Many people argue that nowadays consumers buy lots of goods they don’t actually need because they are influenced by advertisements. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Customers purchase unnecessary goods impulsively for the sake of advertisements. I partly agree with this idea as there are many other factors behind the phenomenon. On the one hand, for some targeted groups, shrewd commercial advertisers use tactics to attract them and persuade them into buying as much as possible. For example, when housewives watching televisions and doing housework, commercial advertising about cleaning products brags about how efficient they are. Overwhelmed by heavy work, many of them cannot resist the temptation to pay for them. In addition, all the advertisements emphasis a desirable picture that nearly everyone dreams of. Consumers, ranging from women longing for easier housework, men desiring higher status to children simply wanting more fun. This is maybe the reason why they buy things like cleansing products, watches and toys continually. However, there are other elements contributing to buying useless things, such as the appealing appearance of goods and misleading introduction of the salesperson. As regards to the look of the commodity, many manufactures deliberately design good- looking products but without practical utility to draw people’s attention. A good example is that women tend to buy many ornate but impractical things, which are not for usage but for collection. Besides, some cunning salespeople uses psychological techniques to boost their sales, such as compliment, creating a sense of urgency and scarcity and provide overly thoughtful services that make you feel guilty if you just browse. In conclusion, despite businessmen who always use advertising to promote their goods, sometimes people pay for impractical ones not for advertisements but because they just love their looks or they encounter seasoned salesmen.