WP#3

Draft WP#3

Although consumers have been enjoying many high tech or new products for years, they have not always stood in long lines or fought over products. That phenomenon is new. Some examples of products that have enjoyed success like this have included the Sony Playstation 3, the Nintendo Wii, and Apple’s iPhone. Because this strange rise has come about only recently, I believe that the need to buy expensive, high-tech, or high-demand products is created by marketing and media.

The phenomenon is relatively new, developing with the spread/rising influence of media. In fact, the first example of a toy or product creating a buzz was the introduction of the Cabbage Patch Kids in the 1980s. It is widely regarded as the first consumer product of any kind that people stood in line for and resold for profit. (cite: Encyclopedia of Pop Culture.)

This craze over toys and gadgets is not an inherent behavior, it is learned. In fact, research shows that this need to buy develops in second-generation immigrants, who learn it once they’re in America (source).

Consumers tend to buy things they want, not that they necessarily need. This statement is backed up by the fact that many new gadgets are not only prohibitively expensive, but they actually complicate our lives (cite: Do consumers need the gadgets we’re selling?). It becomes clear that the demand for products is artificially created and inherent in our lives. In fact, “two out of three Americans have lost interest in a technology product because it seemed too complex or difficult to operate” (source). This article clearly states that most of us don’t need the gadgets we’re buying.

So the question remains, is it media and marketing that creates this demand? A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor states that the frenzy around the Furby toy is driven by the media. The article reports that toy manufacturers can create demand for their product by appearing on certain television shows and creating hype for their product. This buzz creates high demand for a product, even before the “hot” toy is on the market. Around the holiday time, articles in the paper and reports on the news often report on “this year’s hot gifts”, adding more fuel to the fire. Furthermore, when the media reports on those long lines and fights over a product, it creates even more demand, because the casual consumer thinks “everyone else has one, so I need one too”.

Objections:
#1: Capitalism creates the demand (people sitting in line and then reselling the product for a profit).
Rebuttal: This is a good point. Still, it’s the marketing that creates the demand in the first place.

#2: There could be an underlying psychological need to buy.
Rebuttal: Most of the “on the street” interviews did not capture that need to buy. While the disease (compulsive buying) does exist, it does not normally manifest itself in people waiting in lines for two days.