Tag Archives: Consumer Behavior

Some positive news on the environmental front…

I hope this becomes long term behavior and we move away from being such a disposable society…

Of course, in a Consumer driven economy, this is a mixed blessing to the economy…

Throw away the cellphone after two years? Not so fast. Ditch the flat-panel TV for an even thinner model? Maybe next year. Replace the blouse with the hole? Darn it!

Walt Truelson of Portland, Ore., has stopped replacing his car as frequently as he used to and has switched to paying for cellphone minutes as he uses them, rather than subscribing to a monthly plan.

Consumer spending has picked up, but for some Americans the recession has left something behind: a greater interest in making stuff last.

For a number of products — cars, phones, computers, even shampoo and toothpaste — the data shows a slowing of product life cycles and consumption. In many cases the difference is mere months, but economists and consumers say the approach just may outlast a full recovery and the return of easy credit, because of the strong impression the downturn made on consumers.

It is hardly the stuff of generations past, those stung by the Great Depression, who held onto antediluvian dishware and stored canned goods until rust formed on the lids. But for the moment, many citizens of a throwaway society are making fewer visits to the trash and recycling bins.

via Use It Up, Wear It Out – Consumers Hold On to Stuff Longer – NYTimes.com.