Consumers say they’ll continue to be frugal even when the economy recovers according to a recent study. Consumers are now more price-conscious and their consumption tends to be driven by needs, rather than wants.
Buying on sale is becoming “cool” as the recession has changed the way in which people perceive money.
Although uncertainties resulting from the economic downturn force people to consume less of many products, current quantitative reduction in consumption does not necessarily warrant the optimistic assumption that when global economy eventually pulls itself together, consumers will return to their previous spending and purchasing patterns.
As per an Columbus Dispatch article, an overwhelming majority of American consumers assert that their lifestyles will be affected over the next five years by the economic downturn.
It remains to be seen whether today’s economic crisis will result in qualitative long-lasting changes in American and European consumers’ behavior, similar to that which happened in Japan after the Asian 1990s crisis. It is possible that hardships might inspire people to reflect on whether they were happy, deliberate consumers in the past or were simply seduced on it.
To better understand the relevance of the post-crisis consumer behavior in Japan to today’s dynamics takes an anthropological investigation. In the meantime, we continue to speculate. PEZ
Read also: From buy, buy to bye-bye [Economist.com]
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