Our grandchildren learn about shopping as early as toddlers. No, it is not the comparison shopping of getting good quality at a good price. It is Grandma failing to put password controls on free apps and the Ipad nearly crashing on overload after the youngest grandson downloaded over forty free apps on dinosaurs and ninjas! What are our grandchildren learning about shopping and what should they be learning?
First, shopping seems to be too easy for our grandchildren and does not teach them how to shop. Okay, I am going to go there and speak of things when I was a child, when I promised myself I would not turn into my parents who used to talk of a loaf of bread costing a nickel.
When I was a child, I had no say in what I wore and what was purchased for me. My mother sewed all of my clothes. I did not realize the quality or her skill at the time, and was embarrassed that all of my clothes were homemade. When I was a little older, I wanted all store bought clothing and did not care about the quality. My parents were frugal and price was the governing rule. Our youngest grandchildren know the word free, and think free applies to all purchases, especially with apps. They seem to think free means good. Then, they play the free game once and go on to the next. Grandchildren today have too many options and do not know how to distinguish quality from quantity, when apps are their introduction to shopping. This Grandma has tried to shop for new free apps with even the youngest, showing them the star ratings, showing them how to seek reviews. I have tried to show them that sometimes paying a little for apps might mean one that they will play more than once. Instead of taking this wonderful lesson in comparison shopping, my five year old grandson showed me how easy it is to delete apps. The next time we visit him there will be a password to download even free apps. Maybe then he will have a reason to listen.
Second, we adults also have too much ease in shopping and returns, so we need to become better role models. Looking on line, I saw a short video about virtual reality 3-D try-on apps that are being developed so we can see how clothes will look on our specific real body before we buy. Why? According to this random video I saw on the internet 23% of purchases in stores and on line are costing retailers $643 billion in returns. $62 billion is because of wrong sizing. Supposedly 3-D try-on apps will help us because our body type and shape will be calculated exactly and we can virtually try on clothing at home in advance. There is no way that this Grandma is going to have her measurements so calculated so when I open email after shopping, not only will the item I just looked at be staring at me on my email page, but my measurements too! It is too creepy already. My measurements are a sworn secret, even from myself. However, the grandchildren might think this is cool. Their measurements are wanted and this may be a new way to keep track of their growth, rather than a mark in the garage each year.
Third, some grandchildren are shoppers and some are not, as some of us are shoppers and some are not. Out of four grandchildren, this Grandma has one shopaholic, the nine year old grandson. No, the granddaughter will not shop and does not want clothes, unless they are athletic clothing specific to the sports at which she excels. It is no fun taking her shopping, especially for a dress. You would think we were taking her to the gallows. On the other hand, mention shopping at a mall, and the nine year old grandson is at the door, jacket on, ready to go. And, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center study, reported in the Sun Sentinel, December 25, 2016 (interesting that the article appeared on Christmas Day), “Physical Stores [are] Preferred,” by American shoppers. We adults want brick and mortar and the experience of shopping. I have to admit that it is my favorite form of exercise. Grandpa calls it mall walking that I do, as fast as I can. Why? I know the stores that are my destination and they are few and far between. It is the same for the nine year old grandson. He wants Under Armour, and the Under Armour store or Nordstroms that carries Under Armour kids, as well as sports shoes of all varieties. The problem for him and us is that the stores do not stock as they used too!
Yes, I would like to buy more in a brick and mortar store, but unfortunately they are not stocked the way they used to be “in the good old days.” Today, I even find I have to buy my Starbucks Verona whole bean coffee on Amazon.com because the two Starbucks stores within a two mile radius more often than not do not have it in stock! Stores are losing us to on line shopping. If we go for a mission and the item is not there time after time, Amazon wins us over. The immediate delivery is better than frustration. More often than not the sports shoes or the Under Armour pants that my grandson covets are not in the store in his size. We order them on line right in the store more often than not. The stores are even offering free shipping if we order on line while in the store, because of their lack of stocking. For us grandmas, that does not offer us the brick and mortar experience of hugs and kisses in the store. Our grandchildren need to hold an item before it becomes real for them. They do not want to return anything of their choice, and on line shopping might mean a return.
Now, we hear that Macys, Sears, JC Penneys, Kohls, etc. are downsizing, closing unprofitable stores and beefing up their on line presence. Maybe they should have stocked their stores more strategically. We hear that retail malls are changing, and the anchor department store is far less important than the Apple store or the Teslas shining in their glory in the mall store. On the other hand, we hear that Amazon is opening a brick and mortar store in New York City. But, it is not your typical brick and mortar retail store. According to an article in the New York Times, January 6, 2017, regarding the opening, Amazon recently opened a store in Seattle, called Amazon Go, and “[s]hoppers gain entry to the store with a smartphone application, and are charged for items using sensors and other technologies similar to those in self driving cars.” Shopping in a retail store Amazon style, it seems, will mean never visiting a cash register. Amazon is also getting into the groceries home delivery service, and this Grandma hopes it is successful. It was short lived in Fort Lauderdale, supposedly not profitable, but ordering groceries on line was a dream and items arrived fresher than when I went to the supermarket. Our grandchildren, as adults, may think of places like department stores and supermarkets as things of past generations, just like the five cent loaf of bread.
Fourth, on line is our grandchildren’s generation’s go to place and that too is evolving. The Pew Study showed is 8 in 10 of us bought something on line in 2015 rather than just 22% of us in a 2000 study. This Grandma does not think the stores realize the ease of on line shopping is important but finding what we want in our size is just as important. According to the author of the article, Jennifer Van Grove, we love physical stores but will, as a practical matter, look for the best price. She mentions another study in which 47% of American shoppers say they “webroom,” research a product on line but buy it in person. This Grandma does something, and I do not know if it is the same thing. If a grandchild or I want something while shopping in a store, I take out my Iphone and put the item in it and comparison shop the price and look at the reviews. I check Retail Me Not right in the dressing room to see if there is an instant discount coupon for the store or the brand. I do this with the grandchildren, even shopping at home. Yes, like other Americans, I want the best price. The nine year old wants immediate gratification, so even if it is somewhat cheaper on line, a bird in hand brings a smile to his face, and the immediate smile and hug and kiss is the immediate gratification this Grandma loves, so an immediate, if a little more expensive, purchase it is. While Grandma is alive, the shopping mall is an activity we enjoy together.
Finally, fifth, more scary than a toddler downloading forty apps and crashing an Ipad, is the subject of an article, “6-year-old accidentally orders high-end treats with Amazon’s Alexa,”by Grace Williams, published January 03, 2017 on FoxNews.com. Apparently, the child was discussing a doll house and cookies with this new Alexa talking machine, Amazon’s “Alexa voice assistant aims to revolutionize the shopping experience,” and Alexa decided to order the items for the child on Amazon, and Amazon billed the parents for “a $170 Kidcraft dollhouse and 64 ounces, four pounds, of cookies.” This Alexa was a holiday gift from the in-laws. This is one gift to buy for parents of grandchildren to cause them a host of headaches.
Headaches and frustration are the keynotes of shopping in 2016. But, Amazon is on it so we can be assured that new and different shopping experiences are ahead of us. I am waiting for my first drone delivery! However, let’s try again to teach grandchildren comparison shopping and researching a product before buying it in 2017. Shopping is a great activity with grandchildren, but be careful of those YouTube videos the little grandchildren are hooked on like crack. There is an actual kids’ toy shopping channel on YouTube kids! If you want a mindless activity with your young grandchildren take a look, a quick look, and then show them real shopping skills, both buying and returning, in whatever form you can.
Joy,
Mema
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