Repository of DUTH

Τhe shopping experience (Bachelor thesis)

Σοπικιώτης, Κωνσταντίνος/ Sopikiotis, Konstantinos

Over the past 2.5 centuries or so, we have become witnesses to a number of social, political, and economic phenomena, which have affected every aspect of everyday life. In the present research work, the changes that took place in the world of trade, and specifically in the places of consumption, are analyzed. Using typical examples of such places, and describing them based on the era in which they appear and flourish, an attempt is made to give a comparative picture of how the consumers themselves perceived the experience of consumption in the various cases. These spaces are always studied in co-relation to the social, cultural, political and economic implications that affect and are influenced by them, in each given period of time. It is important to check the examples in their context, so that we can draw safe conclusions as to their significance. By delving into these selected samples of the recent -and not so recent- past, and by examining them as typologies, we perceive changes in their spatial design as a function of the organization they presuppose and the process and performance they desire. Our goal is to read through the forms of the past, in such a way as to recognize the conditions of the present, and to listen and predict, but also make our own proposal for the future. Starting at the end of the 19th century, we will begin a journey across the places of consumption as they are summarized through the examples of the urban and female-occupied European department stores, the impersonal but at the same time leisure centers of American suburbs and the typical chain stores, such as the self¬service supermarkets, the do-it-yourself IKEA and the fast-fashion brands. Further on, we will look at the role of the internet in commerce, as we wander through its vast non-material places. In this section, we will examine the new parameters that are set with the bloom of the Internet and its conquest of our daily routines, and the innovative tactics followed in online retail. We will also explore the current reality that emerges with the increasing use of the social media networks, and how it relates to consumption. Finally, summarizing the data that have arisen, there will be a critique that emerges from their overall view, today, in the light of a partial historical distance from the first examples and a conscious opinion over the contemporary events. Concepts, directly or indirectly related to consumption, such as interest and personalization will be evaluated. New typologies that have emerged in the recent years, and are presented as innovative places of consumption will be added and, finally, an attempt will be made to describe a new, hybrid, model, which will combine positive features that came forth due to the previous research, and will seek to spatially address some matters that previous systems have failed to respond to.