Compare And Contrast Athletic Apparel And Dicks

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Let’s take a closer look at shopping. A pretty simple idea, right? Go to a store find what you need then buy it. Well it is not quite that simple. On the surface it may appear this way, but subconsciously it is much more complicated. Why do we pick the store we shop at, why do we buy what we buy? Are the stores we shop at aware of this? To try and shed some light on this I did two social observations in the men 's athletic apparel section. One at Dick’s Sporting Goods and the other at Wal-Mart. I did not want to pick two stores that were similar, I assumed that I would get similar results. So I tried to pick somewhat different stores, but still having the mens athletic apparel I was looking at. This was I could get two different results to …show more content…
They purposely make things difficult. You are forced to look at more and hopefully find more items to purchase before you even find what you came to buy. Clearance is hidden so you end up buying the expensive items. The store itself is very Brand and advertisement driven.
Switching gears to the Wal-Mart men’s athletic apparel section. Wal-Mart is completely different from Dick’s. Apparel is a very small portion of Wal-Mart, the store is obviously driven by food. But nonetheless Wal-Mart still has men’s athletic apparel. The men 's department is a very small small part of Wal-Mart, the athletic apparel section even smaller. Just a handful of racks.
One brand is all you have to pick from, Riddell, a much smaller major brand. This results is much more affordable price tag. Clearance is very much a major part of the section. Big clearance signs cover half of the racks. Outside of a Riddell poster some price signs and clearance signs that is all there is. No big ads, no athletes or models, just some clothes and a few
…show more content…
Is it really just as simple as two different kinds of stores. Or is there more to it hidden underneath the racks? I believe that that answer lies within Sociology.
It is first important to understand type of culture we live in today. Brands, brands and more brands. We live in a material culture. If you do not have the newest greatest shoe or pullover you simply do not fit in. Dicks plays off this directly having nothing but the major brands. They make sure that people know this. The displays and posters show the latest and greatest and the models/ superstars wearing them reinforce this idea. Wal-Mart on the other hand does not really support this idea, only having the one brand, just racks no models showing anything off.
Media has made it a norm to make celebrities or athletes in this case bigger than life. Athletes are plastered everywhere wearing of course the same clothes and brands an average person can buy. The first thing people see is the brand. The next thought being if I wear that brand I can be like that person. This in my opinion is Dick’s idea behind sales. That is why they have those posters of athletes hanging up around the

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