Costco Influencers
Apr. 25th, 2022 10:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingThe Uncanny, Fluorescent World of the Costco Influencer
https://jezebel.com/the-uncanny-fluorescent-world-of-the-costco-influencer-1846775539
They are unlike almost any genre of Instagram account in that browsing them feels more or less exactly like the experience they represent, a literal depiction of shopping at Costco’s warehouse store with its mountains of product and fluorescent lights. The conventions of the influencer universe, with its flattering camera angles and fuzzy promises, don’t exist in this world. The Costco lifestyle is simple. It’s about shopping at Costco, a practice best suited to Americans with basements and large garages in which to store their indiscriminating hauls. The influencers who post every week from the bulk discount store must have underground bunkers for all that they buy.
This is a long and fascinating essay, and the main take-away point is that it can be very difficult to distinguish between an Instagram normie whose account just happened to get big and a paid corporate puppet account. The last paragraph expresses this point in the most powerful and eloquent way possible.
True story: Now that we have a house, my husband's family has been bugging him on WhatsApp to get a Costco card. In their eyes, Costco is the epitome of The American Dream. My husband finally caved in, and we made our first visit to a Costco across the river in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
I don't know what I was expecting, but Costco was exactly it. It's not magical or even surreal; it's just a big warehouse where you can get giant crates of brand-name toilet paper. Cherry Hill has the largest population of (mainly South Asian and East Asian) immigrants in South Jersey, so there's also a sizeable selection of massive-sized cooking ingredients of the sort that usually get placed in the "ethnic foods" aisle of a chain grocery store. Except, because it's Costco, there's no rhyme or reason to how anything is organized, so there will be a liter bottle of sesame oil next to a two-liter jar of tomato sauce. I found a fifty-count box of my beloved Itoen green tea bags (this one right here) for $10, and that is literally the only thing we bought because no one actually needs anything that comes from Costco.
One thing that did surprise me was the impressive consumer electronics section. For example, Costco has the HP Spectre line of laptops at a steep discount. So I guess, if you don't mind getting something that's not the absolute newest thing on the market, you can pick up an affordable yet really nice computer and television at Costco.You still have to pay full price for a Nintendo Switch though.
I think, if I had to guess, the target market for Costco is probably people with multiple children who haven't yet become disillusioned with the trappings of the middle-class American lifestyle. Basically it's kind of like suburban Disneyland for adults. I found it depressing, but I think my husband is still willing to be convinced.
https://jezebel.com/the-uncanny-fluorescent-world-of-the-costco-influencer-1846775539
They are unlike almost any genre of Instagram account in that browsing them feels more or less exactly like the experience they represent, a literal depiction of shopping at Costco’s warehouse store with its mountains of product and fluorescent lights. The conventions of the influencer universe, with its flattering camera angles and fuzzy promises, don’t exist in this world. The Costco lifestyle is simple. It’s about shopping at Costco, a practice best suited to Americans with basements and large garages in which to store their indiscriminating hauls. The influencers who post every week from the bulk discount store must have underground bunkers for all that they buy.
This is a long and fascinating essay, and the main take-away point is that it can be very difficult to distinguish between an Instagram normie whose account just happened to get big and a paid corporate puppet account. The last paragraph expresses this point in the most powerful and eloquent way possible.
True story: Now that we have a house, my husband's family has been bugging him on WhatsApp to get a Costco card. In their eyes, Costco is the epitome of The American Dream. My husband finally caved in, and we made our first visit to a Costco across the river in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
I don't know what I was expecting, but Costco was exactly it. It's not magical or even surreal; it's just a big warehouse where you can get giant crates of brand-name toilet paper. Cherry Hill has the largest population of (mainly South Asian and East Asian) immigrants in South Jersey, so there's also a sizeable selection of massive-sized cooking ingredients of the sort that usually get placed in the "ethnic foods" aisle of a chain grocery store. Except, because it's Costco, there's no rhyme or reason to how anything is organized, so there will be a liter bottle of sesame oil next to a two-liter jar of tomato sauce. I found a fifty-count box of my beloved Itoen green tea bags (this one right here) for $10, and that is literally the only thing we bought because no one actually needs anything that comes from Costco.
One thing that did surprise me was the impressive consumer electronics section. For example, Costco has the HP Spectre line of laptops at a steep discount. So I guess, if you don't mind getting something that's not the absolute newest thing on the market, you can pick up an affordable yet really nice computer and television at Costco.
I think, if I had to guess, the target market for Costco is probably people with multiple children who haven't yet become disillusioned with the trappings of the middle-class American lifestyle. Basically it's kind of like suburban Disneyland for adults. I found it depressing, but I think my husband is still willing to be convinced.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-26 07:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-26 07:49 pm (UTC)I think I was overwhelmed by the sheer size of everything. I’ve been living in urban areas without much parking, so my mentality has been that I don’t need something if I can’t carry it for five blocks and then lug it up several flights of stairs. But I’m starting to understand how Costco could be useful.
So on one hand, I’m still slightly creeped out by this naked display of capitalism.
On the other hand, I’m intrigued by the idea that I could buy a shipping crate full of toothpaste and never have to buy toothpaste again.