For the first time walking into Costco it’s like being surrounded by the trunks of redwood trees. Spralwed out in front of you are what seem to be endless rows of towering shelves. Shoppers are dwarfed by the immensie size of the building. Costco at first glance is a mass of concrete, cinderblocks, steel, and plastic. It is a large square building with no windows and no special architecutre; it was built simple and too the point. The building is reminiscent of a prison, its huge size and simplicity made for maximum profit and a maximum number of inhabitants. Inside the large and numerous shelves look like the cells inside a jail. Each and every product sitting in the shelves is waiting to be set free. The variety in consumer products makes buyers wonder; what is this place? Is it a supermarket, or a hardware store, or a mall? Stumbling into Costco for the first time can be a very misunderstood experience. It’s not just any type of store; it has its roots in the mom and pop stores spread throughout the country. General stores share a common lineage with Costco; Costco is practically the general store on seroids. It’s hard not to find what you were looking for, the isles serve as a pathway to what needs to be bought and what wants to be bought. Costco carries just about every kind of product needed in todyas daily life. This is what makes it hard to pinpoint the true identity of the store, because each store is identical.
Costco differers from anyother store in various ways. For starters, it focuses on selling products at low prices while in large quantity. That’s where the huge builiding comes in; it sells so much product that it constantly has to stock its inventory practically to the celling. However, this massive structure has a few flaws; it does not have several brands like most department stores or supermarkets. When shopping at Costco, every time the consumer shops they must buy the same product. Although Costco refuseses to sell multiuple brands, it does like to give out free samples. There are food samples for all; new and interesting items seem to pop up every week. For some shoppers coming in and trying all the samples is the hilight of their shopping experience. Again, this is what must be part of the appeal to shop at Costco. Costco may be limited to a few brands but yet it still manages to attract several hundred people a day. The costco craze has not only affected America but it has spread overseas to countrues like Australia, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and The UK. The name “Costco” has become common knowledge among Americans just like “Mc Donalds” or “In-in Out.” Costco has become the largest membership wharehouse club chain in the United States; part of its success has to do with its few competitiors. Few people can say they have been to another store similar to that of Costco. The only other warehouse chains in the US are Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Costco has done a great job at attracting new members, rarely do people walk in a come out without a member card. Also, people usually shop with their friends or family. As long as costco is still around there will be 2nd or 3rd generation costco shoppers. Costco has become engraned in our society in the same way that automobiles and houses have.
Costco is not only a store; it is a symbol of America’s size and wealth. This is a perfect example of how Americans have been brought up by the notion that bigger is better. Costco case and point shows how much we live up to that slogan. It ties us together in the fact that people from all social classes shop here. People are not judged whether they shop at Costco, it’s like a social neutral zone. The ammount of shoppers here make it difficult for people to find out what background that you come from. Cotco is a community of shoppers; however, it is no close knit community, Shopers hardly get to know one another. This is a fast paced world and this is a fast paced store. People snake down the isles like race car drivers and buy things on the fly. The building itself has its own grab and go structue; two entrances one for entry and one for exit. We can see how life moves so quickly that people no longer have time to stop and prepare meals from scratch. Cosco gives consumers to buy instant dinners in bulk. Although, with this kind of fast paced shppin Amercians have lost some of their individuality. Instad of hovering around the dinner table we see people overing around the mircowave waiting for their frozen dinners to thaw. Consumers congregate here on a daily basis to buy the second to none goods. Few people realize how Costco has become a modern day Church. It’s a place where people have come to worship the low prices.
-David
Costco differers from anyother store in various ways. For starters, it focuses on selling products at low prices while in large quantity. That’s where the huge builiding comes in; it sells so much product that it constantly has to stock its inventory practically to the celling. However, this massive structure has a few flaws; it does not have several brands like most department stores or supermarkets. When shopping at Costco, every time the consumer shops they must buy the same product. Although Costco refuseses to sell multiuple brands, it does like to give out free samples. There are food samples for all; new and interesting items seem to pop up every week. For some shoppers coming in and trying all the samples is the hilight of their shopping experience. Again, this is what must be part of the appeal to shop at Costco. Costco may be limited to a few brands but yet it still manages to attract several hundred people a day. The costco craze has not only affected America but it has spread overseas to countrues like Australia, Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and The UK. The name “Costco” has become common knowledge among Americans just like “Mc Donalds” or “In-in Out.” Costco has become the largest membership wharehouse club chain in the United States; part of its success has to do with its few competitiors. Few people can say they have been to another store similar to that of Costco. The only other warehouse chains in the US are Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Costco has done a great job at attracting new members, rarely do people walk in a come out without a member card. Also, people usually shop with their friends or family. As long as costco is still around there will be 2nd or 3rd generation costco shoppers. Costco has become engraned in our society in the same way that automobiles and houses have.
Costco is not only a store; it is a symbol of America’s size and wealth. This is a perfect example of how Americans have been brought up by the notion that bigger is better. Costco case and point shows how much we live up to that slogan. It ties us together in the fact that people from all social classes shop here. People are not judged whether they shop at Costco, it’s like a social neutral zone. The ammount of shoppers here make it difficult for people to find out what background that you come from. Cotco is a community of shoppers; however, it is no close knit community, Shopers hardly get to know one another. This is a fast paced world and this is a fast paced store. People snake down the isles like race car drivers and buy things on the fly. The building itself has its own grab and go structue; two entrances one for entry and one for exit. We can see how life moves so quickly that people no longer have time to stop and prepare meals from scratch. Cosco gives consumers to buy instant dinners in bulk. Although, with this kind of fast paced shppin Amercians have lost some of their individuality. Instad of hovering around the dinner table we see people overing around the mircowave waiting for their frozen dinners to thaw. Consumers congregate here on a daily basis to buy the second to none goods. Few people realize how Costco has become a modern day Church. It’s a place where people have come to worship the low prices.
-David
Nice descriptions. I love the comparison of Costco to a church and the reflection it provides on American society.
ReplyDelete--Amanda