Getting Back to Basics

When the economy is expanding, people have more discretionary income to spend, with two results: 1. They become accustomed to having items that were once considered luxuries, and those items slowly become necessities. 2. Product lines become more diversified, with pricier and more exotic choices being offered.

The diversification and expansion of product lines is both a response to and a cause of consumers’ desire for variety. But it also supports consumption as a social game, which makes me wonder why the once-popular term “conspicuous consumption” hasn’t been revived. The purchase (and display) of expensive items has always been one of the perks of wealth; now it’s accessible to anyone with the price of a chocolate bar or a fancy brand of tea or coffee.

The interesting question is: what will happen to people’s psyches and to the market as tightening budgets translate to tightening wallets? When you realize that the daily latte from Starbucks is costing you close to $100.00 a month, the decision to cut back and the pain of withdrawal can have both psychological and social effects. Walking into the office with a thermos of coffee brewed at home, rather than a tall cup of almond-mocha-licorice-mint latte from Starbucks can be either a statement of independence from gustatory fashion or a shamefull confession of financial difficulties.

The amount of shelf space devoted to unusual and expensive teas and coffees, and the aisles of organic foods, complete with a dozen varieties of tofu, will undoubtedly start shrinking. Purveyors of one-of-a-kind non-essentials will have to scramble to cope with a changing marketplace. And the very rich, whose difficulties consist of having to cut back on the size of their next boat purchase, will have the social prestige of mindless spending all to themselves again.

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