Consumers Refuse To Start Buying Things They Don't Need Despite The Improving Economy

[FarCenter]

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumers are sticking to frugal shopping habits developed in the recession even as developed economies show signs of recovery, suggesting some behavior changes could be permanent, industry executives say.

With household budgets under pressure since the financial crisis of 2008, consumers have flocked to discount stores, shifted from branded goods to private-label alternatives and shopped more often at convenience stores or online rather than spending on expensive fuel to drive to out-of-town hypermarkets.

Those trends have benefited discounters like Aldi and Lidl as well as retailers that have the widest own-label ranges and networks of smaller stores, prompting consumer goods firms to retaliate with brand promotions and smaller packaging.

"If you look at data from Millennials, who have really sort of grown up with this, price is more important to them ... than it was to the last generation," Walmart U.S. Chief Executive Bill Simon told the Reuters Global Consumer and Retail Summit, referring to the generation born between 1980 and 2000.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-wins-consumers-spending-2013-9

For the sake of the environment, consumers should not buy things they don't need.

[el_bryanto]

1. Who determines what you need and what you don't need? nt

[Nuclear Unicorn]

2. Because! That's why. n/t

[djean111]

4. I think everyone decides that for themselves, but likely there are detailed data on what is selling

and what is not - and perhaps some items that are not selling well are not considered necessary for day to day survival.
I have been existing on a small amount of money for some years now, and even when I have a bit extra now, I see where my buying habits from my high-earning years were skewed towards stuff I did not really need, and that affects my buying habits.
No more processed foods, for example, no boxes of salty chemical-laden pasta products, stuff like that. Now my first thought is can I live without it - bearing in mind I still have pretty much everything i have ever bought (except food, of course) and am no longer beguiled by newer and shinier.

[el_bryanto]

6. I like going to the movies. Is that an unnecessary expenses? nt

[djean111]

8. I used to go to the movies all the time.

Took my grandson. And bought new releases of movies the week they were released.
Then when I lost my job (it went overseas) I started taking him to the $5 Saturday morning shows. Which actually worked out better because he had pretty marvelous ADHD. And stopped buying movies.

Then I couldn't really afford the movies and/or the gas to get there. So we rented movies or watched them on TV. Then instead of renting I got netflix. Then I stopped getting the physical DVDs and went with what was available online. A LOT of movies are available online!

Even with a little money to spare, I would not consider buying a new release DVD now - if I want it badly, I can get it on ebay a lot cheaper after a while. And going to the movies is no longer a casual thing at all. Happens rarely. But my life is just as rewarding without spending money on going to the movies.
As I said, everyone decides for themselves. No right or wrong. But in my case, I won't start going to the movies again if I have more money, that's all. It is not a judgement, it is a choice.
Maybe people are not buying as many giant propane barbecue grills, or stuff like that. I would like to see what is considered "not necessary", myself!

[FarCenter]

13. It is somewhat subjective, but almost everything on The Shopping Channel is stuff you don't need.

[Whisp]

3. Here's a good read on that subject: Your Lifestyle Has Already been Designed

This is only one small example of something that has been going on for a very long time. Big companies didn’t make their millions by earnestly promoting the virtues of their products, they made it by creating a culture of hundreds of millions of people that buy way more than they need and try to chase away dissatisfaction with money.

We buy stuff to cheer ourselves up, to keep up with the Joneses, to fulfill our childhood vision of what our adulthood would be like, to broadcast our status to the world, and for a lot of other psychological reasons that have very little to do with how useful the product really is. How much stuff is in your basement or garage that you haven’t used in the past year?
---
As technologies and methods advanced, workers in all industries became able to produce much more value in a shorter amount of time. You’d think this would lead to shorter workdays.

But the 8-hour workday is too profitable for big business, not because of the amount of work people get done in eight hours (the average office worker gets less than three hours of actual work done in 8 hours) but because it makes for such a purchase-happy public. Keeping free time scarce means people pay a lot more for convenience, gratification, and any other relief they can buy. It keeps them watching television, and its commercials. It keeps them unambitious outside of work.

We’ve been led into a culture that has been engineered to leave us tired, hungry for indulgence, willing to pay a lot for convenience and entertainment, and most importantly, vaguely dissatisfied with our lives so that we continue wanting things we don’t have. We buy so much because it always seems like something is still missing.

http://www.raptitude.com/2010/07/your-lifestyle-has-already-been-designed/

[liberal_at_heart]

5. what recovery? The recovery for the 1%? There is no recovery for those with low wages.

[earthside]

9. The 'recovery' is an illusion.

New jobs are by and far low-paying with few or no benefits.

Working and middle class folks with jobs still haven't seen adequate cost-of-living raises.

Health care cost are still going up.

Fees for government services, including public schools, continue to increase.

If you think there isn't inflation in the price of food, then you are really out to lunch.

The price of a gallon of gasoline -- we refuse to accept and deal with Peak Oil.

The great hope of a generation of professional Millennials pulling us out of the recession has been killed by burdensome student loan debt that leaves them with little discretionary spending power.

Speaking of which, college tuition keeps going up way out of proportion to just about everything except maybe health insurance.

There really isn't a recovery ... and that explains why 'consumers refuse to start buying things they don't need ...'

[leftstreet]

7. "It became quite fashionable to be penny pinching..."

"...but that kind of thing isn't sustainable. After a while it becomes a grind to shop around for the cheapest product," she said.

Fashionable? Fashionable?!

I can't believe the disconnect in these stupid business articles

Sure! It's not because there are no jobs, wages have been stagnant for decades, prices are climbing, people are struggling with housing costs and can't afford to get their cars or teeth fixed. No! They just pinch their pennies and look for bargains to make a trendy statement!

[Downwinder]

10. If you go out today and buy the same set of tires you bought

three years ago, they will cost you 21% more.

[liberal_at_heart]

15. You are right about that. We just bought tires and they were over $100 more than the last time we

bought tires.

[djean111]

11. "fashionable" ? Good grief!!!!!!!

And what happened in my case is that once I found cheaper substitutes, I did not see the need to go back to spending more of my money on the more expensive stuff. Common sense. Not a grind, not fucking fashionable.

[cbdo2007]

12. Good. This is one of the only ways to truly get "ahead".

My wife buys a ton of completely useless, trendy stuff yet when we need to cut back she's really good about giving that stuff a break for awhile to take care of our priorities, and it's really opened our eyes in our lifestyle to what people do and don't "need" and how much money people spend on ridiculous stuff.

[Lochloosa]

14. The Headline should read: "Consumers refuse to run up massive debt to buy stuff"

[mockmonkey]

16. I only buy food made in China

It's cheaper and I can die sooner!

[Scurrilous]

17. Well, that's good news.