SENSORY JOURNAL 006: Consumption
•Posted on December 26 2023
Today is my birthday! As I enter my 37th year of life and as we approach the New Year, I hold much gratitude for you all, and I've been doing a lot of reflection on this past year of business. I felt compelled to share the many thoughts and findings I have had, in my last Sensory Journal of 2023.
This Holiday season started in a bit of a downward mental spiral for me as I saw announcements show up on instagram one after another of shops closing. These from seemingly very successful shops who have been huge inspirations of mine since before I even started my business. As I read their vulnerable and relatable stories, I couldn't help but wonder, 'if they can't make it, how can I?!'
This year has been maybe the most challenging and interesting to date for my small biz (and from what I hear, many others). I experienced a pretty strong Winter and Spring only to see sales drop significantly starting in the Summer and remaining steadily slow through Fall and Holiday. I've had many conversations with peers and done a lot of journaling, reflecting, and research to try and pin point what exactly the issue is. But in reality, I don't think it is one singular issue. I think it is a compounded effect of many things maybe including but not limited to inflation, late stage Capitalism, everyone traveling to Japan or Italy this year, everyone attending either the Taylor Swift or the Beyonce concert this year, the world witnessing a horrific war yet again, and absolute burnout from the internet. It's not hard to figure out why shopping isn't at the top of everyone's to-do list.
It has almost felt like a shift from overconsumption during the Pandemic to underconsumption as a later result. And no, underconsumption isn't really a thing, and in the long run it's a GOOD thing, but businesses do face the reality of needing some revenue consistency to stay in operation, so it's all about finding a balance. In my reflecting, I realized it actually would be a fantastic shift if retail businesses could just make consistent revenue throughout the year rather than banking on one season like the Holidays to cover them financially for most of the next year. Big shifts and expectations like that are bound to set people up for failure should any changes arise, and if we've learned anything from the past few years it is that change is the only constant! So my optimism remains, hoping we are still backing away from this season of MASS overconsumption to a more balanced future of buying less and buying better. And in that optimism I also remain eternally grateful for all of you, my customers, who support me and help keep this business going! In doing some of the research on how we got here and where we might be headed, I found some really interesting articles that shed some light on consumer behavior, effects on the market from giants like Ssense and Amazon, and some considerations on the way forward for how we consume.
READ:
I have felt pretty tapped into the realities of the industry and the waste it creates, but this investigative article surprised and disturbed even me! There is a reason many small business don't accept returns, and this gives a good insight into why. It's good for us as consumers to consider truly what happens to items that we send back, and hopefully inspires us to make purchases more intentionally and less impulsively! Read the article HERE.
I have felt pretty tapped into the realities of the industry and the waste it creates, but this investigative article surprised and disturbed even me! There is a reason many small business don't accept returns, and this gives a good insight into why. It's good for us as consumers to consider truly what happens to items that we send back, and hopefully inspires us to make purchases more intentionally and less impulsively! Read the article HERE.
READ:
Another article from the same journalist HERE. Not gonna lie, if you know me you know this headline really made me excited, haha! I have refused to buy from Amazon for about the past 4 years, and it has been much easier than I thought (and I promise you can do it too)! This was a super interesting take on how some foreign copycats might be using the Amazon model to do what it is trying to do even better (yet making products even shittier?). Also, if you aren't educated on the realities of mega brands like Temu and Shein this article will give you some good info.
WATCH:
A nice Segway from the article about Amazon, Shein, and Temu, this video from Vox was really interesting on how and why the quality of many of our goods has continued to go down. I appreciate their tips at the end of the video on how we can take back control of our consumption!
A nice Segway from the article about Amazon, Shein, and Temu, this video from Vox was really interesting on how and why the quality of many of our goods has continued to go down. I appreciate their tips at the end of the video on how we can take back control of our consumption!
READ:
This one is a bit lengthy and is probably the most insightful for those of you interested in the fashion industry specifically. But my friend Kelsy, owner and designer of amazing local clothing brand Carleen, sent me this Substack and it was worth the read!! Ssense is now on my personal boycott list as well, and unfortunately I've experienced negative effects in my business as a direct result from Ssense practices.
With all the closures we are seeing and those we have yet to see (I expect we will see another wave in the new year unfortunately), what does that mean for our neighborhoods, our retail landscape, our community spaces, our options as consumers? It feels like a larger shift is coming, and it's how we choose to handle it that matters. As usual, I think it will require creative pivoting by business owners, it will require a mindset shift for consumers, and it will require a collective intention to spend our precious dollars where they really make a difference. While small businesses need much more support on a grander scale from our local and national governments, property owners, and suppliers, the one thing that can offer immediate support is the consumer. There is still a lot of uncertainty and anxiety as we enter another election year in the U.S. (YIKES and sorry to remind you if you forgot!!!), but there's one thought that I think matters most. I always think of the posts I see along the lines of "There's nothing I can do as just one person," said 300 million people. Our collective efforts and commitments is our way forward in 2024 to the futures we want to live and the communities we want to build and see flourish!
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