Every Tuesday after school, my 9-year old daughter asks me for money. I should be prepared, but it surprises me every time. Probably because I never know what day of the week it is.
But the scenario is always the same. After she walks home from school and sets her backpack down by the closet, she’ll ask me for a couple dollars.
“What do you need the money for?” I’ll ask.
And she’ll respond, “Dad, it’s Tuesday. The ice cream truck is coming today.”
One of the benefits of being a kid in Phoenix is that the ice cream truck is available all year long. For our street, it’s Tuesdays. And apparently, when you are 9-years old, the appeal of the ice cream truck is too much to ignore.
I mean, it’s ice cream, in a truck, who could possibly resist?
The first time I ever considered the relationship between accessibility and consumerism was during a panel discussion with Graham Hill and Halina Brown on HuffPost Live. It was a simple connection—one I probably should have made earlier, but I hadn’t.
One of the reasons for rampant consumerism in our society is low prices (fast fashion, for example). But another, equally important reason for the steady rise in consumer purchasing is accessibility.
As more and more retail stores appear on more and more street corners, consumerist habits become more difficult to overcome.
My daughter would eat less ice cream if the truck didn’t visit our street each week. My son would make fewer trips to the convenience store if it wasn’t within a bike ride of our house. And we’d all shop at Target less if it wasn’t so easy to get to.
Some companies have built an entire business model on accessibility. Walgreens comes to mind. So does Starbucks. As does Amazon.
Amazon, actually, is a perfect example of how accessibility impacts consumption.
The New York Times once wrote, “Jeffrey P. Bezos, Amazon’s founder, ‘has been on a mission to eradicate every conceivable obstacle to shopping online since the 1990s when he patented Internet ordering with a single mouse click’.”
And now, with the invention of the Amazon Dash Button, they have made shopping even more accessible. Without leaving your pantry or laundry room, you can place your order for consumer products with the press of a button… like an ice cream truck permanently placed inside your home.
Accessibility drives consumption. At least in these cases (and many more).
It is important for us to notice how accessibility impacts our behavior. Because the principle extends beyond shopping.
In life, whatever is accessible, gets utilized.
Unhealthy accessibility shapes unhealthy habits in our lives:
- Keeping sweets in the home makes us more likely to eat them.
- Having televisions conveniently located throughout a home results in more watching.
- Placing your cell phone on your nightstand encourages late night browsing, early morning email, and even sleep texting.
But equally powerful, accessibility has opportunity to spur healthy habits as well:
- Keeping fresh fruit and vegetables in your home makes healthy snacking more likely.
- Having educational toys available for your children spurs learning.
- Spending more time together as a family encourages conversation.
- Removing vices from your immediate surroundings (tobacco, sugar, alcohol, television) is the first step in overcoming them.
What healthy habits are you trying to develop in your life? What unhealthy habits are you hoping to break? And how is accessibility influencing your behavior?
In order for me to buy donuts, or any other treat, I have to either walk 2 miles or take my bike through a hay field. So I now get a donut once or twice a month. I grow most of my own food, so junk food is basically a lot of trouble for me to get.
You are totally right. If it is available, it will get utilized.
Javi
I’ve noticed a huge difference in lifestyle when it comes to accessibility. If I have something nearby I’m way more likely to use it (or with bad food eat it). But if those hazards aren’t around I just don’t use them. The more people I talk to about this the more it becomes evident. Keep the bad influences away and your life will get better. Thanks for this great post.
Great post Joshua! Started leaving my work laptop in the office last week and what a difference it has made in wasted time I used to spend surfing the web. It feels like each day has 3-4 hours that I never realized before. Keep the great blog posts coming!
I think accessibility does play a part in how much we consume. When we lived more remotely and not as close to the store, I was much more mindful of what we purchased. Often we had to “just make do” until our next shopping trip.
While convenience is nice, it can have it’s downfalls if we do not put boundaries for ourselves when it comes to spending. More than that, I think we have to know at a deeper level why leading a simpler life is important to us – If we know our “why”, then walking through temptation becomes easier.
My family and I rarely ate or drank Dunkin Donuts. But then one was recently built in our town. I craved a doughnut, so I got one because the drive-thru was convenient. For a special treat, I bought doughnuts, instead of baking as I usually would. DD sent coupons to the homeowners in town so my mom was using them to buy iced coffee instead of making her own. We don’t particularly like DD, but they knew how to get our money. After I noticed this influx of DD in my diet after the store was built two blocks away, I felt had. Now I know better.
I am from Uganda, Africa, I have been following this site for some time and I do enjoy it. You have indeed taught me greatly, and because I am a Pastor in a Church I take some of the relevant articles to the Church and this site is influencing many people here in our area of operations. Though in Uganda and Africa at large we are not yet to the level of on line shopping of all the items, but we have access to internet and phones, TVs among other gargets in addition to having shops around us especially to those who stay in developing towns. May be the biggest challenge is that in Africa we tend to follow and pick up everything that is western, TVs and Phones have broken homes, soccer where people are fun of say man u, Arsenal, Madrid among others, they do a lot of betting to the extent of divorcing their spouses, killing each other or committing suicide, its a challenge. TVs show soups that people will follow for months, they are stuck to their TV sets at a given time, and because different charnels show different soups at different times, people switch charnels and can be on a TV set till past mid night. Conversations at home is no more, children are not helped to do their home work, attending to visitors is a thing of the past, and there is a challenge of behavioral change as the young tend to behave western etc. It takes God and determination to say no to such habits. I have a TV set at home but I watch it only for news as a source of Information as buying news papers on a daily basis is more expensive, my family and I decided never to watch soups, I stopped supporting foreign foot ball teams since after my high school studies (i used to support man u) and because I have a set time for prayer and in case of visitors, I have a remote in my hands, I control the TV set. My wife used to have a challenge of having a serious spending appetite, even when you have a shopping list, she will still buy whatever pleases her and would end up buying unnecessary things and also buy them on credit. We sat together and agreed to always stick to our budgets and she has tremendously improved. We decide to go with the essentials; we go with what is important for our family and what promotes both our spiritual and physical life. What a teaching!!!!!!!!!,
God bless you all.
I hope you let your daughter get the ice cream!! I grew up poor and I really remember that my dad would let us dig into the bucket seats of his Valiant for coins and my brother and I would chase the ice cream truck screaming in glee to get ice cream. We talk about it to this day and even though I can afford the ice cream truck, I love treating my daughter to it. Many times we have “chased” the truck to see where it would stop to get ice cream. It’s not an every Tuesday thing but I would love hearing the chiming music more often!
I totally agree, especially with availability of stuff. However, I have been able to make accessibility work for my husband and me, thanks in large part to you, Joshua. Amazon and shopping on line keeps me from browsing in retail stores and buying more stuff! I only type in what I want or need and do not browse. I am more mindful of what I purchase and do not receive immediate gratification. I have to wait for my purchase and always choose standard shipping if there is a charge.
Now with more supermarkets carrying whole foods and less processed foods, I do just shop the perimeter of the store. We have a simple menu which we stick to and are much more mindful of our eating and health.
Thank you for all of your posts and books. They have made us better spouses, parents, grandparents, and friends.
I’m still waiting on my receipt from iBooks so I can attend your webinar!
Hi Joshua,
Beautiful post. Small changes that can lead to big significant changes in your life.
We got rid of our TV and made educational games really easy accessible in the living room. It’s been a great improvement for the kids and parents as well. Best change in the last year.
Warm regards,
Klaus Crow
It is certainly true that accessibility does make it easier to be consumers. My husband and I have Big financial goals. Because of this we have a tight budget, therefore there isn’t a lot of extra money for excessive purchasing. However, we have only a prepaid credit card now and definitely helps me limit online purchases because I have to log into my bank account to put money on it before I can make a purchase. I have to say that I am thankful that I live in a small town that has very few stores . I would spend a lot more if I lived in a city.