Repairmen will benefit. So will tailors. So will show cobblers.
Last year when my ipod broke I just donated it to Goodwill and immediately bought a new one. Now maybe I would try to repair it.
And my guess is that there are a lot fewer repairpeople than there used to be … So I bet their fees will go up. They will have more business and their effective hourly wage will also increase … So they will be raking in the dough compared to their take-home pay in 2007. in fact, if your high school kid is looking for job security, you might want to tell her/him to skip social studies and concentrate on shop.
Interesting observations, Auren….If the past is prologue, there may also be an increase in do-it-yourself auto repairs and service; friends giving friends haircuts (and needing the proper scissors); home appliance repair,etc. One big change is that with the internet people can locate repair manuals and parts themselves, not necessarily looking for increasingly hard-to-find dedicated repair shops….. Will it also result in changes in food preparation and sales in restaurants, e.g. smaller servings, lower prices–or are their fixed costs so high that they’re unable to adjust their value proposition….
The business that will benefit from this economy is the ones that don’t let go of their employees but hire new ones in restructuring their base.
Bartering is popular but, remember the first instinct you had was “just go buy another one” Repairing will fade when manufacture give warranties that benefit the consumer i.e. repair with us you get 100 free hours etc.
Right now, marketing is extremely hot in both nonprofit and for profit sectors and I personally have seen it.
Job Coaches may gain popularity but I don’t know if I would pay $300-500 for someone to essentially babysit me.
In four restaurants and three wine bars I have witnessed a Rebirth of Slow Food movement and the Raw food idea..if simply because of the prices i.e. $5 small plates versus $15 family style plate.
lastly, I suspect Auren you are on the cusp of the newest technology and totally can not wait to see what you do…even if you find a way to make the middle seat on airplanes more profitable 🙂
Marketing is always big. But instead of paying a Mktg manager to have them turn around and pay an outside firm to do their job, the Mgr either has to actually do something OR they are canned and all the functionality is given to the outside firm.
And I hope that in the name of lower prices we increase the healthiness (is that a word) of our consumption and decrease the volume. The US, the industry, our economy and the environment would all benefit.
But you know that we will just fire people and slightly lower prices while feeding the sheeple at the trough.