It is no secret for anybody on planet earth that the majority of countries had strict lockdowns in 2020. This obviously resulted in limited workforce at factories, plants, etc. Thousands and thousands lost their jobs and people are still unemployed. Taking this into consideration, should we expect price increase due to pandemic?
In Recent decades humankind has been living with the philosophy of consumerism. Existing economic model of wealth growth, prosperity and our welfare was a result of consumerism.
But to consume something, somebody should produce it. But to produce something you should use planet resources. This results in global warming and planet devastation. Also to produce something you need a workforce. Starting December 2019 the majority of the workforce is isolated, or limited at work. This causes supply shortages on various levels – cars, electronics, steel, food & beverages, etc..
New Normal
Nevertheless companies will still have to keep income stable. However the only possible outcome from this situation will be to lower production levels, improve quality and raise profit margins. If they were producing 100 items for $10, in new reality they would produce 50 items for a 10th times higher price.
What will we get as customers? For sure better quality which is good. However our appetites and possibilities of money spending will be much less. We would became more conservative, more consciously decide if we need the next unnecessary cup, or plate at home for $50, or we’d better use the existing old ones and spend available funds on something more meaningful – even food.
It looks like a futuristic nightmare, but remember all sci-fi movies which were so fascinating on TV. Ultra simple interior designs, everything was robotized and automated, however people were wearing high quality stylish uniforms. No extra, clutter items at home. Just as simple as possible. If you review latest interior design trends and celebrities homes, this also resembles futuristic simplistic design.
What should be our lesson at this stage? Don’t throw away existing well preserved items. Maybe you won’t be able to purchase new ones soon, as everything will become more expensive. Keep your existing staff which looks even unfashionable at this stage. We’ll face prices increasing by 40%-50% for all items very soon.
Conclusion
We have heard so many times about the promotion of conscious consumerism. We are mentally almost ready to accept it. But we are all humans, it’s hard to limit your greed when you see so many colorful items around. So the only way to minimize all this junk, is to limit production numbers. But we don’t want to pay an extra amount for the same staff. Therefore we will have to get better, much better items that will serve not only for 1 season but for years and decades. All this stuff has to be much better quality. We are entering an era of conscious production. The era when we appreciate substantial items, things, feelings. Era, when quality over quantity matters.
Have you already noticed prices increase, shortage of supply chains around? What do you think should we expect price increase due to pandemic? Share your thoughts with us in comments below.
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