These days, the phenomenon in which more stores and products bear a striking resemblance to each other has aroused controversy as some people advocate this trend, whereas the others are strongly opposed to it. From my perspective, although this can be seen as a drive for enterprises to enhance their quality, I believe that it will lead to more harm than good not only to consumers but also to the economy.
On the one hand, supporters of such a predisposition may argue that it promotes fair competition among shops and companies. In other words, once aesthetic appeal from the appearance of stores or items is no longer prioritized, their quality will be the factor that determines their success on the market. Those that fail to satisfy this requirement will be eliminated from the competition and there will be no place for enterprises that overly focus on the marketing tactics rather than the internal value of their products. As a result, this should incentivize companies to constantly enhance the experience of users as well as upgrade their services or products in order to retain loyal customers.
Despite these valid arguments, I opine that if stores and items all look the same, it will exert more negative impacts on the economy and consumers’ experience. Firstly, the indistinguishable appearance of products or shops may easily confuse shoppers and they can end up mispurchasing an item or visit the wrong shop. The unsatisfactory experience they gain from these mistaken purchases can have a deleterious effect on the reputation of the brand they initially intended to opt for. Besides, if items are allowed to build similar images, the practice of duplicating authentic products will be rife, which can cause great harm to prestigious brand names. Secondly, if stores and products all look identical, they may lose a competitive edge over the other rivals in terms of attractiveness. Packaging or decoration is what sets one apart from the others and makes it outstanding; therefore, without unique look, these businesses will find it challenging to promote their images among the public. Consequently, when diversity is lost, buyers will tend to choose only one brand when they need to purchase a certain item, regardless of their variety in supermarkets or malls. This trend will force other firms to shutter and impede the economic progress of a whole country in the long run.
To sum up, even though similarly-looking products and shops can encourage companies to focus more on the quality of their offerings, I think this phenomenon will negatively affect one’s buying experience and prevent enterprises from equally thriving and contributing to the national economy.