consumer trap

1. A product, service, event, etc. that is designed to convince consumers to spend money despite having no real value or purpose. All these ridiculous so-called smart gadgets are just consumer traps, if you ask me. Who in the world actually needs a convection oven with computer chips, internal cameras, and an Internet connection? Valentine's Day is the ultimate consumer trap, suffocating people with manipulative messaging that implies your love for someone is deficient or lacking in some way if you don't buy cards and chocolates and gifts for them. Why do you need to knock on your refrigerator door to see what's inside? It's such a consumer trap—just open the door yourself and see what's inside!

2. An ideological belief that capitalism is designed to imprison people within a never-ending cycle of debt and expenditure. Do you ever feel like you are on a treadmill, constantly being pressured to upgrade your car, your phone, your computer, and so on, no matter where you get the money from? That's the consumer trap, my friend, and it's time we all tried to break free of it. Banks and money lenders don't want you debt-free, oh no. They want you in the consumer trap, paying off interest and fees until the day you die. These loan companies want everyone to have the latest and greatest—that way, they'll be ensnared in the consumer trap.