I recently watched the documentary “Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy” and I wanted to share my thoughts. As a student studying Marketing, I found it to be particularly interesting as it reveals the hidden forces that drive modern consumer behavior and the shocking consequences. Through psychological tactics, data-driven strategies, and social pressures, the documentary explains why consumers like you and I are purchasing more than we ever intended leading to overconsumption and other problems. In this blog, I will briefly discuss the most interesting aspect of the documentary and my key takeaways.
Psychological Power
Throughout the documentary, I found myself relating to a lot but the most interesting aspect was the psychology of shopping. Retailers use psychological tactics to push potential customers to buy. For example, brands cater to our impulses by using scarcity. Have you ever felt the need to buy something because of a bold sign declaring “Limited Edition!” or “Buy While Supplies Last!”? These strategies are the work of marketers, and they carefully and skillfully design them to trigger impulse buying. It really makes you think and reconsider whether you’re getting a good deal or not. These techniques are powerful and they tap into our fear of missing out. FOMO (fear of missing out) is real and forces us to act on instinct.
In addition to the psychological aspect, the documentary also examines fast fashion and big data. I was taken aback when the film highlighted the lifecycle of a piece of clothing produced by a fast fashion company. Although aware of fast fashion, I never fully considered the hidden costs of it. The documentary also sheds light on big data and its big influence in shaping consumer habits. I find it to be so crazy how companies can use shared data to feed into algorithms that can accurately predict what we want to buy and the amount we are willing to pay for it.
Key Takeaways
The most striking thing to me was how natural these strategies are, almost unavoidable. This makes me question if these tactics are necessary for success in any market. By the end of the documentary, I felt frustrated but empowered. Frustrated because these tactics are so widespread and rooted in the way we live, it is nearly impossible to ignore them. But empowered because before watching the documentary, I thought I had a lot of knowledge on the topic, but I ended up learning so much. It clarified some points I hadn’t given much thought to previously. Going forward, I am determined to shop more consciously, keeping everything I learned from the documentary in mind.
Overall, the documentary “Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy” was extremely insightful and entertaining. It inspired me to be more intentional with my choices. If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend you do!