As lockdown continues worldwide it is apparent that the economic dominos are in motion. I wake to inboxes filled with updates from all my favourite brands and marketing companies promising strategies for “a safe passage during trying times”.
After scrolling through emails, my discover weekly playlist and sipping on shitty freeze dried coffee (cannot wait for coffee shops to re-open) my mind turns to the concept of luxury and then to fashion.
I cannot be the only one that’s thinking twice about spending money on clothing?
Historically, consumer behaviour has seen shifts during times of hardship with people foregoing luxuries and focusing on core necessities. I guess that explains why some people started panic buying toilet roll. (sort of)
Economists measure this change as price elasticity of demand and without going into too much detail; it is the degree to which the effective desire of something changes as its price changes.
With larger fashion houses traditionally being against discounting
and the current disruption to peoples income, has this indirectly caused a price change and therefore demand?
Although the answer should be yes, I submit that the model is somewhat too linear.
Im not salty (I promise…) but It didn’t seem to stop everyone and their dog trying to get in on the limited Game Royal Jordan release last week. Either clothing/footwear isn’t elastic or you all really loved “The Last Dance”.
The real answer is that elasticity is subjective and has become multi-faceted.
It’s easy to pigeon-hole the “price” element to fiscal factors alone, however I believe it can be applied differently. As evidenced by my Jordan 1 example “Price” can be defined as an opportunity cost, it can be emotive but I’d like to go further and urge you to think about “Price” in terms of cost to the environment and cost to the community.
As we’ve slowed down and had time to reflect please take time to consider the environmental impact of your purchases, the way companies treat their employees (this includes their supply chains), consider independent businesses and support real people doing real things. It’s good to see companies reacting to this outbreak positively so far and hopefully it’ll affect a change for the better.
Let me know in the comments below how you feel about luxury? What factors influence your purchases? Are you likely to buy from large fast fashion houses? Are you likely to buy new or look after what you already own?