Consumerism is a minefield, a deathtrap of companies capitalizing off of your FOMO and the desperate desire to fit in by pushing garbage down your gullet.

Pinterest isn’t safe, Instagram isn’t safe and TikTok is especially not safe. I’m complaining about this like how my mom used to complain about Real Simple Magazine or Home and Garden’s abundance of advertising on every other page. At least with a street ad or a billboard, it’s gone in a simple second or a couple of steps forward.

And I’ve taken a stand. I actively ignore ads now. I made the switch, no thank you to your perfect two-piece workout set, I am not interested in this video. Every web page gets every ad closed before I proceed. And Hulu — you’re dead to me.

So, in my recent search for a world without influence, I stumbled into the Brookline Trader Joe’s, because besides the Fearless Flyer magazine that perches itself next to the shopping carts on a perfectly rustic little crate, I don’t hear about them anywhere, besides right out of a real person’s mouth. A recipe exchange or a text chain with my roommates might cite a phenomenal, groundbreaking product, or a non-sponsored TikTok might rank their premade salad mix one through five. But otherwise, a complete void of noise. Good riddance to the mindless chatter.

This store has never felt like its curation of delightful snacks and ingredients is merely a vessel for profit. The stores are colorful — vibrant snacks meant to taste like my childhood favorites for a fraction of the price. The staff are vibrant, too. A grown man in a Hawaiian shirt who never fails to ensure none of the eggs in the carton are cracked? That is customer service. And it’s phenomenal, because when a board of executives behind a shrouded presence tries to say, “We care about the eggs being pristine,” I know I shouldn’t believe it. But when someone in front of me does, I remember it. 

The same goes for when one of their tropical shelf stockers sees me eyeing the cake mix and they say it is a must-buy. The word of these employees is the gospel.

I have never once been convinced to purchase from the oath of truth of a sales associate since it can feel so forced. In a retail store, the bombardment of help and insincere sales tactics are enough to sour a shopping experience, but the singular choices and trustworthy product advocates at Trader Joe’s make the shopping easy and laid-back — never pushy.

To a company like Trader Joe’s, I am more than happy to relinquish my choice too. Companies vying for shelf space that is at eye level to get you to buy, or manufacturing price competitiveness to drain your wallet. It’s all present in the shopping experience. But when one company is making every product and making all the choices of where things go and how they’re placed, I’m not thinking about the marketing ploys behind the scenes guiding my hand to a purchase.

This company has gotten me to pledge loyalty and embrace the blissful comfort that they aren’t fighting for me to come back because they know I will. It’s eerie to think but I admire the confidence of a company that doesn’t have to shove in my face relatability or affordability for the mundane task of grocery shopping. Every facet of consumerism needs its Trader Joe’s beacon of stand-off marketing. 

The necessity of these establishments is that they respect their consumers’ awareness. Companies get away with sleight of hand so often, but a knowledgeable consumer can know when they’re getting played. At an establishment so far removed like Trader Joe’s I can feel confident that a decision to shop is a decision to support, not an allure of competing options and online advertisements.

And this isn’t just me reading vibes off a non-sentient grocery store. Trader Joe’s has proven through its lucrative business model and customer service standards that they are in fact making a difference in the shopping experience. They strategically place stores so there are limits to revenue competition between locations, they are one of the most profitable grocery chains by square footage and revenue. They made $2,130 on average off of every square foot of store in 2020. For context, Whole Foods only manages about $930 for every square foot. And they keep their prices at a fraction of big box stores for young adults and college students.

What they’re doing works for a younger demographic whose entire online community operates in the consumerism lens. Generations of college students can appreciate simple marketing, easy meals and a crew that greets you with a smile, but lets you leave with the freedom that their likeness won’t be following you to every platform afterward.

So I will continue to ignore every ad for Whole Foods and Amazon to deliver my groceries, I will avoid the sidewalks with Star Market bus ads and I will embrace my situationship with my grocery shopping. The more they ignore me, the more I want to indulge in the Trader Joe’s fantasy.

Maybe I’m too self-aware for my own good, but people are savvy enough to know when there’s something at play to get them to purchase. If the successes of Trader Joe’s is any indication, there is a demand from the once consumptive, trendy youth to feel their personal agency in their patronage.

It’s undeniable that people love that Trader Joe’s doesn’t care about online third spaces and always being on your mind. If they stay away from that—I at least know that they aren’t capitalizing off of the rental space of my overflowing brain. Going to Trader Joe’s is a weekly essential, not because they’ve convinced me through flashy advertisements, or told me the little pastel tote bag would be in stock. I go because they have always convinced me to come back through the experience they provide, in and out of the store. 

This love is not sponsored. I go to Trader Joe’s with my own money and this is 100% my real opinion on this.