Monday, December 1, 2014

Christmas Spending

I've basically written this post before and am sure I will write it again (many times) but stuck with me - it's something I feel strongly about.

For the last 17 years I've worked in retail in everything from one shop independents with a workforce of 2 to supermarket chains with - well a lot more than 2. I remember book selling before amazon, buying wine before the supermarkets really got in on the game, and a time when Black Friday meant absolutely nothing in this country. I enjoy shopping; I like browsing and hunting for bargains, I love the moment when you finally get to buy something a little bit more than you can easily afford, and I really love choice.

My first Christmas in a shop was an eye opener, people spend so much money. Are under so much pressure to spend money to buy the perfect Christmas, and on the other side of the till we really need it. This is the make or break time of year where you hope turn over and margin will combine to provide enough profit to keep you afloat. There is nothing more dispiriting than working till you can physically do no more and realising you still haven't quite met budget.

Earlier in the year there was a minor outcry when a Sainsbury's branch inadvertently displayed a motivational poster meant for staff eyes only in a window. It set the goal of getting every customer to spend an extra 50p per shop. For a supermarket that turns into a huge amount of money, for the customer it wouldn't buy a Mars bar. At the other end of the scale working in very small outfits it only takes a few customers to make the difference between profit and loss so my point is this; as we all prepare to spend to much money on things we don't really need let's think about how and where we do it.

As customers it's no use complaining that big shops kill the independents if we're the ones abandoning the little guys. There are more important things than a bargain, for me it's choice, or when it comes to food, welfare (including that of the producer).

At this point last night when I was writing this I decided to delete it thinking that it might all come across as a bit preachy to people I assume feel much the same as I do. Then this morning radio 4 talked about cyber Monday (estimated 600,000,000 sales online), a discussion about the plight of dairy farmers continued on Facebook (high suicide rates as they fail to make ends meet) and finally a goodish news story - Waterstones say if they have a good Christmas they'll Break even for the first time in a while. It's important to think about how we spend, it determines how our high streets look, how people make a living, and the choices we want to make regarding those things.

In the end I'll still hunt for bargains because money is tight, but cost isn't the only element that determines value and I want the money I have to do as much good as it can.

12 comments:

  1. I agree with you totally. You're not preachy at all.

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  2. We are cancelling Christmas this year, the whole thing is just becoming such a farce, one can "give" any time of year, and over indulging is so unnecessary, everything in moderation I say.

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    1. It's a measure if the pressure to celebrate Christmas that my first reaction was mild shock! I'm not anti Christmas, I'm not against a mild amount if over indulgence, and it think the urge to gather together and keep the dark at bay in midwinter is probably hard wired into us but I agree that the balance is all wrong at the moment. As an adult without children I've found it hard to find meaningful traditions for Christmas - baking a cake, sending cards, not losing it entirely on the shop floor - these are the things that stick. I don't like the siege mentality that hits around now though, and the stress so many people show. So much for goodwill!

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  3. Such a thoughtful post! I remember from bookselling days being dismayed at the pressure customers were under to spend more than they had, often buying the kind of gift book that you knew would never be looked at. The other side of the coin of course is that the profits made in those few weeks keep shops open and safeguard jobs. I wish there was another way.

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  4. To much pressure all round. At least on a personal level I can decide to to be careful about what I spend and where. I'd rather give less but more thoughtfully. Also, and in full Scrooge mode, I'd ban secret Santa which seems to be an exercise in wasting money on crap nobody really wants!

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  5. You're not preachy - you have a huge amount of first-hand experience and are tremendously sensible. The rise of Black Friday feels like the final straw to me in killing any seasonal spirit - this is the first year I've noticed it referred to in Australia and I want it to *go away* (like other imports that we could without - and I'm talking about you Halloween!).

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  6. Well if you're preachy, I'm the choir... :) Not being an economist or a retailer, I don't really understand how Black Friday works anyway - surely these shops must be selling at a massive loss? Whatever the advantage for them may be, it's just a depressing new low in the horrible commercial side of Christmas. And it strikes me every year that an economy based on the overconsumption of unnecessary products which use up the world's finite resources and requires people often to go into debt is not a sustainable economy, and that is worrying.

    But one of the weirdest things about Christmas is the traditional British Christmas dinner. Everyone makes a big fuss of it, yet about half the population loathes sprouts, Christmas pudding and stuffing. (In fact my father and I are the only people I know who actively like Christmas pudding and continue eating it on Boxing Day and on until it's finished.) So why do we all keep eating them?

    Erm, I think I have been preaching now, ranty certainly. Oops. Sorry. Do you like sprouts? :)

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  7. Hear Hear Hayley!

    On Black Friday the chap on the Tesco checkout said - you've not bought any electronics (I went in for bread and milk etc). I don't need any I said. He said people who already own several TVs had been queuing to buy more than morning. More fool them wasting their money on mostly inferior sets on offer that weren't really such a bargain...

    Although I have bought a few gifts online, I've mostly bought locally from independents/small chains so far for Christmas, so am feeling a little smug and pleased with myself. (Can I be forgiven though for ordering a Tesco turkey because the local farm free range ones start at £55 for the smallest size).

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    1. You've earned the right to feel smug! Turkey definitely forgivable, would love to buy local free range turkey but it's not in my price range either. Frozen free range from the supermarket instead for me too. Sorry farmers!

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  8. I buy from local stores year round, especially ones owned by local people and not in a chain. Every time we spend money in an actual store, it supports local people having jobs. Yes, I also spend money online shopping. I like your post.

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  9. And I like your comment. I believe we can make a big difference by making the small amount of effort involved in choosing to spend our money helpfully.

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