In a land with true capitalism these wouldn't exist because every single store with them would instantly lose all their customers. The only reason this exists is because America doesn't have a true free market or capitalism (because that's impossible) and stores are using their market position to force customers to shop there even though they would prefer not to. What are customers going to do? Go to the other massive grocery store that's miles away? Or maybe shop at the boutique that has half the selection at a markup.

Call it what you want, I just called it future because it's already reality for some, clearly.

I don't know about you, but for me the amount of ads I see decreased compared to some points in the past. I don't watch TV, I listen to music using a streaming service with a paid subscription, I actively look for interesting stuff to buy, but not because I've seen an ad. Probably because I haven't seen any recently, because I block them.

People buy some stuff on Amazon not because they were advertised a particular brand, but probably because they needed something and searched for it, compared between options, you know. This is our present. Ads on coolers in supermarkets might be just a swan song of a dying way of selling products. Is Amazon less scary that this though? Really?

Then why is it that influencers are raking in the dough? Is Madison Avenue just desperately seeking any product placement? Someone's definitely spending ad revenue on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook.

My media consumption is similar to yours, but I think we're the outliers, or maybe we just slipped between the generational cracks of an evolving but still very consumerist society.

You got me there. Couldn't even begin to understand people who are growing up with social media.

Honestly I think targeted ads that are actually interesting to the person they are intended for is the only sane way out of this. No one likes ads that aren't relevant. If I'm going to be tracked and targeted, then at least don't annoy and bore me to death.

If you're not the type to buy shit, at some point they'll figure out to stop making ads for your type.