Issue #15: Summer 2006

The Shopping Bags

by Ellen Schwartz

Sunny California. Skateboard park. Two young women are sitting on the lip of a halfpipe bowl, while a helmeted skater zooms up the side and then rises, airborne, above their heads. The women’s mouths are open in fear; one covers her eyes. And for good reason: in a few moments, they’re going to try it.

The two women are UBC grads Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic, hosts of a hit television show called “The Shopping Bags.” In this segment, they, along with three expert skaters, are testing five different skateboards, comparing flexibility, durability and cost. We see the experts jump, spin in mid-air, slide along railings. We also see Matisic and Wallner take their first skateboard lesson. Outfitted with knee and elbow pads and helmets, they slide cautiously from side to side, arms outstretched. We see them push off… and fall… and laugh. They’re having fun – and so are we.

The whole segment takes five minutes, and in that time, we learn what features to look for in a well-built skateboard, what price to expect and which style works best for each different skating application. The rest of the half-hour show covers face powder (pressed powder beat out loose powder), veggie burgers (most tasters preferred the grains-based brand) and anti-wrinkle cream (it didn’t work and, in some cases, actually made the wrinkles worse).

Cordless phones

Don’t pay more for a phone with fancy gizmos like voice enhancement. However, illuminated buttons are a good feature if you tend to make calls late at night.

After receiving Bachelor of Arts degrees from UBC in the early 1990s, Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic went on to earn Master’s degrees in journalism at different universities. A few years later, they both started working at Global TV’s Vancouver station, where they met and – although competing for jobs – became fast friends.

Over tea one afternoon in 1999, the two women started tossing around ideas for something they could do together. “We knew about journalism – at that point we had both been working in the field for five years – and we knew about shopping,” Wallner recalls. “We thought there wasn’t enough information about shopping on TV that was presented in an entertaining and easy-to-digest way. So we decided to create a show that would do just that.”

Not a shopping-channel-type show, though. “We didn’t just want to push consumerism,” Matisic says. “Nor did we want to replicate Consumer Reports, which can be dry and technical. We wanted to inject the fun of shopping into a magazine-style show, while providing solid consumer information. Our approach was: ‘Whether you like shopping or not, you have to do it, so you might as well be smart about it.’”

The two journalists set out to research everything they could think of, from lip gloss to lawn furniture to luggage. They started calling professionals from every walk of life – estheticians, race car drivers, doctors, gardeners, even dog walkers – to ask about products. They tested dozens of products themselves, figuring out a format of interviews and product demonstrations that would work on the small screen.

The two took the plunge, quitting their jobs even before “The Shopping Bags” was a sure thing. The show found a home on the Women’s Network, where it airs several times daily. “The Shopping Bags” has won numerous Leo awards and two Gemini award nominations. Outside the show, Matisic and Wallner maintain an extensive website of consumer information (www.theshoppingbags.com) and are co-authors of the show’s companion book, The Shopping Bags: Tips, Tricks and Inside Information to Make You a Savvy Shopper (Dutton 2005), which has become a bestseller in Canada and will be released in paperback this spring.

Chocolate

For the best-quality chocolate, look for an ingredient label that shows a bar has 55 percent cocoa solids. Bittersweet or dark chocolate has less fat than milk chocolate.

It can be jarring to meet someone you’ve only seen on television – often, the real-life person is a disappointment. But when I meet Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic at a west-side café, they look just as natural and attractive as their screen personas, even though it’s a Monday morning and they’re dressed casually and are devoid of makeup. Wallner has a steady blue-eyed gaze, Matisic, a ready smile. As they sip tea (Anna) and an Americano (Kristina) and munch on scones, their camaraderie is evident from the way they finish one another’s sentences and laugh at each other’s quips.

Although the women are equal partners when it comes to deciding which products to investigate and developing each program’s episodes, they do have distinct preferences and personalities. “Anna’s more adventurous,” Matisic says. “She’ll try anything. I like to say no.”

They make these differences work for them by taking on different roles in product testing. “When we did a segment on backpacks, for example, Kristina tried out a variety of backpacks in urban settings, while I tested other models by repeatedly hiking the Grouse Grind,” Wallner explains.

Matisic rolls her eyes. “She’s crazy.”

“It was fun,” Wallner insists. She grins. “Grueling, but fun.”

Backpacks

Get a pack with a waist belt for extra support. You won’t win any fashion awards, but it takes the weight off your shoulders and is better for your back. Look for hip padding that wraps completely around the hipbones.

It’s clear from the humorous anecdotes they tell that Matisic and Wallner have fun working on “The Shopping Bags.” On-air, they keep things light-hearted and friendly, avoiding the heavy tone of some consumer information programs. Still, the two women take their mission seriously and believe that “The Shopping Bags” fulfills an important function: to help people make educated purchasing decisions in today’s marketplace. Equal parts information and entertainment, the show not only compares and recommends specific products or brands, but also, and perhaps more important, shows consumers what to look for when choosing a product. “In a way, we’re teaching people what questions to ask – of themselves and of the salesperson,” Wallner says.

To do this requires extensive preparation. At planning sessions with program personnel, Wallner and Matisic choose which products will be profiled during the shooting season. Then a team of researchers digs up information on the products, scouts locations and identifies experts – the show regularly consults with several UBC profs – who can explain how a product works or why one is better than another. Scripts are written, with input from Wallner and Matisic, and then shooting takes place.

Most episodes are straightforward. For example, to test food processors, the duo interviewed a chef who wrote a book on cooking with a food processor and worked with a pizza chef to put several different models to the challenge of making pizza dough.

Other episodes are more complicated. When the show was investigating mattresses, for instance, Wallner and Matisic had to sleep in a mattress store for a few nights – and they had to wake up in the middle of the night to switch beds so they could compare their reactions to the mattresses.

When it came to sofa beds, the action moved to Matisic’s house. Every two days, movers brought in a new sofa bed; Matisic slept in it one night and Wallner, pajamas and toothbrush in tow, came over and slept in it the next.

Another time, the topic was body washes. “I had broken my foot – “ Wallner begins.

“Conveniently for you,” Matisic puts in.

Wallner grins. “So I couldn’t get it wet.”

“So I had to roll in the mud and then test body washes on different parts of my body. . .”

“While I hosed her down,” Wallner finishes with a laugh.

Running shoes

Don’t buy based on brand, and don’t get caught up in pumps, air, gel, or flashy designs. Buy whatever shoe fits properly and gives you the best support. Shop at the end of the day, when your feet are at their largest.

The most common fallacy that people have about shopping, according to Matisic, is that they think it doesn’t require skill. “To be a smart consumer, you have to prepare, do your research and ask lots of questions.”

And the biggest mistake people make? “Failure to negotiate,” Wallner asserts. “In our culture, we don’t think about asking for a better deal, but elsewhere it’s the way of doing business. In fact, it’s the fun of doing business. Don’t take anything at face value. Ask for more. You’ll usually get it.”

The Shopping Bags also have advice for the shopping-phobic, who are often, though not always, men. “When men are buying something they’re interested in, they’ll go to the trouble of doing research and asking questions,” Matisic says. “But mostly they don’t like shopping and just grab the first thing they see. Women, on the other hand, tend to be browsers. They’re more into the process.”

The solution: use the strengths of both. “We recommend that men and women shop as a team. Have ‘the browser’ go out first, check out the options and narrow the field down to three choices. Then bring in the ‘kill shopper’ to make the final choice.”

As I chat with Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic, I sense that they can scarcely believe their good fortune – that they have made a career out of their passion for journalism, their love of shopping and their desire to perform a public service. “On any given day we could be doing anything, from trying out lipsticks to testing espresso machines to sleeping in tents,” Wallner says with a smile. “We work hard, but we have loads of fun.”

Cellulite creams

They don’t work, so don’t bother! Instead, spend your money on a pair of running shoes and take up exercise rather than looking for a quick fix.

Finally, a personal note. All winter, I had my eye on a pair of beautiful – and very expensive – boots in a downtown Vancouver store. I waited until they went on sale, hoping there would still be a pair in my size, then went in. There was one pair left. They fit. The sale price was affordable, though still high. Remembering The Shopping Bags’ advice, I summoned my courage and, trying to act as though I did this all the time, asked the salesperson if he could do better. After barely a moment’s thought, he offered me a further discount. “Sold!” I said. Thank you, Shopping Bags!

Ellen Schwartz is a Vancouver writer.