TechScape: Has online shopping left us in a desperate race to the bottom?
Raw Text
Is the internet overly optimised for shopping? Photograph: Yuri Arcurs/Alamy
Is the internet overly optimised for shopping? Photograph: Yuri Arcurs/Alamy
TechScape
Technology
Low-cost, low-quality âeverythingâ stores such as Temu, Shein and Amazon make buying stuff easier than ever â but it comes at a cost
Donât get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the free newsletter here
Kate Lindsay
Tue 19 Dec 2023 06.45 EST
T his year, like retirees are wont to do, my dad got extremely into a very specific hobby. In his case, it was hauling out the espresso machine from its usual hiding spot in the hard-to-reach cabinet and making lattes for the family. He lamented his inability to make a perfect swirl with the foam frequently enough that, in anticipation of Christmas, I went online to search for latte art stencils.
The Google search result was like nothing I had encountered before. Instead of a list of actual shops that sold reputable, well-crafted products, I was served an overwhelming mess of online retailers I had either never heard of or had once been cautioned against. Every widget, sidebar and filter had been deployed to ostensibly aid in my search experience, but actually ended up crowding the screen with sponsored listings and images.
These days, it feels as if everything on the internet is optimised for shopping. The rise of low-cost, low-quality âeverything storesâ such as Amazon, Temu and Shein makes it seem that buying products has never been easier. Itâs too easy, in fact, as Amanda Mull writes in an essay for the Atlantic on how the internet enables impulse shopping . Retailers have reduced the friction of checking out so effectively that by the time youâre second-guessing, say, your late-night pet toy order, the money has left your account and something called a âcat donut tunnelâ is already on its way. Plus, website cookies mean that the item you merely glanced at one morning ends up following you across the internet â and into sponsored posts on your Instagram feed.
The launch of TikTok Shop in September introduced yet another âeverything storeâ to the world, and now theyâre all fighting for your attention through marketing messages and discounts. (After Indonesia regulated shopping on social media platforms, last week TikTok announced it is planning to invest $1.5bn in an Indonesian e-commerce company.)
Shopping is no longer something you take the time to do, but something the internet wants you to be doing at any given moment.
Wang Lei, a Getai singer, found unlikely fame selling fish online during Covid.
Itâs no surprise, then, that consumers have marketing fatigue. A survey last January by marketing platform Optimove found that two-thirds of consumers want fewer marketing messages, and 27% feel âbombardedâ. The rise of personalisation tactics , too, mean brands arenât just on your feeds and in your inbox, but are also sending you text messages, featuring coupons and specific recommendations in a desperate attempt to retain your loyalty.
Despite the results of these surveys, shopping itself isnât going anywhere, and much of that consumption happens online. According to the UN , an estimated 12% of the worldâs population living in North America and western Europe are responsible for 60% of global private consumer spending. TikTok, perhaps the social media platform whose culture most lends itself to overconsumption, is also the one taking the most flak. Needlessly excessive skincare collections and egregious fast-fashion halls are being called out as wasteful , and spurring an entire âde-influencingâ trend .
Underlining this is the fact that cheap products that ship quickly are, at best, poor quality and, at worst, the result of unfair labour practices. The willingness of consumers to disregard these issues also comes at the expense of small businesses who are doing their best to remain competitive. For instance, to compete with more traditional shopping platforms, Etsy announced in 2019 that it would de-prioritise sellers who didnât offer free shipping, which either forced makers to increase their prices and risk losing business, or take a financial hit.
skip past newsletter promotion
Sign up to TechScape
Free weekly newsletter
Alex Hern's weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion
This all leaves us in a needless race to the bottom. Overconsumption is rampant, yet companies are continuing to cut corners and slash prices in pursuit of even more growth. But we might just be at the breaking point. Because of these tactics, shopping online is becoming increasingly seedy and bleak, and not worth the convenience. In the end, to buy my dad his latte art stencils, I realised Iâd rather take the bus six stops to the store.
Kate Lindsay is a culture writer and co-founder of Embedded, a newsletter about the internet, which you can sign up to here .
Explore more on these topics
Technology
TechScape
Shopping
Online shopping
TikTok
Social media
Digital media
E-commerce
newsletters
Reuse this content
Single Line Text
Is the internet overly optimised for shopping? Photograph: Yuri Arcurs/Alamy. Is the internet overly optimised for shopping? Photograph: Yuri Arcurs/Alamy. TechScape. Technology. Low-cost, low-quality âeverythingâ stores such as Temu, Shein and Amazon make buying stuff easier than ever â but it comes at a cost. Donât get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the free newsletter here. Kate Lindsay. Tue 19 Dec 2023 06.45 EST. T his year, like retirees are wont to do, my dad got extremely into a very specific hobby. In his case, it was hauling out the espresso machine from its usual hiding spot in the hard-to-reach cabinet and making lattes for the family. He lamented his inability to make a perfect swirl with the foam frequently enough that, in anticipation of Christmas, I went online to search for latte art stencils. The Google search result was like nothing I had encountered before. Instead of a list of actual shops that sold reputable, well-crafted products, I was served an overwhelming mess of online retailers I had either never heard of or had once been cautioned against. Every widget, sidebar and filter had been deployed to ostensibly aid in my search experience, but actually ended up crowding the screen with sponsored listings and images. These days, it feels as if everything on the internet is optimised for shopping. The rise of low-cost, low-quality âeverything storesâ such as Amazon, Temu and Shein makes it seem that buying products has never been easier. Itâs too easy, in fact, as Amanda Mull writes in an essay for the Atlantic on how the internet enables impulse shopping . Retailers have reduced the friction of checking out so effectively that by the time youâre second-guessing, say, your late-night pet toy order, the money has left your account and something called a âcat donut tunnelâ is already on its way. Plus, website cookies mean that the item you merely glanced at one morning ends up following you across the internet â and into sponsored posts on your Instagram feed. The launch of TikTok Shop in September introduced yet another âeverything storeâ to the world, and now theyâre all fighting for your attention through marketing messages and discounts. (After Indonesia regulated shopping on social media platforms, last week TikTok announced it is planning to invest $1.5bn in an Indonesian e-commerce company.) Shopping is no longer something you take the time to do, but something the internet wants you to be doing at any given moment. Wang Lei, a Getai singer, found unlikely fame selling fish online during Covid. Itâs no surprise, then, that consumers have marketing fatigue. A survey last January by marketing platform Optimove found that two-thirds of consumers want fewer marketing messages, and 27% feel âbombardedâ. The rise of personalisation tactics , too, mean brands arenât just on your feeds and in your inbox, but are also sending you text messages, featuring coupons and specific recommendations in a desperate attempt to retain your loyalty. Despite the results of these surveys, shopping itself isnât going anywhere, and much of that consumption happens online. According to the UN , an estimated 12% of the worldâs population living in North America and western Europe are responsible for 60% of global private consumer spending. TikTok, perhaps the social media platform whose culture most lends itself to overconsumption, is also the one taking the most flak. Needlessly excessive skincare collections and egregious fast-fashion halls are being called out as wasteful , and spurring an entire âde-influencingâ trend . Underlining this is the fact that cheap products that ship quickly are, at best, poor quality and, at worst, the result of unfair labour practices. The willingness of consumers to disregard these issues also comes at the expense of small businesses who are doing their best to remain competitive. For instance, to compete with more traditional shopping platforms, Etsy announced in 2019 that it would de-prioritise sellers who didnât offer free shipping, which either forced makers to increase their prices and risk losing business, or take a financial hit. skip past newsletter promotion. Sign up to TechScape. Free weekly newsletter. Alex Hern's weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion. This all leaves us in a needless race to the bottom. Overconsumption is rampant, yet companies are continuing to cut corners and slash prices in pursuit of even more growth. But we might just be at the breaking point. Because of these tactics, shopping online is becoming increasingly seedy and bleak, and not worth the convenience. In the end, to buy my dad his latte art stencils, I realised Iâd rather take the bus six stops to the store. Kate Lindsay is a culture writer and co-founder of Embedded, a newsletter about the internet, which you can sign up to here . Explore more on these topics. Technology. TechScape. Shopping. Online shopping. TikTok. Social media. Digital media. E-commerce. newsletters. Reuse this content.