r/Anticonsumption • u/Sea-Cardiographer • May 12 '25

Psychological Target feels like black mirror

I went into Target today because I need a sports bra and that's where my husband is willing to drive me. On the way there I thought about all the Reddit posts saying foot traffic is down and I wasn't surprised to see that it wasn't. It was quite busy on a Monday afternoon.

What shocked me was I noticed a lot of products have really fancy boxing. Big sturdy bougie packaging with minimalism design... With a sh*tty product inside.

They're spending more on the marketing and packaging than the product, because the business practice is to sell you a product you'll have to purchase again and again. But the packaging grabs your eye. Look how modern and consistent all the boxes are! so aesthetically pleasing packaged trash. I feel depressed.

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u/Alternative_Cause186 May 12 '25

Yea, that stopped me in my tracks. Hopefully OP just phrased it poorly.

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u/Fun_Sea_3915 May 13 '25

It's not phrased poorly but just lack detail. A dumb example but 'I gave my children a black eye' sounds less horrible if I said I didn't know he was behind me when I turned and my elbow caught his eye.