Strategies of the middle class

If you're strictly middle class, knowingly you probably shop for "deals" on ebay, and hit-up Target every now and again for beddings, etc. Well, interestingly enough, the "mid-market" brands such as Old Navy, Macy's, Kraft, Comfort Inns are starting to lose steam in place of highest and lowest end goods. The increasing middle class is starting, "... to be more cost-conscious; but simultaneously more willing to splurge money on luxury items."

"Until the 1990s, broadly speaking, shopping choices tended to reflect spending power. The rich bought expensive things, and accounted for most luxury-goods sales. The poor tended to buy cheap, low-quality stuff. And the middle classes stuck to the mid-market. Today, however, middle-class shoppers around the world are not content to be marooned in mediocrity. Instead, these consumers, who earn between $50,000-150,000, are “trading up and trading down” both at the same time."
To me, it seems we're trading up for status goods, like automobiles, clothes, organic food, yet trading down for household goods at Target and Ikea, to name one segment. What happens to design? Will Target keep costs down while they contemplate an ever-increasingly design-savvy middle class? Will other big box retailers, such as WalMart (which is here to stay) change their tune, knowing there is a bevy of middle class consumers waiting for them to launch new small-scale stores within cities, not out in exurbia? What about dwellings? Will Target begin to offer its own Pre-Fab?

In short, the middle class is fast becoming the beacon of the new culture of consumption, and retailers might want to respond. To start things off: In-city locations (the new capitals of consumption), more sustainable products, more appealing shopping experiences (start with lighting, for example), and more commitment to contemporary design. As Koolhass put it, shopping space is the new public space so, aside from the obvious moral issues, when is branding going to respond?

On the other hand, and rapidly adding to the middle class' spending power, are on-line stores. Who needs physical space when you can purchase goods at lower costs while sitting at home in virtual space? Of course, the discussion starts out with a poignant question: Are on-line spaces really places? And if so, are we ready? What about the design of the interface? Can on-line retailers really provide a pleasant space to shop? If the notion of shopping space as public space holds its power, will we completely transform into a network of individuals where "village" is replaced by "network?"

"The developed world has been experiencing for over a century a shift away from communities based on small-group-like villages and neighborhoods and towards flexible partial communities based on networked households and individuals."

Much potential exists here for designers such as product and package design, advertising, urban design, and architecture, all the while having strong political and economic ramifications.