Unconscious accumulation
A short musing on shopping
70% of the US economy is consumption. But why do we buy?
The reasons we have dissipate quickly from consciousness - blown by the speed from click to cart to doorstep
It seems like:
We buy because we want
We buy because we need
Often we create needs to justify things we want
Or we want new things because of their ability to solve new needs. I can develop a need for many things - even if the need is infrequent
The potential usefulness of a thing can entice. But rarely does a lack of use in that way convince us that a purchase was ill made
We buy to fill absences
We buy in a quest for perfection. The good enough is cast aside for the chance at the perfect
None of these reasons are good or bad in themselves.
They are just reasons - but are we aware of them? If we were aware of them, would our behavior change? Would we change?