To behold and not to buy – therein lies the charm and pleasure of window shopping. With the festive season almost upon us, the shopping ‘madness’ has started. While much browsing will be conducted online, the ritual of window shopping – standing in front of stores for a while, gazing at mannequins clad in the new line of the season, admiring the storefront displays, then moving on to the next store window, and the next… – brings its inimitable delights.
It is never a meaningless exercise. Window shopping provides the perfect way to sneak out some time for yourself, do some serious theoretical retail therapy, without the OTP tyranny. It also is a feast for the eyes. Storefronts can turn into installation art during this season, with some that could well be mistaken for a nook at the Tate Modern or MoMA.
It is also the ultimate stress-buster. Walking without much purpose but just to see can be therapeutic. You’re spurred to daydream, without constraints or compulsions, to take the next transactionary step. This is the consumer and the consumer product in their most pristine form – of the wish to possess and be possessed. The rest will follow. Or not.
