Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to overspend on a pair of shoes. I thought of the saying, “who would ever pay retail prices” and realized there are some circumstances where it may be warranted or at least justified.
First, I was in an upscale mall. Obviously, this is going to command high rent for the tenants. Things haven’t been so great for the retail sector, so it was good to see the shop even still in business.
Second, the store was not a chain store, just a mom-and-pop. If not being a reason to shop there, at least it’s a reason to give them a pass on higher prices since they can’t compete with the volume of a chain.
Third, and what I felt was the most compelling reason, was that the store had a selection of product that I had never seen anywhere else. It was very boutique-ish, but still had a good selection of sizes and colors for each model. There were a lot of high-end shoes – actually they were sandals – from brands you don’t see in all the chain stores. It was as if the owners deliberately chose to not stock anything you could get somewhere else, which might have been a wise decision.
Because of that uniqueness, I chose to patronize the store in order to preserve its importance in the retail space. Without business owners taking a chance like this and making obscure, high-quality brands and specialty models of better-known brands available, everything would be the same everywhere. Total homogeny. Plenty of people complain about the generic landscape of retail, but is anyone willing to put their money where their mouth is?
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