The Economist: Welcome to the Age of 'Reclusive Consumers'
胡胡胡美丽_ss
发表于 2023-10-26 14:12:05
271
0
0
Source: Global Times
The Economist, October 22, article, original title: Welcome to the era of "reclusive consumers". In some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic is just a small episode. After the lifting of the lockdown, at least one change is ongoing: the consumption habits of wealthy countries have clearly and possibly permanently changed - welcome to the era of the recluse.
Before the COVID-19 epidemic, the share of consumer spending for services rose steadily. As society becomes wealthier, people's demand for luxury experiences, healthcare, and financial planning becomes stronger. But in 2020, due to the lockdown, hotel accommodation and hairdressing service expenses collapsed. People spend more time at home, with a surge in demand for related products, competing to purchase computer equipment and fitness bicycles.
Three years later, the share of expenditure on services remains lower than before the pandemic. Consumers in the rich world are spending about $600 billion less on services than expected in 2019. Especially, people's interest in leisure activities outside has decreased, including hotels and entertainment services. The saved money is used to purchase goods, from durable consumer goods such as chairs and refrigerators to clothing, food, and alcohol.
In some countries, the habit of seclusion is not deeply ingrained. For example, in New Zealand and South Korea, service expenditures are in line with pre pandemic trends. However, in many places, seclusion continues to be prevalent. In the Czech Republic, the share of the service industry in the national economy was about 3 percentage points lower than before the pandemic due to the heavy impact of the COVID-19 epidemic. The United States is also similar. Many Japanese restaurants have even reduced their bookings by 50%.
At first glance, these data do not match the facts. Isn't it more difficult than ever to book a good restaurant? Isn't the hotel filled with travelers, causing prices to skyrocket? However, the real reason for congestion is not excessive demand, but limited supply.
Nowadays, fewer people are willing to work in the hotel industry - in the United States, the total employment in this industry is lower than at the end of 2019. The devastation of the pandemic means that many hotels and restaurants that were supposed to open in 2020 and 2021 have never opened. The number of hotels in the UK is currently around 10000, which has not increased since 2019.
Why does reclusive behavior persist? The first possible reason is that some people are still afraid of infection, whether it is COVID-19 or other viruses. In affluent places, people are abandoning crowded public transportation and choosing their own private vehicles. In the UK, the use of public transportation has greatly decreased. People also seem to be less enthusiastic about intimate contact services. In the United States, hair and personal care expenses were 20% lower than before the pandemic, while cosmetics, perfume and nail care expenses increased by a quarter.
The second reason is related to changes in working modes. According to Akzoe and colleagues working at King's College London, in many affluent parts of the world, people now work from home about one day a week. This reduces the service demand for purchasing behavior in the office, including lunch, while increasing the demand for DIY products. Last year, Italians' expenditure on glassware, cutlery, and household utensils increased by 34% compared to 2019.
The third reason is related to values, and a pandemic may make people more like hermits. According to official data from the United States, last year people slept about 11 minutes more than in 2019. They have also reduced spending on club entertainment and other social activities that require membership, and increased spending on solo activities such as gardening, reading magazines, and walking pets. It seems that the biggest legacy of the COVID-19 epidemic seems to be that it has pulled people further. (Translated by Shu Fan)
CandyLake.com 系信息发布平台,仅提供信息存储空间服务。
声明:该文观点仅代表作者本人,本文不代表CandyLake.com立场,且不构成建议,请谨慎对待。
声明:该文观点仅代表作者本人,本文不代表CandyLake.com立场,且不构成建议,请谨慎对待。
猜你喜欢
- UK regulatory authorities begin investigating Qualcomm's acquisition of Autotalks
- UK regulatory authorities begin investigating Qualcomm's acquisition of Autotalks
- Vodafone's merger with Changhe into a British telecommunications subsidiary may face further investigation by UK regulatory authorities
- Technology Apple failed to dismiss a lawsuit in the UK regarding app store fees; Samsung Electronics announces $44 billion US chip investment plan as early as next week
- UK regulatory agency: Google's advertising privacy reform efforts are insufficient
- The UK is the first to release AI model security detection tools to identify and evaluate related risks
- JPMorgan Chase: BHP Billiton needs to invest $50 billion to successfully acquire Anglo American resources
- Blackstone Group claims to have agreed to acquire UK hotel operator Village Hotels
- Blackstone completes acquisition of UK hotel operator Village Hotels
- He Xiaopeng: In the second half of this year, Xiaopeng will enter more right-hand drive markets including the UK
-
2024年11月7日,由新华社新闻信息中心、新华社上海分社、新华社品牌工作办公室主办的“品牌·让世界更美好”中外品牌论坛在上海举办。此次论坛,理想汽车荣获“通用ESG企业评价规范”年度最佳品牌奖。理想汽车将 ...
- cool88817
- 4 小时前
- 支持
- 反对
- 回复
- 收藏
-
【别跟我提特朗普!鲍威尔发布会:无需过度解读措辞改变 民众“不觉得经济好”没错】北京时间周五凌晨3点30分,美联储主席鲍威尔举行新闻发布会,就继续降息25个基点的决定和市场热点话题回答全球媒体提问。鲍威尔在 ...
- anhao007
- 半小时前
- 支持
- 反对
- 回复
- 收藏
-
何思文表示,“在进博会这个平台上,我们开启的是倾听模式,通过进博会展出各类产品,收集消费者的需求和反馈,进而帮助决定未来进口到中国的产品。过去,汽车行业的许多创新源于美国加州或欧洲。我相信,中国正 ...
- MaxLucky
- 10 小时前
- 支持
- 反对
- 回复
- 收藏
-
11月5日至10日,第七届中国国际进口博览会(下称“进博会”)在国家会展中心(上海)举办。在进博会期间,平安健康医疗科技有限公司(下称“平安健康”)与美敦力(上海)管理有限公司(下称“美敦力”)达成战 ...
- Hidden2
- 前天 17:06
- 支持
- 反对
- 回复
- 收藏