Before the beginning of the economic class, I had a shared understanding of taste. I perceived taste as the combination of habits that the individual has, which determines the choice of products. For instance, buying a particular apparel brand for many years is an example of consumer habit and taste. The course helped me develop a more specific and economic perception of this notion. The discussion allowed me to look at the concept of taste as an example of consumer inertia and the basis of creating demand. Consumer inertia does not have negative connotations in the economy, which helped me transform my opinion about consumer habits and taste in particular. Thereby, the taste has a direct connection with consumers.
It is possible to define taste like the high level of persistence in consumption choices the person makes. Consumer inertia has a similar definition, allowing economists to draw parallels between these concepts. According to the investigation, tastes become more stable with time, and young people are less likely to have rigid preferences or consumer inertia because their habits are still forming. From an economic point of view, taste is the aging-induced category, which allows economists to predict consumer behavior (Bornstein, 2018). It shows that taste is the comparatively stable category that determines demand and will enable businesses to supply the required products.
Consumer satisfaction is the ultimate goal in predicting clients’ demands based on their tastes. Brands do not produce goods that do not correspond to consumers’ preferences to satisfy the request (Bornstein, 2018). For example, no one launches a series of extra small mobile phones if the estimates show minimal demand for them. Tastes of consumers are critical in the market economy because they determine the potential popularity of the brand or product.
The utility of the particular product usually determines tastes in the economy. Before beginning the course, I thought that preferences are influenced by personal motives more than rational conclusions. After analyzing the topic, I understood that utility is an important principle determining a consumer’s conduct and taste. People do not buy products that do not satisfy their needs, have bad quality, or do not correspond to their lifestyles or social status. They can prefer one brand to another because they have developed the habit of buying it. Though, the utility of the chosen product should meet the client’s needs to become the customary choice.
Overall, I took the individual differences in consumers’ tastes for granted before participating in the discussion. Now, I understand that taste is a more complicated category in the economy that features the concepts of utility and consumer inertia. People always have the rational motivation to buy certain products, and their tastes are not only determined by tradition. Consequently, the persistence in customers’ choices is an example of taste that is an effective means of monitoring the consumer’s demand and predicting future consumer behavior. In other words, before discussing this theme, I thought that taste is the whim that people have, and their consumer inertia is a negative phenomenon. The investigation showed that consumer inertia has a positive connotation in the economy because it allows analysts to predict demand and satisfy it. Taste, in its turn, is a more rational category than I thought before the discussion.
References
Bornstein, G. (2018). Entry and profits in an aging economy: The role of consumer inertia. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona, Princeton University, The Wharton School]. LSE.