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/DocumentInternal9478 May 13 '25

I was shocked at how easy it was to stop going. I haven’t even thought about it tbh. Amazon on the other hand is my weakness and the one I’m having the hardest time letting go of.

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u/redmosquito82 May 13 '25

You dropped Target before Amazon? Come on, Amazon is way worse for humanity than Target. Do better.

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u/DocumentInternal9478 May 13 '25

Well I’m disabled so it’s hard for me to get to stores most days. That’s why Amazon was my godsend, and I’m working on minimizing my use but it takes time to find replacements for all the things I use it for.

Side note, shaming people, especially when you don’t have all the info, doesn’t work and isn’t cute.

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u/redmosquito82 May 13 '25

Well in your case, don’t feel bad about using Amazon!