Few illusions have captivated the imagination of contemporary Americans so overwhelmingly as the phenomenon of the ‘American Dream’ with its reverberating emphasis on elevated consumption patterns, compulsive acquirement, and immediate indulgence.
A corollary of this delusion seems to be propelled by the fact that the only way to accomplish the dream that has its origins in the decade of the 1960s is by engaging in what is commonly known as the culture of consumerism (Renovard, 2007). The new intellectuals of the knowledge-based economy, with their opulent income and fast and fun-filled lifestyles, are the prototypes of the consumerist fantasy that is taking root in other parts of the world.
This paper purposes to discuss some underlying issues related to spending habits and consumption patterns in the U.S., with a view to edify our understanding on the culture of consumerism that has already taken root in the country and its implications on individual users in particular and society in general.
The observations made in one of the retail stores owned by Wal-Mart revealed a highly structured variance on the spending habits of Americans based on several demographic factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. As such, it can be concluded that taste preferences are linked to the demographic indicators listed above, and are rightly or wrongly used by Americans to market their social positions and sensibilities.
This conclusion is reached after observing that consumers who drove big expensive cars to the store for shopping always visited shelves that stocked highly differentiated name brands in terms of taste and value, while those that arrived by cabs visited shelves that stocked low-cost generic items.
According to Thomas (2009), “…there is nothing which more exactly defines social differences than personal taste…The choices that people make in [this area] of life may seem spontaneous and genuine, but, without any apparent pressure or coercion, they usually conform to class lines” (para. 1).
It can also be concluded that age and gender is critical in defining an average American’s spending habit. The observations revealed that teenagers and young women spent more financial resources on items that helped them define their individual identity, refinement, and elegance while the more elderly consumers attempted to restrain their spending habits.
For instance, while the teenagers and young women spent more on luxuries such as designer clothes, jewelry, dolls, greeting cards, flowers, and liquor, the adults spent more on items that are mostly used at the family level such as foodstuffs, detergents, and utensils, among others. Still, another conclusion could be that the spending habits are driven more by the inordinate and insatiable appetite of acquiring and enduring possessions than by a justifiable attempt to quest a basic need.
According to Shaw (2005), such a trend has been advanced by the misplaced need of outdoing each other in the quest for power, both at the individual and society level, and often results in the ruinous consequences of self-indulgence upon a person’s financial resources. This perhaps explains why an estimated 63% of Americans admit the fact that they don’t save enough, while over 25% acknowledge they sometimes spend more money than they can earn (PewReseachCenter, 2007).
Evidence was adduced that Americans are indeed living in a consumer-oriented, materialistic culture. Indeed, observations were made of Americans who spent huge sums of money for non-utilitarian reasons such as satisfying immediate-gratification impulse, envy-provocation, self-expression, and pleasure-seeking rather than a deliberate attempt to satisfy a basic need.
Observations were also made that most Americans overspend on shopping sprees due to the misplaced belief that they can have whatever they want using their credit cards – the most commonly observed method of payment.
This, according to Reinstaller & Sanditov (2005), has propelled the US consumer culture into one of the most dominant forces affecting individuals, not mentioning the fact that it has been successful in restructuring society along the continuums of the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ as more people aspire to become members of this odious cultural setback that only serves to reinforce the basic tenets of a capitalistic society.
Although the U.S. economy is attempting to stabilize due to the effects of recent financial recession, there exists no evidence that Americans are living in hard-times based on their spending habits. The culture of consumerism, according to Kasanda (2009), is still gaining ground as demonstrated by the ongoing trend of wealth accumulation and impulsive buying.
Indeed, people continue to spend lavishly on non-essential items such as liquor, dolls, greetings cards, fragrances, chocolates and jewelry as per the observations made. What’s more, Americans continue to spend in debt hoping to clear the underlying outlays using their credit cards, a phenomenon that only serves to entrench the culture of consumerism and impulsive buying.
The current research on consumer habits is valid as it does not only conform to the objective statistics released by various federal departments, but also relates well with the observations made in Wal-Mart retail store.
Indeed, many analysts are of the opinion that the government has been encouraging Americans to amass material wealth to a level where obsessive wealth accumulation defines the people’s social status and self-image (Kasanda, 2009). This is exactly what is happening on the ground. Furthermore, figures released by PewResearchCenter (2007) are unequivocal about the Americans obsession with impulsive buying habits.
For instance, although 77% of all Americans acknowledge the fact that they are always on the lookout for new ways to save money, two-thirds (63%) agree that they rarely save enough money due to varied expenses arising from over-engagement in shopping expeditions, accumulation of personal items, entertainment, and recreation. These non-essential spending habits have driven the rate of personal savings in the U.S. into negative territory (PewReseachCenter, 2007; Renovard, 2007).
The rate of consumerism and materialism is indeed spreading, and many Americans are only too anxious to join the bandwagon (Thomas, 2009).
Indeed, ‘conspicuous consumption’ as denoted by Thorstein Veblen is a critical determinant of this spread due to the fact that capitalistic industrialists and other business ventures are introducing trendy and addictive products in the hope of expanding their markets, thus their profit margins (Reinstaller & Sanditov, 2005).
The people, driven by inordinate desire for immediate gratification, have fallen prey to these machinations to a point that they only strive to accumulate more, thereby providing a framework that is used to feed the culture of consumerism.
A case in point is the introduction of mobile phones, which served as important communication gadgets upon their introduction into the market. Today, however, the function of the gadget has been increasingly altered to that of making a status statement as Americans struggle to outdo each other in terms of owning the latest smart phone or blackberry. This has only served to enhance the rate of consumerism.
Reference List
Kasanda, S. (2009). The culture of consumerism and the recession. Web.
PewResearchCenter. (2007). We try hard. We fall short. Americans access their saving habits. Web.
Reinstaller, A., & Sanditov, B. (2005). Social structure and consumption: On the diffusion of consumer good innovation. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 15(5), 505-531. Retrieved from Business Source Premier Database.
Renovard, J. (2007). The predicaments of plenty: Interwar intellectuals and American Consumerism. The Journal of American Culture, 30 (1), 54-67. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database.
Shaw, D. (2005). The psychology of spending. Real Simple, 6(1), 100-105. Retrieved from MasterFile Premier Database.
Thomas, K. (2009). To buy or not to buy. History Today 59(2). Retrieved from Academic Search Premier Database.