I received a letter in the mail today from TJ Maxx Rewards. I should start this post by saying:
(1) I really like shopping at TJ Maxx, and
(2) I think that they are a fairly cool, affordable store.
But let’s not avoid the truth: TJ Maxx is a massive corporation that brought in $56.4 billion dollars last year, which was a 4% increase from the year before.
Even though I don’t have a TJ Maxx rewards card, a letter came in the mail with my name on it. They know I’m their target market, they found me, and they sent me a letter donning the words, “Missing Out? Let’s fix that.”
This phrase is short and sweet and perfect, isn’t it?
When I think about “missing out,” I picture a social event I couldn’t attend but really wanted to. Maybe I was sick or had some other obligation that kept me away.
“Missing out” is never a phrase I would use when thinking about shopping or buying something. And yet, there it was….
But that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
When companies make shopping about “not just shopping,” they can tap into our emotions, our desires, and our psyche.
When it comes down to it, none of this is really about shopping. The #NoBuyChallenge is about so much more than changing how I shop. It’s about recognizing the things being sold to us.
The goal of a marketing team is to make shopping a social, personal experience. They want to create an emotional experience that we connect with, so that the thing isn’t really the thing we’re buying. We’re buying a feeling. We’re buying looking great in a new pair of sunglasses. We’re buying looking younger in those cute jeans. We’re buying sass and posh lifestyle with those sandals. We’re buying lux with the vase I saw at Anthropologie, but decided to pay less for.
I think we can all agree that TJ Maxx is crushin’ it.
And I can’t get mad at TJ Maxx. I can’t get mad at any of this. On the one hand, TJ Maxx provides affordable clothes, shoes, and home goods for the families that need them. My family is included! The Maxx also sell toys and furniture, which means I can pop over there for birthday gifts or missing items in the home (ie- a coffee table I needed to replace after a child broke one of the legs on ours). Their beauty products and toiletry selection is bangin’, too, which is nice because I can enjoy brand names for less.
So, what’s the problem?
The problem is that I didn’t ask for fan mail. I didn’t ask TJ Maxx to remind me to come shopping. I realize I can ignore the letter, and I have. But there is a nagging sensation in my bones that says, “I’ve come to love shopping a little too much.” I’ve bought into the little pink letters that come in the mail, maybe not today, but plenty of times before. I’m easily swayed, and I’ve spent probably tens of thousands of dollars buying into the idea that having all this stuff will give me good feelings.
This #NoBuyChallenge is teaching me something new every day. Today, I learned that I can be pretty impressionable, even as an adult. I also learned that stores are looking for me all the time, and their words can be pretty convincing. But, I’m making different choices every day.
How about you?
As always, namaste, every day.
MinimalistMama #NoBuyChallenge #MindfulConsumption #BuyLessLiveMore #OverconsumptionAwareness #BreakTheCycle #IntentionalLiving #MinimalMom #SimpleLivingJourney #ConsumerCulture #ResistThePressure #MindfulMotherhood #LessIsLuxury #SlowLivingMovement #AntiConsumerism #DeclutterYourMind #MinimalistLifestyle #AmericanGreed #UnlearnConsumerism #StopTheScroll #MoreMeaningLessStuff #MomMinimalist #FinancialFreedomJourney #PeerPressureProof #MinimalismInMotherhood #stopbuyingshit #tjmaxx #consumercultureresistance
4 the Love of Peace 