For this assignment, I decided to shop for a top that I need for one of my costumes for a dance show that I’m in. The choreographer of this dance described the top that she wanted us to buy as a burgundy, v-neck, crop top and sent everyone in the dance a direct link to amazon for the exact one that she wanted us all to get. But I decided instead of just clicking the link right away and purchasing the item, my roommate and I would take a trip to the Target in Poughkeepsie to not only find the burgundy, v-neck, crop top but also to run the experiment that this assignment asks us to do.

The first thing I noticed when we arrived at Target was the smell of coffee from the in-store Starbucks directly to my right. As we began to browse around the store I noticed just how much Target really caters to its customers and values their shopping experience. The store is accessible and has a nice warm feeling when you walk in, and I’ve never once met a Target worker that wasn’t extremely helpful and accommodating. I feel like this is one of the reasons that, despite the immense increase in online shopping over the last decade, Target has remained a busy hub for all things shopping-wise. 

Another aspect that I noticed while I was browsing around for my shirt was the autonomy I had over myself. There’s a sense of freedom that comes with in-person shopping that online shopping just doesn’t have. The ability to mosey around the isles and choose what I specifically want to look at, rather than being automatically recommended a bunch of other items, is a good feeling that more people should experience regularly. 

As I looked around the workout section for a top that fit the description I was given by my choreographer, I noticed that it was hard to find a top that checked off all of the boxes. I found a few shirts that were cropped and had a v-neck but were more magenta than burgundy. I never got to find the exact shirt that I wanted but I wouldn’t consider the trip out to target a failure in the slightest. I got to spend the day out with my roommate, I got Starbucks, and I even found a cute little porcelain bunny that I saw in the one-dollar section that I ended up buying.

On the bus ride home from Target, I found the text from my choreographer and opened up the amazon link for the exact shirt I needed. It was extremely easy to buy because I had my debit card info automatically in the app. 

My final thoughts are that online shopping is quicker and better at condensing the process of shopping, but doesn’t make you feel anything. Browsing isn’t as good as streamlining the process of shopping and is not helpful when you’re looking for an extremely specific item but allows you to take in your surroundings and feel freer in your venture. Even Though finding specific items and buying them efficiently is an important aspect of shopping, I definitely do see the value in browsing and further appreciate the fun day that I had because of my decision to browse rather than scrolling.