[high street stores] rise of the herd mentality

You think it’s time to buy a shirt so you take the tube to James Street and go to Bednams, Trubons and so on. You could go to a boutique but that’s pricy.

As you look around the range, you notice that, in your size, there’s only rubbish left but in midget or elephant sizes there are some good lines. You ask the woman and she shrugs. You’ve had two weeks to buy and anyway, why didn’t you take advantage of the preview for card holders?

“But I don’t have a card.” She looks to the sky and directs you to the credit facility. Now you’re all set up and you’re on the grid. The moment the store sends you advance warning of the preview, you get in quick and buy up before any other rival does. Comes the grand opening and the plebs all rush the store to pick off the remaining wearable sizes before someone else muscles in ahead of them. The question never crosses your mind, ‘Er … did I really need these three pairs of underwear and silk thai I also bought?’

The question also never enters your head, ‘Why must I join the cattle drive to buy a shirt? Why must buying of clothing be done in spasms? Why can’t enough of the good sizes be held back so that when someone actually has a need for a new shirt, he can visit the store, confident that some nice lines will still be available? How does the stampede shopping mentality improve modern life? And why, if you refuse to madly stampede, is nothing left for you but remainders when you do casually stroll through the door?