C o n s u m e r I n s i g h t 1 2 The Meaning of Consumption

I (Andre Hank) worked eight-hour shifts at one restaurant, and then drove to the other one for another eight-hour shift. One day I came home and my girlfriend and our six-year-olds were gone. When she left, I fell apart. I stopped going to work, stopped sleeping. I wasnt doing anything; just going crazy . . . they took me to the hospital where I got a shot to help me sleep. I woke up in a psych ward. After three or four months, they released me.

When I came out of the hospital I didnt have anything. I wanted to get my old job back, but they wouldnt give me a second chance. I tried to get another job but its hard when you dont have a phone, or an answering machine, or a pager. And I was sleeping in abandoned buildings, then on the El for a long time.

One day more than three years ago I was hungry and didnt have any money and I saw a guy selling newspapers. I asked him what he was selling and he told me about StreetWise (a nonprofit, independent newspaper sold by the homeless, formerly homeless, and economically disadvantaged men and women of Chicago). So I [began to sell StreetWise]. . . . I dont make a lot of money but Im good at saving it. Right now Im saving for a coat for next winter.

Im no longer homeless. Ive got a nice little room in a hotel . . . I can buy food . . . I even saved for [and bought] Nikes.

Andre is not unique among low-income consumers in wanting and buying items such as Nike shoes. As one expert says: These people (low-income consumers) want the same products and services other consumers want. He suggests that marketing efforts reflect those desires. Another expert states: Theres this stereotype that they dont have enough money for toothpaste, and thats just not true. There has to be some significance to them being called lower-income, but they do buy things.

The working poor are forced to spend a disproportionate percent of their income on housing, utilities, and medical care (because of a lack of insurance). They generally rely on public transportation. They spend a smaller portion of their relatively small incomes on meals away from home and on all forms of entertainment such as admissions, pets, and toys. They spend very little on their own financial security. However, as Andre illustrated, they spend the same percent of their income (though a smaller dollar amount) on apparel and accessories.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. What does the consumption of a product like Nikes mean to Andre? 2. What does this story say about our society and the impact and role of marketing?