Nov 15
Let's Make Window Shopping Cool Again
Can we get hats for that?
Much better.
For the record this one's pink, not red. For the record.
WHAT IS WINDOW SHOPPING?
So now that we all have our pink, not red, hats on, which say window shopping and cool, not America and great, for the record, let’s talk about window shopping!
Contrary to what I thought from ages 0-16 it is not shopping for windows… for your house…
In short, window shopping is the activity of looking at goods displayed in shop windows, without the intention of buying anything. It’s a great excuse to get dressed, meet up with friends, get your favourite hot beverage (is it still PSL szn?) and still get inspired by beautiful clothes, without actually having to buy anything at all.
At the same time, it’s something we subconsciously do every single day (or almost every single day) by browsing online and adding items to our Wishlists.
But little by little, it seems like, that concept has become less and less common, with the idea of going out to look at things and not buying anything, almost seeming strange. In fact, a lot of the time we tell ourselves we’re going to go out and look, but end up buying something, justifying it with the fact that we’re out in the first place. Thanks capitalism <3
HOW DOES IT TIE INTO SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION?
Although it almost goes without saying, the best part about window shopping is that you’re not actually consuming anything. And not buying, in and of itself, is one of the most sustainable things you can do.
However, we know that asking people to simply stop consuming isn’t going to happen overnight. So taking it a step further, and entering the digital realm, ‘digital window shopping’ is a great first step towards more mindful consumption.
When adding things to different wishlists, it’s easy to sometimes fixate on a single app or website and decide to impulsively buy a lot of things at once, without really letting the thought marinate for some time.
When you have one single place where all your saved items go (enter the Whering wishlist) you start having a much better overview of all the things you *think* you need, and you’re able to start eliminating ones which you don’t. Checking back with your wishlist daily, or weekly can help you physically come back to all these items and decide whether you think this is something you still want or not.
Think of it as playing the long-game (of elimination).
NOTHING NEW NOVEMBER & BLACK FRIDAY
It’s an unfortunate coincidence that Nothing New November and Black Friday happen to coincide within the same month.
For those of you who want to participate in a month of not purchasing any new items (slay), but are tempted to make the most out of the big sales coming up later in the month, there’s a semi-happy in between.
The more time you spend ‘window shopping’ (digitally) the better understanding you have of what items you *need* vs. *want*. So any item which has made the cut by the time Black Friday rolls around, is something you’re not tired of looking at just yet, and it wasn’t a temporary fixation.
You avoid doom-scrolling to see what’s on sale, and rather log in to check whether the item you already wanted is on sale. You avoid impulse purchases and use the sales to buy something you’ll actually love & wear for years to come.
OKAY, AND WHAT'S UP WITH THIS 'LANDFILLS' CAMPAIGN YOU HAVE ON?
Wow, I love it when they ask all the right questions!
In the same way that saving to Wishlist can encourage you to make better purchases (buying things you actually want, need & have thought about), it can encourage better gift giving (my favourite love language).
Last year we read a lot of pretty scary statistics around the fact that 50.77% of Brits receive at least one unwanted gift each Christmas- that's an estimeated £5.03 billion spent on unwanted prese ts. Here's what usually happens to these gifts:
Take a second with me to think about all the ugly sweaters your dad has gotten you because he thought they were funny. Or the clothes your mum has tried picking out for you because in her eyes, you haven’t quite grown out of your 2012 floral everything era.
Now we know it's a bit too early to be worrying about Christmas, but it's right around that time when we start thinking about what we want to get our loved ones for the holiday season. It's also right around that time when we start thinking about what we want to get during the holiday season. Start window shopping hunnies!
With Whering’s Wishlists (oop, the alliteration!), now being shareable and public, there’s nothing wrong with asking for things you actually want- remember the days where your parents would steal your letters to Santa and magically get you exactly what you wanted? It’s exactly like that. We’re pretty sure Santa checks everybody’s Whering Wishlist, but he hasn’t responded to our partnership request yet.