“Survival of the fittest,” is the law of the jungle. Welcome to a man made phenomenon that, to a large percentage of the population, means spending money they don’t have, buying things they don’t need, and battling crowds as if there was an eternal life source at the end of the shopping aisle.
There are no “Indiana Jones” moments in this celebration conjured up in retail heaven. No cup of immortality. No moral victories. Just stuff, and more stuff. Stuff to buy, stuff to marvel over, and stuff to return. Long lines, snarling traffic, agitated shoppers, and a media circus to boot. If this is retail therapy, then we are in trouble as a nation.
This shopping smorgasbord is a perfect example of behavioral economics at work. Purchase behavior in this circumstance is not driven by need, or want, or even desire. It is driven by a primitive instinct to win and go for the kill. Be careful, it really is a jungle out there, and the shoppers are on the prowl.
About Hemant Rustogi