that we previously visited in Westfields Stratford. These retail stores include Urban Outfitters, Hollister, Disney Store, Apple Store and Victorias Secret. This essay begins with concise strategies that the retail stores have implemented to increase popular culture and product Consumption. The paper ends with some recommendation on how to improve product consumption in these retail stores and a brief conclusion. What motivates customers on product consumption? One of the central drivers of buyer conduct to fashion products is the predominance of social cooperation. The association of consumers in fashion products depends all alone recognitions, as well as on peers reaction to their personality and change inclination. Consumers see the connection between fashionable products and character from the point of view of their qualities produced in different social associations. Consumers get included in displaying fashion and way of life as a tasteful method for exhibiting their personality (Crane, 12). Consequently, purchasing new products, for example, clothing, lingerie or even an I-Phone is frequently considered as an open door for conveying a new order of character of a person. Cultural Value and how it Influence Product Consumption A significant outcome of culture is its effect on consumption patterns of people and organizations. Contingent upon the fundamental cultural logic consumers has a tendency to take after individual consumption designs. Fruitful brands have possessed the capacity to embrace their branding methodologies in accordance with this overwhelming cultural theory and weave their brands into the cultural fibber. A few researchers have seen that cultural qualities influence the purchase expectations of fashion products. In social orders that display hedonic qualities, fashion products are advanced by producers and retailers to instigate a sudden, convincing, socially perplexing purchasing conduct through limited time programs that build disposable pay by encouraging credit to consumers. Producers and retailers apply both push and pull methods to make the advancements of fashion products compelling and worthwhile to the consumers. Advancements focused at final consumers, known as draw advancements, straightforwardly offer additional quality to consumers with the essential objectives of drawing in consumers to retail areas and invigorating quick sales. Despite the fact that both push and pull advancements are intended to accelerate the offering process and build sales in any event in the short term, their key ramifications and additionally their effects on fashion sales and benefits are accepted to be distinctive. Such advancement headed fashion retailing culture animates fashion-arranged disposition, obligation and using conduct on these products among consumers. Shifts in consumer fashion culture Fashion has built a picture in the business by situating plans focused at more “enthusiastic” male and female customers (Molloy, and Wendy, 17). It is contended that shifts in customer society give a jolt to element development in the arena of personal taste and consumption. Such dynamism in buyer inclination is considered as a significant aspect of a universal cultural framework and is determined by ceaseless change in quality and way of life. Purchaser values, for example, usefulness, wellness for reason and proficiency substantially help driving cultural change and perceiving suitable fashion to fit deliberately with ways of life. Effect of Technology Change on Consumption Process The developing technology is one of the significant stimulants for instigating change in fashion and customer culture. The three-dimensional Automatic Made-to-Measure plan for products showed through machine reproduction in extensive retail stores and lifestyle centres, assumes a real part in producing arousal to fashion. A freeform outline stage is embraced by fashioners, producers and retailers to speak to the complex geometric models of products. Fashionable products are outlined with reference to gimmicks of the human body, and accordingly impart a typical set of peculiarities as the human type. Hence, this parametric peculiarity based demonstrating empowers the programmed era of fitted products for everybody. Consumers incline to purchase such products that are to a great extent sold as fashion products. Case in point Disney retail store has made a promoting powerhouse that uses the vital instructive power of childrens culture in blend with new advanced media technologies. Social Cognitive Theory Shopping conduct of consumers is likewise impacted by the qualities of the social cognitive theory that clarify how variables, for example, self-regulation and self-efficacy immediate spending conduct, and focus shopper ways of life (Brenner, Phili, Richard, and Sheldon, 236). Product qualities impact shopper impression of the personal importance of a product or administration to their needs. Buyer inclination for product ascribes is fundamentally connected to their way of life. The lifestyle theory proposes that urban consumers apparent hedonic qualities and social personality variables focus their shopping conduct. The shopping conduct of consumers is determined by social, financial and relations variables. Shopping mood, ads, and retail advancements create ace shopping conduct. The social learning theory clarifies this marvel as encouraging feedback, and it happens when a conduct is trailed by an ideal stimulus that expands the recurrence of that conduct. In the calculated establishments of the social learning theory, respondent moulding, and observational learning are experimentally underpinned methodologies to comprehension regulating human advancement and the aetiology of psychosocial issues. Impact of Store Brand on Product Consumption In all the retail stores that we went to it was evident that store branding is an imperative strategy to increase product consumption. Retail stores create their store brands to produce store faithfulness among consumers. Store brands are shown in these stores alongside by the fashion brands. The changing elements of the fashion business have constrained retailers to go for ease promoting methods and adaptability in configuration and enhancing pace of infiltration in the business further bolstering increase good fortune. Store brands have developed quickly in the fashion business owing to the quick development of fashion. Store fashion brands are composed and created considering buyer discernment on the store picture. The shopping fulfilment of fashion products incorporates consumers view of store characteristics and subjective assessments of products acquired from the store by the consumers themselves or their fellow customers. Store brand effect is determined additionally through informal association. However, reaction to store brands seems, by all accounts, to be more mind boggling in nature than a basic effective synopsis of the relative frequencies of positive and negative feeling amid consumption encounters. An alternate component that influences the purchasers choice on store brands is distinguished from the part of the store sales personnel in a retail environment. It has been observed that viable sales representatives impact the shopping process as well as impact consumers to switch their store support. Consumers may forsake one store brand to take on particular sales and administration personnel to another store brand (Rose, 34). The retail stores assume a real part in impacting consumers for both store and makers brands. Demeanour to advanced brands is described by positive store picture, shrewd customer perception toward oneself, requirement for association and state of mind to money in regards to influencing esteem and uneasiness. However, demeanour of consumers to store brands is controlled by more positive store picture, value preference, and scope of products to practice purchasing alternatives, and dependability and trust-related components. Additional strategic ways of improving product consumption for Urban Outfitters, Hollister, Disney Store, Apple store, and Victorias Secret Use of Catalogs: Catalogs are more productive than numerous news magazines. These catalogs have made the Urban Outfitters, Hollister, Disney Store, Apple store and Victorias Secret exceptionally prevalent thus making more consumers to purchase from these stores. It is easy to get these catalogs. An individual basically needs to go to the particular store site, enter a road number, and several weeks after the actuality a grand catalog is passed on to the doorstep without any payments (Griep, Darren, and Dan, 15). Special Events: Sporadically, Urban Outfitters, Hollister, Disney Store, Apple store and Victorias Secret likewise organizes exceptional occasions to host the consideration encompassing the arrival of an alternate line of product. Printed Advertisements in Magazines and Newspapers: What Urban Outfitters, Hollister, Disney Store, Apple store and Victorias Secret does not spend on Internet and television advertisements, or its catalog is put into newspaper and magazine ads. Newspaper and magazine ads are compelling for arriving at a wide crowd. Specifically, these stores target magazines it expects its consumer base to read, which incorporate Forbes, Cosmopolitan, In Style, Glamor, and Allure. Store Front: Store inner parts of Urban Outfitters, Hollister, Disney Store, Apple store and Victorias Secret store are likewise steady with the store’s image. For instance wallpaper shades of the delicate pink development a delicate, female environment for the Victorias Secret stores. On the other hand, the Disney store is equipped with kids stuff and wallpapers of Disney characters to give the customers a Disney feeling. Recommendation It is imperative for Urban Outfitters, Hollister, Disney Store, Apple store and Victorias Secret to note that fashion products have a short consumption lifespan. To expand the consumption process, the stores ought to a great extent significant in celebrity promotions and visual merchandising. Fashion magazines are the ideal medium to impact the fashion adjustment inside the bigger postulation of worldwide impacts. These magazines alongside television show impact consumers on the process of the fashion adjustment, which starts with product conceptualization and respect toward oneself in the public arena. These retail stores should tap any channel that will build their product consumption, therefore expanding their net revenue. Celebrity-based promotion is a prominent approach to pushing product sales in the business sector. Promotion strategy has a solid hold in activating purchase expectations among consumers. The popular appeal of the celebrity drives the sales of a product fundamentally and heads the brand. Showcasing division in these retail stores ought to comprehend that shopper attitudes to a promoted product are administered by the prevalence and the picture of a celebrity and interpretations of the message. Conclusion In order to join production and consumption, one should borrow the applied image of the circuit of society. Advertising is one calculated image that the understandable production with consumption is well as draws consumption go into the process of production (Lynch, Kevin, and Lyn, 249). It is obvious that there is force relations installed by different retail stores in the ways of seeing and the embedded of visual images in a more extensive socio-cultural connection. A perfect image in the fashion business is vital. Urban Outfitters, Hollister, Disney Store, Apple store and Victorias Secret success lies in holding an image of class and excellence. These stores have figured out how to make a visible spot for themselves in popular culture. There is no uncertainty that the aforementioned retail stores are exceptional at popular culture production, and that is the reason they will keep on dominating their line of market. The success of their products is an immediate product of aggressive fighting in all venues. Works Cited Brenner, Philip S., Richard T. Serpe, and Sheldon Stryker. "The Causal Ordering of Prominence and Salience in Identity Theory An Empirical Examination." Social Psychology Quarterly 77.3 (2014): 231-252. Crane, Diana. Fashion and its social agendas: Class, gender, and identity in clothing. University of Chicago Press, 2012. Lawler, Steph. "Identity: Sociological Perspectives, 2nd Edition." Wiley:. 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.  Lynch, Pip, Kevin Moore, and Lyn Minchington. "Adventure cultures: an international comparison." Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning12.3 (2012): 237-260. Molloy, M. P., and Wendy Larner. Fashioning globalisation: New Zealand design, working women and the cultural economy. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. Print. Rose, Gillian. Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials. Sage, 2012. Read More