| |
Description: We may see them as American inventions, but we have fallen in love with them. Every weekend, millions of us indulge in some ‘retail therapy’. The shopping mall is one of the most potent symbols of modern life: we go there not just to buy, but to eat, to hang out, maybe go to the cinema or entertain the children. But behind the glistening facade of the shopping mall is a world of cut-throat competition, aggressive planning and big money, where retailers and marketing experts are developing ever-more sophisticated ways to keep the tills ringing.
The Call of the Mall is an entertaining and shrewd portrait of our fascination with shopping. How do successful stores manipulate us into buying things we don’t need or into spending more than something is worth? Why is Cartier next to cheap goods, why is mall food so appalling and why is the cinema always hard to find?
Contents: Introduction • America Shops • You are here • A mouse hole • Dude, where’s my car? • Why malls fear freedom • I brake for meanderthals • Nose and Toes • Sex and the mall • The Charmin Challenge • Status Anxiety and back pockets • Fun • Hands-free Shopping • Pushcarts rule • Mall cuisine • Breakfast at Cartier • A man and his mall • Who is your dad? • Malls of the world • Where the girls are • The mall touch • Short hills or seoul? • Other venues • Scenes from a mall • The postmall worldISBN - 9781861974426
|
| |
Pages : 240
|