Shoppers are divided into different categories. Knowing your category may leave a pungent taste nevertheless these are observations I gathered at shopping malls and day markets. No pun intended.
Shopping for basic needs is considered by the working class as fun and excuse for an outing in the malls, especially in the supermarket area. During paydays, husbands and wives go together hand in hand, choosing and picking up groceries. With a list in the wife’s hand, they go around buying the most basic, scrimping for the most needed; milk, toothpaste, laundry soap, meat, rice, etc. They live “within their means” and making both ends meet. No credit cards, only debit cards to pay for the goods purchased.
The second group of shoppers are those whose funding are very generous. I found out it was their way to “ease boredom” or as “palliatives from guilty husbands, or lovers” (?) At department stores, boutiques or elsewhere this kind of shopper exists; buying things without looking at price tags. Like a fairy brandishing her wand for things to materialize, she also brandishes credit cards to pay for her goods. No questions asked.
Included in this category are the “impulsive shoppers.” These buyers are credit card holders too but do not have sufficient funds. To attain things which can’t wait until payday, these shoppers use credit cards to splurge on the “wanted things” they can not afford. And before payday comes, hard earned money is already gone.
The third group are those that can barely afford. They can be seen at day markets, unmindful of rain and heat, of the foul odor emanating from scraps. They opt to shop in these places because one can haggle with the prices and could buy cheapest.
How my heart goes to them, to witness parents bargaining, pleading to vendors for the basic needs of their children. And sadly, there was a disheartening scene I witnessed. Due to lack of funds, one shopper resorted to shoplifting and it really caused chaos. All I could mutter was, “if only I have the means”
Among this group of shoppers, I enjoyed watching the supermarket shoppers. It’s like viewing the movie “Ant Bully”; of industrious ants saving food for the rainy days. I belong to this group; yes scrimping, counting the last centavo to have ends meet. Yet, I am proud of it because these are the patterns of a wise shopper.
