HELP! WE’RE ADDICTED TO CATALOGS.

Believe it or not, I had never purchased anything from a picture in a catalog until I was over 50. Strangely enough, my first job out of college was as a catalog copywriter for Montgomery Ward in Chicago. It was the first step into the glamourous world of advertising. But there’s no way I would have ordered so much as a pair of socks. Not when there was Michigan Avenue, with Carson’s, Marshall Field’s and all of the wonderful stores within walking distance. But later on, I married a man who had been born and raised on a farm in Nebraska. Catalog shopping was a way of life for him. Even before Covid, I had succumbed to the lure of all the shiny catalogs he received. And during the pandemic, it was the only way to go. Now, we receive at least one package every week. Help! We’re addicted to catalogs.

By catalogs, I include shopping websites like Amazon. Buying from a picture on online is no different than a catalog purchase. You like what you see, read the product description, click on “buy now,” and wait for the package to show up at your doorstep or in your mailbox. Sometimes, you’re disappointed. The shoe doesn’t fit, or the beige dress turns out to be yellow. And returns are somewhat of a bother. But I’ve always gotten my money back, and I didn’t have to stand in line at a customer service counter.

I still miss retail therapy. Smelling the perfume as you walk in a department store; seeing all the bright new fashions, geegaws and gimcracks on display. You could spend hours going from one department to the other. But there’s the problem for seniors. A trip to the mall leaves us exhausted.

Online shopping, or e-commerce, as they call it, has increased by 34% since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic. Some small shops are beginning to open up again, and a few larger stores have kept their doors open. But now, we’ve grown fond of ordering from the comfort of our homes.. There’s much more to choose from, and it’s so easy. I’m afraid we’ll never see the return of the big department stores we loved in the 20^th century

The trouble is, we’re buying a lot more stuff than we used to. Help! We’re addicted to catalogs.

March 6, 2021March 6, 2021

CLOTHES AREN’T FUN ANYMORE

For one solid year, I have not taken the time to try on any new clothes. In fact, my closet is full of outfits I’ve not worn during the covid-19 pandemic lockdown. When I went to the grocery store, I didn’t care what I wore because no one recognized me. Especially during the cooler months when my head was covered with a stocking cap. It didn’t matter if anything matched. The only requirement was that summer clothes kept me cool and winter clothes , warm. Now that most everyone will be vaccinated by Summer, I’m preparing to attend social events where it will matter what you wear. I’d forgotten that trying and buying clothes is boring and time consuming. Clothes aren’t fun anymore. .

The first problem is that there’s no place to shop and try things on. . All of my favorite stores like Macy’s and Carson’s have closed. Do you remember those all day shopping excursions that included a fancy lunch and maybe even a glass of wine.? Those days are over, unless you live near a big city. Shopping on line is a real pain. Clothes aren’t the same color they looked like on Amazon.

And then, there’s the way things fit. If you’re a 20 something, everything looks good. Fashion models don’t eat much. But most ordinary women do. And we have a few bulges we’d like to hide. Online clothes may look good, but when you model them in front of your mirror, it’s enough to make you cry.

Now, you’re faced with returns. Sometimes there’s no charge. But often, you’re surprised to find that there is. Bought a pair of shoes for $39 that said “free shipping.” Turned out they didn’t fit. They provided me with a prepaid return shipping label that charged $10 to my Visa. And there’s the hassle of boxing the items and dropping them off at the post office.

Sooner or later, the day will come when you step back out into the world. You can spend an hour trying different combinations of tops and pants to make sure they look coordinated. What a waste of time. I had forgotten the pain of buying clothes and trying them on. Clothes aren’t fun anymore.

August 15, 2020August 15, 2020

ANOTHER BLOW TO RETAIL THERAPY

Our neighborhood mall provides air conditioned comfort for summer walkers, and warmth on sub zero winter days. But more, much more than that, it has been home to a discount department store that meets your needs and fulfills your desires. That’s all ending. In another blow to retail therapy, Stein Mart has just declared bankruptcy.

Blow to Retail Therapy: Stein Mart leaves us without retail therapy — Another Blow to Retail Therapy: Stein Mart declares bankruptcy

As a child growing up in the post depression years, the inside of a department store was like a field of dreams. With no internet or TV, entertainment was limited to the radio and movies. Even if you didn’t have a dime, the department store atmosphere was an escape from the humdrum world we lived in. The fragrances from the cosmetic counter, glamorous store clerks, latest fashions, and shiny new housewares promised a better world.. When I was old enough to earn my own money, it was delightful to wander from department to department, admiring all the shiny merchandise before I made a purchase.

Later, after I’d graduated from college and moved to Chicago, I was mesmerized by the glamour and sophistication of the Marshall Field Department store. I would go there after work and simply wander around, admiring the latest fashions. Since I could sew, I often copied a designer fashion for a fraction of the price. And the store windows! Especially at Christmas, they were full of wonder and beauty.

According to Forbes magazine, the appeal of department store was due to these five factors:

Inspiration
Immediate Gratification
Convenience
Taction (the idea of touching, feeling, trying products on, i.e., getting help or confidence in a purchase)
Experience (the memory or social delight of being somewhere)

As a parent, I enjoyed shopping in department stores for my children, even though I was often on a tight budget. But the one of the best things of being a grandparent was shopping with my granddaughters.. I loved taking them to the mall and buying them special things that maybe their parents thought were too extravagant. What a joy to see their faces light up as they bought a pretty dress or a pair of fancy boots.

The pandemic is merely hastening the beginning of the end. Everyone’s ordering online for products they can’t smell, feel, or really see. A picture is one dimensional. What looks good online might not suit you at all. Shopping on a computer doesn’t even come close to the fun of trying on clothes in a department store with a friend or relative along.

There are a couple of chains hanging on for dear life—Kohl’s and Tj Maxx, for example. But will they last forever? Sad to say, I’m afraid retail therapy is coming to a sad, slow end.

June 10, 2020June 10, 2020

AMAZON LURES THE SHOPPING DEPRIVED

Have you ever bought a jigsaw puzzle online? Before Covid-19, we didn’t even own one. But my husband found them a great way to pass the time while staying at home. Trouble was, the local stores were out of all the good ones. So we turned to Amazon. Buying a puzzle by mail order is fraught with hazard. There are sometimes missing pieces—which you don’t discover until you’ve spent about a week struggling to put the thing together. When this happened, we decided to get a refund. Printed out a return label. To our surprise, it said we had to take it to Kohl’s drop off station for shipping return. This seemed very strange, until I finally figured it out. Beware: Amazon lures the shopping deprived..

Amazon and Kohls has formed a partnershipd — Kohls will pack and ship Amazon returns for free. Amazon lures the shopping deprived.

I thought Kohl’s and Amazon were competitors. After all, online shopping is robbing retailers of much needed traffic. But these two retailers teamed up last year for what seemed like a win-win situation. Kohl’s would pack and ship returns for Amazon for free. This would bring traffic to Kohl’s.

I know I’ve been making fun of people who shop for clothes during the pandemic. Why do you need anything new when you have nowhere to go? But I’d forgotten the siren call of retail therapy. When I stepped inside Kohl’s I felt a surge of joy. The brightly lit cosmetic counter. Colorful new summer fashions. Sale signs everywhere. As I made my way back to the Amazon kiosk, temptation overcame me. My senses pulsed with desire. No, I did not need new tops and shorts. Not at all. But I knew what was going to happen, and I didn’t have the strength to stop it.

Like a starving refugee, I darted from counter to counter, filling my arms with merchandise. My face mask was getting hot, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t leave until I had used the 25% discount coupon that I received at the Amazon drop off station. When I got home with my packages, my husband had a good laugh. I had fallen for their trap. Amazon lures the shopping deprived.

May 22, 2020May 22, 2020

BEWARE OF CHAOS AT UPS

Why didn’t I realize UPS would be a zoo? Because of the pandemic, everyone’s buying all their stuff online, then returning half of it. In this case, my finger slipped on the keypad when ordering a jigsaw puzzle. Or maybe it was Amazon’s mistake. At any rate, we received two of the same puzzle. Since we couldn’t think of anyone who would want it, returning it seemed like the best move. I printed out a return label and drove to the store. It is usually a very quiet, uncrowded place, but not now. Beware of chaos at the UPS Store.

The only store in our city is five miles away. It’s an extremely small office, dark, with low ceilings. Remember, we’re supposed to avoid small, crowded, enclosed places now, right? Anyway, I drove into the parking lot and stopped to put on my mask and gloves. Looking in the window, I could see two people with stacks of packages to be processed by one clerk. I guess these were “pick up” items. I didn’t know about scheduling a pick up, but I do now. There were several people standing in line for the other clerk. It looked like I was in for a long wait.

Many customers not wearing masks at UPS store. Beware of chaos. — UPS clerks wear masks, but many customers don’t. Beware of chaos at the UPS Store.

I picked up the puzzle and Amazon return paperwork, and stood outside the door, thinking it would be safer to wait in the fresh air. I’d no sooner got there, when two younger people got out of their cars and proceeded to open the door. “I’m waiting in a line, here,” I said. Neither of them were masked. They glanced at me briefly, brushed past . and went on in.

Okay, I was mad. I took a few deep breaths to control my rage, but it wasn’t having the desired effect. Two things seemed very wrong here. #1 They weren’t wearing masks. Inside, both clerks were masked. Did these people not respect the health and safety of the UPS employees? #2 They had pushed ahead of me, taking advantage of the fact that I was social distancing. Now, it was even more crowded inside.

At that point, another woman got out of her car. She looked at me and said, ‘I forgot my mask.” Went back to her car, returned, and stood at a safe distance behind me to wait her turn. Well, at least there are some decent people in the world.

As the two offenders left the store after completing their business, I went into crabby old lady mode. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” I said. But they weren’t. Not in the least.

What goes through the mind of the unmasked during this coronavirus pandemic? Do they think they’re immune because they are younger? If so, they should look at the demographics on the department of health website. The majority of cases in our state of Indiana are with people age 20 to 60. Worse yet, do they not care that they could be infecting their fellow human beings? Don’t they have any respect for the store clerks who are risking their own health to serve them every day?

Beware of chaos at the UPS store.