Consumers Can Beat the Recession

Recession it is. It was told in the media, all the data show it. We believe the gods of information. Now we have to act as we were in a crisis. Indeed it has already battered some of us. Of course, our choices of what to do are limited. But be honest: how many of us has it really hit hard so far?

Something else has also happened: trust has been lost – the trust in banks and financial services. What some of them did has damaged the image of an entire sector. It causes insecurity about what to do with our money. We can take the money and keep it in an old sock under our matress or hide it in the cow stall like in the good old days.

But don’t we have a choice, as long as we have some money there? Consumers have shown in the past that they do have an impact on the economy. We buy organic, we save energy, we recycle, and so on. All these movements involve consumer power. The media has pushed the benefit of these things, telling us it’s for our own good.

Can’t we make a difference – don’t we know ouselves best, what is good for us? Can’t we turn things around by our decision to buy something now rather than later? Should we act or should we wait and see?

If the international economic climate is bad, most companies are limited with their export opportunities. Strange currency exchange rates come on top of that. So all they hope for – and rightly so – is that the domestic sales might improve and give them some hope for the months to come.

It’s our action they are waiting for. Our purchase decision can help. We don’t have to wait until the media will tell us so. We have a choice. If we buy, and specifically from local and domestic suppliers, we can actually facilitate the companies in our region in their battle to overcome this adverse period in economy. If that succeeds, only future will tell. But we’ll have made a contribution…