A Bag is a Bag is a Bag (Week 2)

Bagging Holiday Shoppers
With customers' moods black, retailers' gift bags are a riot of color; Saks's snowflakes
November 22, 2008
Jennifer Saranow

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122730915056249231.html

This article is about how retailers are hoping festive shopping bags will offer motivation to consumers during this slow shopping season. Stores such as Bloomingdale's, Saks, and Barneys New York are not cutting back on fancy shopping bag costs, but pushing forward stronger than ever. Bags are adorned with images of snowy streets, snowflakes, Christmas trees, and a Volkswagen Beetle with the saying "Peace + Love: Have a Hippie Holiday."

"We would like the bag to inspire people to go out and buy something at whatever price range they can afford," says Lina Kutsovskaya, vice president of advertising for Barneys New York. Elaborate bag decorating began in the early 1950s. These first bags featured realistic Christmas images that were similar to Norman Rockwell's style.

In addition to keeping with the tradition of fancy Christmas bags (fancy enough that some people actually collect them), some retailers are also trying to get with the current push for "going green." Many of these decorated bags are completely recyclable.

That's the gist of the article. At first I was interested in the topic, but then I realized it was not important to me at all. The decorations on shopping bags have no impact on what or how much I purchase. Sure, the Victoria Secret bags are nice, but I don't buy items from there just to get the bag.

I just finished my Christmas shopping today. Every single bag I received was the standard, plastic bag that cuts into your arm until it has stretched to its limit. The bag doesn't matter to me, and it certainly isn't going to lift my spirit or make me spend more. In the end, I just throw it away. I, unlike retail stores, have not jumped on the recycling bandwagon.