News Messenger
  • News
    • Local
    • Sports
    • School
    • State News
    • National News
  • Obituaries
  • Opinions
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
    • Southern Baptist
  • Legals
  • eEdition
  • Classifieds
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Login
Subscribe For $2.50/Month
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Local
    • Sports
    • School
    • State News
    • National News
  • Obituaries
  • Opinions
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
    • Southern Baptist
  • Legals
  • eEdition
  • Classifieds
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
News Messenger
No Result
View All Result
  • National News
  • VA State News
  • WV State News
  • Contact Us
  • Submit Content
  • Subscribe
Home Local Stories

Product shortages pit consumers against each other, according to Virginia Tech expert

November 30, 2021
in Local Stories
20
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Photo credit
Gustavo Fring for Pexels
“Merely being reminded of product scarcity or being told that they must do their holiday shopping early due to supply chain related shortages makes consumers more likely to act in their own selfish interests,” according to Virginia Tech marketing professor and consumer behavior expert Shilpa Madan.

Electronics, furniture, appliances, turkeys, pies, Christmas trees, even champagne for New Year’s Eve. It’s all backordered and held up in the supply chain, or so we hear.

“Resource scarcity of any kind, including the products that consumers may want to buy, is shown to foster a ‘competitive mindset’ – prompting them to keep their own interests front and center,” says VT marketing professor Shilpa Madan.

“Simply put, research shows that such scarce deals can even result in consumer aggression,” Madan says. “This is because deals that limit product quantities inherently pit consumers against each other and lead them to see others as competitive threats blocking their access to coveted goods.”

Madan offers advice to those trying not to panic-shop:

  1. If these scarce products are meant to be gifts, the age-old wisdom of ordering gifts early still applies. If you cannot find your first choice, look for substitutes. Most consumer goods are made by multiple companies, and sites like Etsy and eBay can prove valuable in finding substitutes.
  2. Another idea to avoid supply chain constraints is to buy domestically made, local products. US-based supply chains are running better than global ones, and hence, local products could be more readily available than foreign-made ones.
  3. If you are absolutely unable to get your hand on a coveted item, give the recipient a gift card for that company or retailer. They might have to wait a bit longer for that cherished item, but it’s better than something they do not want or like. And anyway, research shows that half the fun is in anticipation.
  4. Companies worldwide are working at various steps in the supply chain to resolve the backlogs and constraints, so it is unlikely that staple goods will be in short supply for long.

.

 

 

 

Previous Post

Virginia Tech researcher tackles restoring the Florida Everglades

Next Post

RUC biomedical science students, faculty and staff participate in wastewater epidemiology study

Next Post
RUC biomedical science students, faculty and staff participate in wastewater epidemiology study

RUC biomedical science students, faculty and staff participate in wastewater epidemiology study

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join Our Newsletter

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Local
    • Sports
    • School
    • State News
    • National News
  • Obituaries
  • Opinions
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
    • Southern Baptist
  • Legals
  • eEdition
  • Classifieds
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Login

© 2020 Mountain Media, LLC.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Forgot your password?

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive mail with link to set new password.

Back to login