POPAI briefing pointed to a Wall Street Journal article about how Wallmart and other major US retailers are reducing the number of lines on offer by up to 15%. The number of grocery lines in the US got to 48,000 in 2008 which is ludicrous. The reason for the proliferation of so-called choice was that it gave the retailers bargaining power to drive their supplier costs down it wasn't for the customers' benefit. But the result of having to much to choose from is the need for more education more signage - and it makes purchasing more complicated and eventually slower. Customers make mistakes and don't necessarily clutter up customer service by demanding refunds. All that has come from the economy of more than enough. Now we have entered the economy of making do. And retailers will be slashing their inventory because it increases the risk of writedowns, outofstocks and clutter which they can't pass back to suppliers.
So here's the top tip as we enter the second half of 2009 when media companies are running out of scares to hit us with to try to boost circulations, and politicians are spending less time making reassuring noises because they're rumbled and they haven't got any more idea than we do about how the next 2 years is going to play out (except that it still looks rather like the Great Depression - all over again).
MAKE DO. Simplify. Buy things you believe will continue to be available whose quality you trust- because you already made the investment in checking. Don't waste time looking for bargains because no one has been manufacturing surpluses, the stockrooms are being run down so there really aren't a lot of bargains out there - just products which you are welcome to haggle over if you think you can put pressure on retailers/manufacturers' fears about cashflow. But whatever else you do start adjusting to a way of life that doesn't involve proliferation and may not do so for many years.
