"Retail Therapy" might seem like the apex of conspicuous consumption, but sometimes visiting stores in person inspires creative ideas as people move from department to department.
Websites are designed to lead us to similar or related products that the merchandiser wants to sell.
While the somewhat guided web visit may be inspiring, real-life encounters with products outside the comfort of our own homes can really jump-start the creative process.
In the online world the retailer controls the product placement and presentation, which includes the navigation links that guide our shopping experience.
Some online retailers even invest in algorithms that present product link suggestions tailored to what that website detects as our personal tastes.
While this can be convenient, it can also be limiting.
If we only look at things similar to what we are already familiar, how will we expand and grow? Like websites, physical retail stores are similarly designed to guide our purchases, but there are more variables introduced that the retailer, and we, do not control.
When shopping in-person the retailer still controls the product placement and presentation and also controls the lighting, the temperature, the music.
No matter which world in we choose to shop, we control the order in which we explore the store despite the retailer's efforts to influence that order.
But when we visit the physical retail store random elements are introduced that the retailer and we do not control.
Just getting to the shop brings into play potential sources of inspiration: drivers, pedestrians, billboards, traffic detours -- even the weather.
All of these things color our mood and perception, for better or worse, which might generate a great craft idea.
Once we have arrived at our destination in the otherwise retailer-controlled environment we encounter the unplanned experiences introduced by other shoppers: different colognes and perfumes, different hairstyles, snippets of conversation.
All of these factors ping around in our minds as we shop and can spawn new ideas.
So even for those of us who are not into "Retail Therapy", periodically taking some time to venture forth into the real-world retail environment can have some true benefit to our creativity.
If it has been a while since you have shopped "in real life" and you are not sure what is out there, just search Google for "local crafts".
Websites are designed to lead us to similar or related products that the merchandiser wants to sell.
While the somewhat guided web visit may be inspiring, real-life encounters with products outside the comfort of our own homes can really jump-start the creative process.
In the online world the retailer controls the product placement and presentation, which includes the navigation links that guide our shopping experience.
Some online retailers even invest in algorithms that present product link suggestions tailored to what that website detects as our personal tastes.
While this can be convenient, it can also be limiting.
If we only look at things similar to what we are already familiar, how will we expand and grow? Like websites, physical retail stores are similarly designed to guide our purchases, but there are more variables introduced that the retailer, and we, do not control.
When shopping in-person the retailer still controls the product placement and presentation and also controls the lighting, the temperature, the music.
No matter which world in we choose to shop, we control the order in which we explore the store despite the retailer's efforts to influence that order.
But when we visit the physical retail store random elements are introduced that the retailer and we do not control.
Just getting to the shop brings into play potential sources of inspiration: drivers, pedestrians, billboards, traffic detours -- even the weather.
All of these things color our mood and perception, for better or worse, which might generate a great craft idea.
Once we have arrived at our destination in the otherwise retailer-controlled environment we encounter the unplanned experiences introduced by other shoppers: different colognes and perfumes, different hairstyles, snippets of conversation.
All of these factors ping around in our minds as we shop and can spawn new ideas.
So even for those of us who are not into "Retail Therapy", periodically taking some time to venture forth into the real-world retail environment can have some true benefit to our creativity.
If it has been a while since you have shopped "in real life" and you are not sure what is out there, just search Google for "local crafts".