Shopping at department stores but never buying anything

[bandit957]

Anyone do this?

When I was growing up, I remember going to department stores in downtown Cincinnati with my family. But they almost never buyed anything there. That's because these stores were a bit above our price range.

The stores I remember there were McAlpin's, Shillito's, Pogue's, and Mabley & Carew (which became Elder-Beerman). There may have been one other store too, but it probably didn't last much longer. I think these stores were probably a little more expensive than places like Sears or J.C. Penney's, which in turn were more expensive than Kmart or Gold Circle. That's why we usually buyed stuff at places like Kmart or Gold Circle instead.

Once when I was about 4, we buyed a kitchen table and chairs at one of the more expensive downtown stores, but all the countless times we visited these stores, I don't ever remember buying anything else there.

Later, when I was about 11 or 12, there was a really, really expensive department store downtown called Saks Fifth Avenue. We knew better than to go anywhere near it. I found a very recent article saying this store is closing, but I thought it was gone a long time ago. I don't know anyone who has ever shopped there.

The main downtown stores also opened up locations at suburban malls. I remember one time my mom got mad because a cashier there chewed bubble gum.

Also, once when I was a high school junior, our class went on a little outing downtown. We walked through one of the department stores. (I think it was McAlpin's.) A man shopping at the store was standing perfectly still, and one of my classmates thought he was a mannequin. So he walked up to him, slapped him on the back, and proclaimed, "Hey, look at this dummy!" Then the teacher said, "If that man had turned around and hit you, I would have stood there and cheered!"

[kphoger]

Does Wal-Mart count as a department store?  Where I grew up, people occasionally drove down to the next town to hang out at Wal-Mart, but not necessarily with the intent of buying anything.  Sometimes they (we?) would fill shopping carts up and just leave them around the store as a prank.

[Max Rockatansky]

It's been part of my job for close to 22 years now.

[Laura]

I personally find window shopping for the sake of window shopping to be depressing. Things I never wanted beforehand I suddenly see and want but can't afford.

[Bruce]

I'll go look around at stuff and then order it online for cheaper if I don't need it immediately, especially when it comes to furniture or electronics. Department store prices are just far too ridiculous, especially since the shopping experience has greatly diminished since the start of the pandemic.

In downtown Seattle, I'd go through some department stores to just get out of the rain or use them as a shortcut to reach my actual destination. Before some of the basement doors closed, I used the Nordstrom and Bon Marche-Macy's entrances to Westlake Station since they were less crowded and less likely to reek of piss.

[JoePCool14]

Does Wal-Mart count as a department store?  Where I grew up, people occasionally drove down to the next town to hang out at Wal-Mart, but not necessarily with the intent of buying anything.  Sometimes they (we?) would fill shopping carts up and just leave them around the store as a prank.

Me, while I worked at the grocery store for about 5 years: Tsk, tsk.

[kphoger]

I only joined in once.

[GaryV]

I only joined in once.

And you didn't inhale?   



Back on track, when my kids were young we'd often load them up in the car and go thru the mall in their strollers on Saturday morning, to mostly get out of the house and walk around, sometimes to buy. When my oldest daughter once saw a shirt or something she liked, she asked us, "Does that sign say Sale?" It didn't, but we bought it for her anyway. When my youngest daughter got older and was looking at kids making a fuss in a grocery store about buying some snack, she commented that she and her siblings never did that, because they knew we wouldn't get it for them anyway.

[kphoger]

I only joined in once.

And you didn't inhale?   

I actually considered editing my post right after hitting the button, to add exactly that comment.   

[1995hoo]

We wandered around Dick's Sporting Goods for about 40 minutes yesterday with no real intent of buying anything because we were killing time while a jeweller changed two watch batteries for me. When we went in there, I thought I might consider getting a new 3-wood, but the selection wasn't very good and it then occurred to me that I should see whether my mom still has my father's golf clubs because it might make more sense just to use one or all of his instead of buying something new.

[skluth]

Green Bay only had one downtown department store in the 50's, Prange's, a Wisconsin chain that has long disappeared. My family didn't buy much when shopping downtown but I know we bought some things, though I have no memory of what. I'd usually hang out on the Prange's fifth floor where the books were sold while my mom did her thing. The discount department stores came in the mid-60's with Shopko and K-Mart, and Prange's opened their own with Prange Way. We rarely went downtown as a family after that except to check out the Christmas window displays and to drag my little brothers to see Santa; after all, the discount stores away from downtown had everything we needed for less and had ginormous parking lots instead of a cramped parking ramp. We also got a Sears in the 60's, but that was way out on the west side before the current Mason St Bridge made it easier to cross the city. GB also had a tiny JC Penney's, but it was enough for my mom to order stuff out of the catalog which could be picked up at the store.

I never enjoyed browsing in stores unless it was something like electronics, books, or music; in those cases I can spend hours. Even then I'd often still buy something, especially back in the days of hippie vinyl record stores or a used bookstore with a good SF collection. Hardware stores got added to the mix once I hit my 30's, but again I'd often end up buying something even if I never intended to buy anything. I guess that's why I'm bored when shopping in a lot of tourist communities; the idea of browsing for something I don't need and don't want is an alien concept.

[J N Winkler]

I do this every so often, but rarely buy--even if it is something I need--because I tend not to feel satisfied I have reached an optimum.

[XamotCGC]

I do it as a form of exercise to lose weight.   

[hbelkins]

I used to do this a lot when I was in college. Morehead had Heck's, Roses, Maloney's, and I think maybe one other discount department store. I'd often go there, and the small shopping center/mall, just to look around -- usually to see what new music had been released. I'd wander around the music, books, electronics, sporting goods, and mens clothing departments, often without buying anything. It was a good way to kill a late afternoon/early evening.

Now, the thoughts of just browsing at a store give me the cringes. I've become a heavy user of Walmart's online ordering and pickup service. Get what I need, order it online (and taking advantage of a couple of rebate programs if I order through the browser and not the app) and then go to the store and either pick it up inside, or have them bring it out to me.

[epzik8]

Is it actually shopping if you don't buy anything?

[jeffandnicole]

Back on track, when my kids were young we'd often load them up in the car and go thru the mall in their strollers on Saturday morning, to mostly get out of the house and walk around, sometimes to buy.

Many malls (at least pre-pandemic) opened up early, like 7am early, to allow people (mostly seniors) to walk the corridors inside in a safe, weather-free environment.  I guess the thinking was the mall was already unlocked for various maintenance activities, so they could be basically a free community center.  Some malls had a fairly formal mall walker program where you signed in thru a specific door.  My local mall just left each of the entrances unlocked and people were free to enter and walk.  A coffee shop may open up early also to provide their foods & beverages to those interested.  But otherwise, the stores were closed, and it was a good time to window shop while walking around in a quiet atmosphere.

Is it actually shopping if you don't buy anything?

Nope.  "Browsing".

[kphoger]

So what is "window shopping"?

[Rothman]

So what is "window shopping"?

You ever look through a window inside of a shop?

[kphoger]

You ever look through a window inside of a shop?

You mean like these?  Yep, sure have.



But what I was really asking was, if browsing isn't shopping, then is window shopping not shopping?   

[Rothman]

You ever look through a window inside of a shop?

You mean like these?  Yep, sure have.



But what I was really asking was, if browsing isn't shopping, then is window shopping not shopping?   

Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?

[kphoger]

Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?

Because, before you park on your driveway, you drive on it.

And because parkways were originally intended for generally leisure travel, such as through or between parks.

[GaryV]

Many dictionaries include "intent to purchase" as part of their definition of "shopping". I didn't find the derivation, but I assume the word shopping comes from "shop", the place where goods are sold.

"Window shopping" specifically eliminates the intent to purchase. It probably comes from strolling down sidewalks in old downtowns next to old department stores and shops and looking at the goods displayed in the window.

And then there's "comparison shopping" where you eventually intend to purchase, but you are looking for the best price/features of what you want to buy. I'm not sure what we call the related activity of looking at goods in a store to evaluate them before going home and finding the best online price - or even ordering on your phone while you're still in the store.

[kphoger]

And then there's "comparison shopping" where you eventually intend to purchase, but you are looking for the best price/features of what you want to buy.

This pretty much describes shopping for shoes at the mall.  Go to two or three different shoe stores, try on a few pairs in each one, and then eventually determine which pair you're going to buy.  You never had any intention of buying a pair of shoes at all three stores, and yet I'm sure we can all agree you went shopping at all three.

I'm not sure what we call the related activity of looking at goods in a store to evaluate them before going home and finding the best online price - or even ordering on your phone while you're still in the store.

It can essentially be the same as what I just described above, except one or more of the "stores" are websites.  After all, if you don't actually end up finding a better deal online, then you're likely to go back to the brick-and-mortar store anyway.