And That's the Truth
an excerpt

Two hours and thirty-six minutes later, I was making my final checkout at Hollister, and emptying my wallet at the same time. Multi-tasking, wow. On my arm, there were already two American Eagle bags and one Icing bag, which held the cheap accessories I’d need to offset my outfits. (Icing is the more grown-up version of Claire’s. Someone must've gotten sick of the pink and purple theme, I think, and decided to devote an entire store to darker shades and metallics.) I was purchasing the corduroy skirt now, as well as a denim one I decided I couldn’t live without. (And it passed Mom’s length test, too, so it was a miraculous find.)
As the clerk rang up the final price, I handed her my discount coupon. It was almost full of $20 incremental punches, which is more of a sad thing than anything else. Yeah, spend two-hundred dollars at our store, and we’ll reward you for it! You’ve already spent way too much, but why not spend more? With only one more $20 punch, you could get a free messenger bag with our logo pasted on the side. It’s a reward and free advertising for us, so more people will buy into our little plot!
It’s funny. I’m an academic shopaholic, and I’ve actually taken a Marketing elective, so I understand all the tactics that stores use to lure in customers. And I still fall for it. Just twenty more dollars…