“Middle-class staples like Williams & Sonoma, Coach, Lush, and an Apple store (along with the obligatory food court Sbarro) help account for $1.8B in annual sales.”
Those are not middle class “staples” - the US middle class can not afford to shop at Williams Sonoma. Apple is a luxury or near-luxury brand, same with Coach.
Middle class people commonly buy "unnecessary" things, even clear luxury items like Coach bags.
If you live in Silicon Valley and take home $4k/month, not so much.
"I'm not an independent proprietor, I'm a mini-mogul of a micro-barbershop." vomit.
Someone can make $200k+ per year for a family of 5 and still be "middle class" and I don't think anyone would be shocked if they owned an iPhone.
Edit: Specifically, "middle class" is not defined with respect to the nation's income. It's a loose definition based on job/lifestyle/purchasing power, which are correlated to income, but not strictly defined by it.
Why are you so sure? What are the numbers? It's possible you're in a middle income bracket within a rich region, but if you're shopping at Apple and Williams Sonoma on the regular, I'd guess that puts you in the top 20%. I guess we have to define middle class too...maybe the 25%-75% household income bracket?
"In the US, we have a rule: to describe a person as "lower class" is an insult; less obviously, to describe them as "upper class" is as well. To describe something as "lower class" or "upper class" is to denigrate it, and to attribute a "lower class" or "upper class" thing to some one is to denigrate them. It is the designation "middle class", alone, which is virtuous – a fact which explains in a nutshell why, famously, all Americans arrogate the term to themselves."
On the other hand I don't know any honestly middle class people who shop at Williams Sonoma with the possible exclusion of special gifts maybe for a wedding or anniversary or some other rare special occasion.
Shopping occasionally is still shopping. Plenty of people have run businesses off of gift and special occasion spending. Or just occasional spending in general. None of this is out of the range of the middle class. Almost anything cheaper than a child is affordable to the middle class.
>lots of people who financially really shouldn't do buy Apple products.
That only strengthens the point that middle class earners are spending their money there.
W&S reminds me of JC Penny/Goldsmiths, just for a new generation.
"PAGE IS NOT AVAILABLE IN YOUR REGION
TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS,
We regret that due to technical challenges caused by new regulations in Europe, we can for the time being no longer accept orders from the European Union.
If you reside in the UK you can continue to order from our UK websites or shop from our locations and partners."
And yes, middle class people can afford to shop for luxury goods, and do so. It's not unusual to have a moderately expensive hobby.
https://adequateman.deadspin.com/the-2017-hater-s-guide-to-t...