I'm increasingly convinced that Sam's Club really lays bare the lifestyle status of the middle class.

On weekends, it's basically packed with people. What's in shopping carts isn't necessarily must-have essentials—it's more about buying a sense of certainty: imported steaks, bulk fruits, paper towels, personal care products, snacks, supplements, everything you want to stock up on all at once.

On the surface, it looks like grocery shopping, but in reality, many people are buying efficiency, quality, and the feeling of a dignified lifestyle.

The most typical state of the middle class is exactly this: they say things are too expensive and not cost-effective, but their actions are honest—they still get memberships, wait in line, and push cart after cart out the door. Because what people really care about is no longer just being cheap; it's whether products are reliable, whether the environment is hassle-free, and whether shopping here gives them peace of mind.

So when I look at Sam's Club, I've never seen it as just a place that sells goods. It's more like a showroom for middle-class living, where everyone wants to prove that their life is getting by, their consumption is still sustainable, and their quality of life is decent.

Sam's Club never just sells merchandise—it sells an illusion of a life that's not quite so desperate.