Death of consumerism

It is not dead yet but from where i am standing it is looking pretty ill.

This downturn is changing the way people think, and for some time to come. It started off with us subtley changing our purchasing habits; one less coffee from Starbucks (or decent coffee shop), no evening paper at the station, having a simpler meal in the evening. It was all very illicit.

Only a year ago we were saying we needed whatever and putting it on the credit card. Now look at us. People are proudly saying we can't afford it. No longer do we have to justify going out for a cheap Pizza by saying the kids love it. Or explain away the old car on the drive with '... it is so reliable so i can't bring myself to sell it, anyway i hardly use it'.

Now of course I know I like to be different, and I make no effort to keep up with the Jones's. But it is still a bit of a relief not to contemplate it. So if this recession puts a dent in consumerism and makes us a bit happier about what we have, rather than unhappy about we haven't got then that will be a big positive. I just wish there wasn't the economic misery to accompany it.

I suspect there is going to be one big opportunity for honest, transparent retailers. But in the meantime watch out Aldi, Lidl, money saving sites, voucher codes, camping sites, car auction, Pizza Express (occasionally), H&M, ebay, freecycle ... here we come. And happy to admit it.

I suspect it is going to be called something like 'virtous thrift'.

Actually the Chorizo from Lidl is very good, you should try it.

In dark times

We know there is a recession on, we 'enjoy' access to news channels 24x7 so why do advertisers think they need to prefix their messages with a reminder of the state of our economy.

"In tough times ..."

Do they think consumers have temporarily forgotten about the recession (yes we are in one) or are they trying to persuade us that we are worth it. Perhaps they are right, there has never been a better time to replace the 32" flat screen TV with the 42" version! Unfortunately it just comes across as jumping on the bandwagon.

Too many organisations don't bother with customer research, probably the first thing to go when budgets are tight. Shame for them really they could have discovered very easily that they are wasting much of their budget.