Buzzword: Buyers' strike

What it means. A “buyers’ strike” refers to the refusal by large numbers of consumers to make purchases, typically because of high prices.

Commenting in 1923 about a famous buyers’ strike that followed World War I, B.C. Forbes, founder of the business magazine Forbes, wrote that, “the ‘buyers’ strike’ was not declared merely because the people objected to high prices. The ‘strike’ developed because a very, very large number of families didn’t have enough money to pay the prices asked.”

Why the buzz? Rarely heard in the U.S. for decades, the term has recently been dusted off and used to characterize Americans’ reluctance to buy stocks, homes, and consumer goods during this period of economic uncertainty. Today’s supposed “buyers’ strike” lacks the easy explanation of high prices. So if the term sticks, it may be due for a re-definition, linking it not to high prices but to high anxiety. —Greg Daugherty

Comments

[Moi]

High prices aren't the only problem.

How about a strike against things made in China costing $5 and up? If the merchants wouldn't buy Chinese merchandise, maybe someone here would make it. I was at Mount Vernon this week, and found some beautiful ornaments - ALL made in China. At Mount Vernon... George would turn over in his grave.

[Steve Cook]

How about a buyer's strike against clothing retailers that use the "ink exploding" antitheft devices. If these devices were just employed to deter theft, there wouldn't be a problem, but they are frequently left still attached to clothes after they are purchased. On dozens of blogs and consumer sites, more people than I could count have written in asking how they can remove these devices or where they can go to get these removed. These are paying customers with receipts, but they are expected to suffer the significant inconvenience and humiliation of the return trip to customer service to have the situation resolved. This is the norm; it is the exceedingly low bar set by retail industry for it's customers. A research paper I found online said that people that have endured this experience tend to quietly cease to do business with these retailers and shop somewhere else. In this severe recession, quite a few of these retailers will disappear before they figure out that they need to change this practice. Maybe a buyer's strike would send the message in a way that would be more difficult to ignore, before it is too late for their survival. We consumers appreciate the need for security and antitheft; we pay the cost of shoplifting as well as the retailers' antitheft investments in the price of their products. It is reasonable that they develop and invest in new antitheft processes that do not create so much collateral damage among consumers.