Purchase (consumption)

A man is shopping at a market stall

Shopping is an activity for the procurement of goods / products to money , as opposed to the sale , the sale of goods for money.

Private purchase

As consumers, private individuals usually buy their consumer goods in retail stores or through other procurement channels, e.g. B. the direct purchase of producers or farmers , the purchase of craftsmen or other private persons, for example with online trade over the Internet . Purchasing planning is most expedient, especially in the case of larger purchases, with the help of shopping lists . Apart from borderline cases (purchases from children or from moronic people), every purchase is planned rationally, spontaneous purchases are the exception. Even when entering a store, purchases that are not planned but are then “spontaneous” are neither irrational nor unplanned. In these cases the planning has only been reduced to a very brief examination of needs and available funds. A special role called thrift stores one that buy used goods by individuals who may be their customers at the same time.

Term "shopping"

Two women shopping

The activity of shopping or just visiting shops as well as strolling through the streets and shopping centers for the purpose of purchasing consumer goods is referred to by private individuals with the English term shopping . As a rule, shopping is associated with stimuli that go beyond the mere act of shopping and that are valued by consumers.

The term window shopping ( German:  window shopping ) refers to the conscious, but without purchase planning, going to retail stores, shopping centers and the like or simply strolling through shopping streets, districts or centers. If a purchase is made on this occasion, it is an impulse purchase .

Online and offline purchases

Online shopping has become increasingly established in recent years . More and more people are mostly buying cheaper online, especially smaller local shops are suffering. Nonetheless, stationary retail is still the main source of purchase for consumers.

See also

• Purchasing as a corporate function
• acquisition
• purchase
• Stoop zone
• Shopping list

literature

• Reto U. Schneider : Price war in the Bückzone. In: NZZ Folio . 11/2006 (presents a large number of findings from shopping research).
• Hans-Otto Schenk: Psychology in Commerce, 2nd edition, Munich-Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-486-58379-3 .

Web links

Commons : Shopping  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files