Quiapon, Aureen Mae A.

Speech 142
2019-05465 Prof. Sherie Claire Ponce

Uy, Sale! Bili Kaya Ako?:

The Monthly Dilemma of Online Consumerism and Commodity Fetishism

Before the rise of online shopping platforms like Shopee and Lazada, dates like 1.1, 2.2,
3.3, and so on used to be regular days. Now, it seems as though these are the perfect days to
purchase from digital platforms due to their large sales and discounts. Perhaps, we can even
call it as man made “holidays” that continue to prove to be the biggest days in the online
shopping industry. Although, given the continuing growth in numbers of people purchasing via
these platforms, it does make you question when and how it started and what it says about the
Filipino people, especially as we face a global pandemic.

Across the world, online shopping has been a great innovation for many, most especially
as many of us endure lockdowns in our own homes. That said, company retailers have digitized
their businesses to create a more accessible space for their costumers. With most of our
purchases now done online, each person has curated a list of items they would recommend for
other people to buy. Here in the Philippines, this phenomenon is more famously known as the
“Budol Culture.”

The term "budol" is derived from the Hilagaynon language and refers to the budol-budol
gang, which specializes in swindling. Budol's method of operation involves deception, cunning,
and hypnosis, with the victim frequently handing over money or other valuables to the criminal
but recently, it has taken a lighter meaning. Now, it refers to a person’s shopping experience
which is usually unplanned or impulsive. The new phenomenon has had rapid growth during the
time of the pandemic. Many influencers in various social media platforms have their own budol
lists they share to their followers on a regular basis. From items of clothing, to make-up
products, to home appliances, and even to food and drinks, they have their own
“recommendations,” or as we know them to be, budols—all of which are easily linkable and
accessible to many. In fact, not just influencers but even average citizens participate in this so
called “trend.” With this, it would be an understatement to say that the pandemic has greatly
changed our shopping habits as consumers, be it positively or negatively.

Impulsive shoppers have been around even prior to the pandemic and it highlights how
our society is in the age of instant gratification. Many consumers are in that mindset of wanting
to catch a “good deal,” even with products they do not necessarily need. The inability to control
impulses leads to short term pleasure (Stahl, 2019) which we attempt to experience as we are
locked in doors with no other means of entertainment. Serving as a temporary dopamine hit,
people turn to their screens to purchase items without a second thought. This is a prime
example of how when consumers are bored and unoccupied, they are easily swayed by various
stimuli such as discounts, easy access, promotional deals, and free delivery.
 As history proves, word of mouth recommendation is a fundamental part of the human
condition. That in mind, a key factor in the effectiveness and growth of the budol culture is how it
has found its way in our daily lives through its rhetoric. As mentioned earlier, influencers are a
huge part of the propagation of this shopping habit and phenomenon that we all continue to
experience. Brands and influencers have refined and developed techniques to keep consumers
buying their products or to encourage new ones to purchase as well. This includes appealing to
their emotions, such as worries of what would happen if they did not buy a particular product,
their desire to not miss out, or their need to be more attractive and fit in with what is trendy or
“uso.” Another way is by hiring influencers and celebrities with huge followings. When we see
them promote these products, we look at them as experts in their respective niches; we treat
their opinions as credible and reliable feedback which further persuades us to purchase the
products they are sharing online. Be it paid advertisement or not, who gives the feedback and
who we see using the product influences our impulsive buying decisions. Some of these
creators also try to invest in building proper and legitimate expertise but that is not always the
case for many of them.

This analysis shows us how even in budol culture, there is still the use of logos, pathos,
and ethos which ultimately, affect and alter our shopping experience and behaviors. While you
may think that the shirt you checked out from your cart was solely your choice, that may not be
a hundred percent true. These shopping decisions we make, as we remain to be consumers of
digital content from celebrities and influencers, are results of how well they promote the
products and items they have and share via their platforms. This works because it taps into one
of our psychological needs specifically, collaboration and social behavior. Aside from that, it
evokes a need for trust and reliability from both parties. Humans want to be able to rely on each
other and be part of a community especially when we are facing isolation at our homes
(Sourgoutsidis, n.d.).

Although, online shopping may be a valid coping mechanism as we endure the

pandemic, it is not all fun and games—this is where consumerism comes into play. While you
were buying your latest online purchase, did you ponder on what social setting the product was
created in? Who put in the effort? What did they get paid for their work? Were they
compensated in any way? Did they work in a secure environment? The answers to these
queries are not always readily available to consumers like us. This shows us how people have
become increasingly disconnected from the creation of the items they buy as capitalist
conditions of commodity production have evolved and a disadvantage of this separation we
have as consumers from production is what Karl Marx defined as commodity fetishism (Marx,
1887). By this, he was pertaining to how individuals perceive a product's qualities in the final
stage of production without any awareness of the relationships among and between people and
objects involved in its formation. It is due to this type of fetishim that we struggle to relate with
one another directly as human beings; instead, we relate and connect to one another through
the variety of products we meet (Harvey, 2010). Additionally, the fetishization of commodities aid
the existence of sweatshops and cause environmental ruin (Wyatt, 2011) which are used and
caused by many online shops and fast fashion companies that profit from our “budol” lists and
experiences.

Online shopping and the budol culture will not go anytime soon—perhaps, it might even
grow larger over time. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed much about how Filipinos live
their lives, and some of these changes will likely remain in place even when all of this is over. A
Marxist approach of the global political economy demands that we recognize our duty to ensure
that those who manufacture our goods are treated fairly and justly (Young, 2004). While the
platforms we have now and new media enable us to do things we could not before, they may
also be used by grassroots organizations to interact with people in ways that circumvent even
major news channels to disseminate knowledge and enlighten others (McGuire, 2015). More
than gaining pleasure and gratification from opening parcels, may we also receive satisfaction
from the idea that the products we buy and companies we support are those who do not further
harm society and its people.
 Sources:

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