What Happens in the Shop of a Telecom Operator?

This article examines the issue of consumers’ choices and assessments of goods in the shops of a telecom operator. Based on an ethnographic study in several such shops, the authors identify two of the most typical mediations of these distribution spaces (commercial writings and sales assistance) and define the nature of their participation in the dynamics of the localization and “revealing” of goods. They show that the assessment of a complex offer, both in the shop and throughout the consumption process, is the outcome of a progressive stabilization of all its attributes which together relate to an economic good that can be adopted by a consumer.