My Middle Class Lens: We Love Shopping Especially During Discount Season!

Being a stationery lover, every year I need to get my hands on a new planner. 2023 looks tightly packed for me, so I thought this would be the right time to invest in those pricy planners that I've always had an eye on. However, from a middle-class perspective, lavish planners are super expensive. But then I wanted to gift myself one this year but also make sure I didn’t override my budget. So, what does the middle-class girl in me do? Wait patiently until the end of January. And guess what was waiting for me? A clearance sale with a flat 75% off on the planner, and I was like, "Score!" Order placed. 

Yeah, that’s what we middle-class people do. We have an inherent attraction to discounts. No matter how much we love a product, we know how to get it for a lesser price. We have eyes and ears for offers, and we never miss big deals. Of course, it takes time, and the world might seem to be moving ahead, but we know how to get the best product at the best price, even if that means some waiting. At the end of the day, getting the product is what matters, right?

Middle Class Loves Shopping During Discounts

We love shopping at the big stores in malls, but they usually have expensive brands. So, when there’s a festive, seasonal, or clearance sale, we swarm in and make a big, fat purchase. That’s how I buy my pjs, t-shirts, gym clothes, footwear, bags, and more. How can I skip those offers? So, I hit the store during the clearance sale and grab them all. Who's going to know that I grabbed them at a sale?

Party wear, lehengas, and designer sarees are always expensive. We middle-class people have an ingrained need to maintain a seemingly posh lifestyle at times, especially around nosy Indian relatives or peer groups. But spending a fortune on something that we are going to wear once in a blue moon is irrational. So, we head to the big labels, browse the entire store, and make a mental note of the current trend. We then head straight to Parrys or Sowcarpet (in Chennai) and buy cheaper alternatives to designer clothes. Of course, they're fake, but they don't really look it and are worth wearing once or twice.

One of the main hacks we follow while shopping during sales is comparing prices. Be it online or offline, we take the time to browse, go to different stores, compare products, calculate the offers, and go for the one that is the most profitable to us. We also prefer shopping online compared to retail outlets, for obvious reasons. The price of the same products is relatively cheaper online. If we like a particular dress or product at a store, we immediately look up its price online. If the deal is better online, who wants to buy it at the store anymore? I’m old-schooled when it comes to buying clothes, especially expensive ones. So I go to the store, try on the dress I like, feel the material, make note of the size that fits me, and then order it online from the same store’s website. Mission accomplished!

We have this habit of purchasing products and clothing in bulk so that we can cut down on the shipping fee. We are conscious of entering the discount code at checkout, double-checking, and triple-checking to ensure that we have taken advantage of the offer. We add numerous products to our shopping cart online and wait till they have a bountiful discount. That's when we actually purchase them and this has been statistically proven.

We even save up the gift cards and coupons and use them later. Buy-two-get-one offers are a boon to us. I have literally made calculations on my phone, and if the offer seems profitable, I have bought that extra t-shirt or kurti just to take advantage of that offer.

Fellow shoppers starring at us, the salesperson constantly tagging behind in a stalker-y way, the judgy looks when we replace the product after checking the tag—all that really doesn’t bother middle-class people. Because, honestly, no one will remember us. So next time, try shopping with a middle-class friend because we are naturally smart shoppers!

Suggested Reading: My Middle Class Lens: We Prefer Borrowing Books From The Library!