Consumption has entered a conspicuous new era. Think you're alone making very personal decisions about the perfect pair of sunglasses or shirt? Think again. Eyes are everywhere, information is fed to shoppers, and the crowd speaks, right up until a purchase has been made. And especially, after.
Shopping is no longer about a consumer making an individual choice. It's about interacting.
"The reality is, you need to create a connection, create a personal experience," Chris Beer of Luxottica, an eyewear company based in Italy, told The Times.
Luxottica is experimenting with a concept store that makes buying eyewear an event. There's a treadmill to test the wind resistance of sunglasses; a machine that simulates glare on snow and touch screens so shoppers can snap photos and eventually post them on Facebook. By offering a more personalized experience, Luxottica hopes to lure customers from online shopping.
But the Internet is where things probably get the most "intimate." A new kind of Web coupon is full of information about its user. Bar codes store information like identification, Internet addresses and a customer's online searches. When the coupon is used, stores can keep track of the customer's purchasing behavior and give follow-up offers.
"It's almost like being able to read their mind, because they're confessing to the search engine what they're looking for."
Some retailers are testing a product from I.B.M. called Presence, which sends out real-time coupons to cellphones the moment a customer walks into a store.
Makes you wonder if you really picked out those boots all by yourself.
Consumption isn't just about you. It's about what other people think about you. "Haul" videos on YouTube, where young women open their shopping bags and describe each item, have generated hundreds of thousands of views and comments. Then there are sites like Fashism and Go Try It On, which are making fashion more interactive. Upload a photo of yourself wearing an outfit and viewers rate it and offer advice.
Amy Silbergeld, 22, of San Francisco, uses Fashism daily. It helps "people to look their personal best, rather than helping them to conform to others," she told The Times.
Blank Label does just that by selling customized shirts online. One of its goals is to communicate directly with customers, and for several hours a day, Fan Bi, the chief executive, chats with customers. Danny Wong, a partner, said he was excited about "bridging the gap between consumer and manufacturer."
And that gap has shrunk drastically. When shopping, you're not alone. Just ask, and everyone will tell.
