Rikh's Blog

An article by CNNMoney on the 7th of October 2011 struck a chord in me. The article seeks to inform that it is predicted that the more affluent segment of the population in the USA, would spend less during the coming holiday season. The article cites reasons such as changing mindsets to signify the changing consumer consumption patterns in society.

Personally, I think the holiday season promotes consumerism and excessive buying. With the annual gifting of presents, malls are usually packed with shoppers vying for good deals amidst fancy Christmas decor and display. The article tells us that the wealthy Americans did not have a decrease in wealth but rather a change in attitudes after the recession. The recession had made them realize that buying more is not necessarily the answer. However does this change in consumer spending habits exist in the less wealthy segments of society and also people in developing countries like China where the rise in nouveau riche has led to an increase in consumption. In my opinion, this would not hold true for the wealthy in developing countries and Asia where consumerism is seen as ‘popular’ and many people in developing countries have just been recently exposed to a wide variety of products and goods than they have ever before. It would take a massive change in culture of consumption in Asia before they would consider cutting back on spending during the holiday season. As for the less wealthy proportions of society in developed nations such as the USA, a decrease in spending during the holiday season would be expected as they were heavily affected by the economic downturn i.e. unemployment, sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Source: (http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/07/pf/holiday_gifts/index.htm?iid=HP_River)