Trading values
Whether we like it or not, what we buy (or don’t buy) reflects our values
Savvy consumers — aren’t we all? — are always concerned with getting value for money. We may not always do a full-blown analysis, making a long list of the criteria we believe are important, assigning them a weight, and then rating our possible purchases. But with the exception of the odd impulse buy, we mostly do tend to make a conscious judgement as to whether what we procure is worth the price.
To make sure it is, we obviously look at the features and benefits on offer, the characteristics inherent in the product. Whether it’s a grapefruit, a pair of running shoes, a saxophone or a car we are buying, we have some requirements that it needs to meet (respectively juicy, durable, cool-looking, and cool-looking, for example). Our eventual choice will reflect the trade-off between how well it satisfies these needs, and its price tag.
Beyond the features
But is that all? Not always. Sometimes what we eventually purchase is not only determined by its characteristics, but by other factors. My earliest memory of such a phenomenon goes back several decades, to the time of the boycott of Outspan oranges in the early 1970s. These fruit were the product of the Republic of South Africa, led by then Prime Minister John Vorster, a…
