Amy Doshi
Maharaj
Writing 10 MW
November 6, 2013
Shopping During the Holidays
Every year the American society celebrates nearly 21 holidays. A few of the
holidays in the year are considered federal holidays, where federally owned offices and
buildings would be closed for the day. However, even with the offices being closed,
malls never have the doors closed to customers because of the high demand in products
that is to be released around the holiday season. The American public would not miss out
on a single sale if there were one, which is why the revenue brought in by malls increases
to the maximum during the holiday dates. One holiday that is right around the corner,
Halloween that is no exception to the incoming revenue contribution. Halloween is
known as the holiday where the most junk foods and candies are sold one after another
from each supermarket. Even when the economy was at its lowest, the consumerism of
the American society stopped at nothing to purchase bags and bags of mixed chocolates
and Starbursts packs. Each holiday has its specific reason behind it, but that sure does not
stop consumerism in the nation, whether it is for Halloween or for Labor Day. The
world’s population will continue to keep buying what they require to properly celebrate
the holiday of interest. With all the consumerism going around during the holiday times,
why does the economy still face hardships? With all the poverty around the world, the
revenue collected can only say so much during the non-holiday season. Consumerism in
America is the main reason the nation continues to move forward towards improvements
to building new stores and more franchises. Walking into the mall during the weeks
before Christmas is like walking into a battlefield with bloodthirsty warriors ready to
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attack if you dare steal the land. More than half of the city would be storming into
through the doors and grabbing at any rack that has the word “sale” or a percent off on a
particular item or may it be on even the whole entire store. Shopping can boost up the
economy during this time of celebration, but to be able to bounce back from all the
expenses made during the time is where the economy lacks its balance.
To better understand the holiday season shopping rush, John Jones, author of “Are
Retailers Fully Prepared for the Holiday Shopping Season?” explains how each retail
store during the holiday season must be on top of the game for the customers satisfaction
when the public comes in through the doors to purchase the merchandise. The countdown
to the holiday season has begun, so stores must be on track in the house-keeping
department. Raina Kelly writes in “Holiday Countdown,” how the struggle is found when
trying to decide what to get loved ones during the holiday season, what would each
person appreciate and cherish?
Annotated Bibliography
Jones, John W. “Are Retailers Fully Prepared for the Holiday Shopping Season?” Journal
of Business and Psychology , Vol. 9, No. 3 (Mar., 1995), pp. 299-313.
Thesis: Jones displays the psychology behind how each particular retail store must
prepare themselves for the incoming rush of holiday shoppers and how the store manages
to function with the rush.
Explanation: During the holiday rush, the time between Thanksgiving Day to New
Years Day, retail stores’ revenues skyrocket up to a total 50% uptake compared to any
other particular time during the year. The holidays, not only bring in many customers to
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increase the profit made; however, help keep the staff of the store on track with
cleanliness and simple tasks.
Kelley, Raina. "Holiday Countdown." Newsweek 146.22 (2005): 96-96A. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
Thesis: In Holiday Countdown, Raina Kelley talks about the expenditures that occur
during the end of November, due to Thanksgiving up until Christmas Day.
Example: From having to start the list of gathering gifts for the loved ones to planning
out what each individual deserves to be gifted, there is a constant questionnaire
happening inside the mind of what gift would be appropriate to give to Aunt Sally or
Grandpa Joe. Also, for many individuals, all the gifts are coming from a minimal
paycheck. Kelley gives suggestions to what may be an ideal gift to be given to the loved
ones. For example, for November 29th, buying a copy of March of the Penguins would be
a nice getaway from home at home, as you dive into the setting of the movie, based in
Antarctica.
Maasik, Sonia. "The Science of Shopping." Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on
Popular Culture for Writers. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford, 1997. 97-103. Print.
Thesis: Malcolm Gladwell reports here, in this piece, surveyors hire consultants like
Paco Underhill, a “retail anthropologist” and “urban geographer” whose studies, with aid
from hidden cameras, how shoppers may view the merchandise and where the store
managers should place their hottest, in-season items.
Example: Shoppers spend an average of 11 minutes in a store, while non-shoppers spend
an average of two minutes. The non-shoppers have no reason to stick around to look at
the new trends when they have a mind set that they do not wish to purchase any items in
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that store. While, shoppers would usually stroll around the store, if they had not already
had a list to get in and grab what they need.
Maasik, Sonia. "The Signs of Shopping." Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular
Culture for Writers. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford, 1997. 104-110. Print.
Thesis: Anne Norton, professor at University of Pennsylvania, analyzes the many ways
in which malls, catalogs, and home shopping networks sell you what they want by telling
you who you are.
Example: Shopping allows for women who are stuck at home to be able to escape their
homes and be able to freely stroll around a building filled with all the necessities one
needs to feel the relief of not having to be in the kitchen or at a dance recital for their
children. Women are allowed to openly ask for advice from other females and store
employees on what is best suit for them in terms of look or extravagance.
"The Forecast For 2013 Holiday Shopping Season: Ho! Ho! Hum?." Advertising
Age 84.35 (2013): 1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
Thesis: In “The Forecast For 2013 Holiday Shopping Season..”, the article comes up
with some numbers as to how the income and profit for this winter’s shopping will go.
Example: The group expects sales in the months of November and December to increase
modestly, 3.9% to $602.1 billion, slightly ahead of last year's 3.5% holiday sales growth”
(1). This statistic is made to show the difference between how sales will be increasing
from last year’s revenue made. As many stores are still coming out with the holiday sales,
Kmart has begun to bring out its annual layaway deal and sales on the winter products.