📘 Part 3: Consumer behaviour

This episode's vocabulary

• A common denominator (noun) - something that is the same for all the members of a group and might bring them together.
• To compromise (verb) - to accept that you will reduce your demands or change your opinion in order to reach an agreement with someone.
• Buck (noun) - a dollar.
• To wind up (phrasal verb) - to find yourself in an unexpected and usually unpleasant situation, especially as a result of what you do.
• To part (verb) - to separate or cause something or someone to separate.
• Repeat customer (noun) - someone who buys again from a company that they have used before.
• To display (verb) - to arrange something or a collection of things so that it can be seen by the public.
• Endorphin (noun) - a chemical naturally, released in the brain to reduce pain, that in large amounts can make you feel relaxed or full of energy.
• To rule something or someone out (phrasal verb) - to decide or say officially that something is impossible or will not happen, or that something or someone is not suitable.
• Appetite (noun) - the feeling of wanting or needing something.

Questions and Answers

M: Are money issues the only reason that people like to buy cheap things?

R: I mean, that's the common denominator, I suppose. I can't see any other reason why they might want to. Unless they could prove the cheaper product was in some way the same or better than something more expensive.

M: Is there any possible negative side or danger linked to always putting low prices first and not considering other things like quality or ethical aspects?

R: In terms of safety? Absolutely. If you compromise how safe a product is just to make a quick buck, not only could you wind up parting your potential repeat customers, but also end up with a massive lawsuit on your hands. I think that happened to a lot of companies who put lead in their products, actually.

M: And do you think that cheap products are usually of lower quality than more expensive products?

R: Well, I mean, logically, yes, because if you spend less on them, then the price should be lower.

M: And the quality is lower?

R: Yes, because you've spent less on the material. I mean, this is, this is the market logic. Whether that's actually true or not, it seems unlikely, but the opposite might be true. I don't know.

M: In what ways do people mostly learn about discounts, sales or bargains?

R: Probably from the signage around the place with the sale on. Unless it's an online store, then the information could be displayed throughout the process of shopping on the website.

M: Could the chase for low prices become an obsession or addiction for some people?

R: I'm not sure about that, to be honest. Most things people are addicted to require some sort of consumption to trigger a release of endorphins and just buying things for the lowest price is unlikely to be enough for that to happen. It's like really abstract. Still, you see all kinds of extreme behaviour these days, so I wouldn't rule it out entirely.

M: And what about the future? Do you think that people will buy more cheap things?

R: I mean, if there are more people and the population is increasing, then yes, in absolute terms, there will be more people with individual appetites. So yes, people will be buying more cheap things. But of course, if there are fewer people in the future, then people will buy fewer cheap things because there's less of a need.

M: Hey! Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

Discussion

M: So dear listener, we buy cheap products, goods or things. You can say items if you want. Some people have money issues. So they don't have enough money.

R: Oh, is that what we meant? I just thought we were speaking in general about things connected to money.

M: And you said that that's the common... You didn't say the reason, but you said something strange.

R: Denominator. It's the thing that's the same.

M: So a denominator is something from mathematics.

R: It's an expression. Yes. It comes from mathematics. But the common denominator is the thing that issues or items have in common as well.

M: Yeah, dear listener, so common denominator, mathematics. Ooh, and also something that is the same for all the members of a group that might bring them together. So for example, the common denominator was that we all worked for the same company. Hey! This was the common denominator. Wow. Interesting. Here, you can say that's the common denominator. Because usually, people buy cheap things because they don't have enough money. That's the common denominator. Then the question is a bit long and also strange. So here we are asked about possible dangers. So negative sides, drawbacks, when people put low prices first. So I don't care about anything else, only a low price matters. Okay? So I need cheap things, so this is the number one criterion. Okay? And I don't think about quality, about other things, durability over product. And, Rory, here, like ethical aspects? What could be ethical aspects when we talk about buying cheap products?

R: I think safety is the only thing that's like the ethical part. I can't think of anything else, really. It could be the safety of your customers or the safety of the people who work for you. But in general, if we're talking about ethics, then we're compromising the safety of something or somebody.

M: So kind of like a company makes a product which is unsafe but it's cheap and sells it. And then people, I don't know, damage themselves with this product. It explodes. And also workers who create such products, are in danger. So ethical aspects, about safety, about how the product was made, in what conditions. And here, we talk about customers, people who buy such products, and also people who create such products. Workers, okay? And often, companies make a quick buck. A buck is kind of like $1. So make a quick buck, make money, make money quickly.

R: Yes.

M: And when they want to make a quick buck, they could wind up hurting potential customers.

R: So the end result could be...

M: Negative. Yeah. So they could end up doing something or wind up hurting potential customers, like future customers. And also they could end up with a massive lawsuit on their hands. So if they do something illegal or unsafe, if the product is faulty with defects, and then people get hurt, there will be a massive lawsuit, so lots of customers could file a formal complaint and go to court. So unethical companies could end up with a massive lawsuit on their hands. And then Rory gives an example. An example is lead. So this kind of metal is called lead. And some people...

R: Where are you going with this? Some people what?

M: No, it's like, what does it mean? Like, how to understand this?

R: Oh, if you put lead in products, they could get lead poisoning. So regardless of who you are, if you are exposed to lead, you will give yourself brain damage or other organ damage. It's really bad for you.

M: So is it some kind of mineral?

R: Yes. It's a metal. I cannot describe it any more than that. All I know is, if you are exposed to it, then it can damage your organs if you have too much of it around you. Indeed, some people think it caused the fall of the Roman Empire because people were drinking out of cups made of lead. But that's just a theory.

M: Oh... Really? Oh, wow. Interesting.

R: I mean, there are other opinions. Some people think the Roman Empire was destroyed by barbarians, which is a theory I subscribe to.

M: So lead, dear listener. Lead, is a substance, a chemical element that is very heavy, soft, dark, grey and poisonous. Okay? It's a poisonous metal. And it's usually used in pipes for protection and against radiation, like lead pipes against radiation. So really like heavy stuff. And perhaps, some companies, to save money, can put this metal in their products. Maybe. We don't know.

R: They used to. I don't think they do it now. I mean, if they did, it's extremely dangerous, and they could be sued for that.

M: Ah, they used to. Oh... We talk about discounts, sales and bargains. Okay? So buying things cheaply or buying cheap products. How do people learn about them? They are signed up to certain what?

R: Well, you could sign up for marketing, but signage is what you refer to when we talk about the signs distributed around a place that inform people about things. So usually the store has a sale on, and there will be signs up saying 50% off, buy one, get one free. Other things.

M: The information could be displayed on the website. So the information is displayed, is shown to people on the website. Also, people have subscriptions, so they receive newsletters from their favourite shops. And also, we have a Black Friday around the world. So Black Friday, then New Year sales. I don't know, summer sales, winter sales, everyday sales. Some people chase for low prices. And if we chase, this means that they are on the lookout. Okay? They search for low prices. They are looking for low prices everywhere, and for some people, it could become an obsession. So they could get obsessed with low prices, low prices. So kind of like they search for low prices everywhere nonstop, every day. So they could get addicted to shopping, and especially to shopping at low prices, for example. But Rory here thinks it's all nonsense. So most people are addicted to other things, not shopping, not low prices.

R: Yeah. I don't think, I think they could be addicted to the experience of shopping, maybe. But shopping for low prices specifically is, like, really, really abstract. I don't think that's how the mechanisms for addiction work. I'm not a psychology expert, but I'm pretty sure that that wouldn't do anything for most people. There might be some really sensitive people who are like, woohooh, I'll get a thrill out of this. But I think in most cases, the mechanism for addiction is much simpler. Otherwise, it wouldn't exist.

M: Yeah, dear listener. So you can feel free to disagree. You can say that the experience of getting something at a low price does release lots of endorphins. So happy hormones into our bodies and like, people could get addicted, but usually people are addicted to shopping in general. Yeah? Shopaholics. Are you a shopaholic, dear listener? Do you enjoy low prices? I think, like, everybody enjoys, like, bargains and sales. Like, who doesn't, you know?

R: Well, people who don't worry about money, they probably don't care.

M: They have like so much money. They have money to burn. Yeah. Have you ever met a person who goes like, no, no, no, I don't want this discount? Remove the discount. I'm gonna pay the full price. Come on.

R: Well, they might not care. If you're a millionaire and you need to... You've got a choice between paying $20 of something and 10, is it gonna make a difference to you?

M: I think, especially millionaires, they do care about like, they do bargain, and they do care about like discounts. That's why they're millionaires because they are... They take care of their money.

R: Maria standing up for all the millionaires who listen to our podcast.

M: Yes, millionaires, if you know, if you want to chip in, if you know to invest, okay, just like, let us know. All right? So we'll think something up, okay?

R: We'd be, we'd be very happy to hear from you if you're out there.

M: Yeah, like donations, we accept donations. Right. On such a lovely note, thank you very much for listening and we'll get back to you in our next super episode. Okay? Bye!

R: Bye!

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