Tired of saving, I want to consume again

A news item has come out in the press stating that the white label has had three months of consecutive declines in quota, which, although slight, may denote a trend, going from the historical maximum of 40.4% in May to a value of 39.7% in August. . Gerard Costa from ESADE says that it is detected among a 25%-35% of consumers who "have tired of saving" and that there are certain signs of saturation of the private label.

With price being the main variable of choice, large manufacturers have stepped up by “product giveaways (one free)”. offering more content (15% more for the same price) or betting on products in more basic formats.

All this brings us to the debate generated some time ago: will we consume again at the same levels as before the crisis? For me, the answer is clearly Yes and emphatically Yes.

It is a sociological phenomenon, we are in a central generation where no one knows what it is like to go through hardship or who has never heard no for an answer. I call it the "assertive generation." (from the Latin asserere, assertum which means to affirm. Thus, assertiveness means affirmation of one's personality, self-confidence, self-esteem, poise, joyful faith in the triumph of justice and truth, vigorous vitality, secure and efficient communication) .

A generation that has gone through the death of a loved one that is consumerism, first with "denial" (this cannot be happening to me), then through "grief" (period of resource rationalization) and now... vital recovery.

Vital because buying and consuming makes us feel alive, any "transaction" makes you feel alive, from the purely physiological (I make no comment) to the purely hedonistic of feeling happy buying. Do we know anyone who has voluntarily abandoned “transactional pleasure”?

Therefore, human beings will return to their customs, logically there will be a percentage of individuals whose grief will last a lifetime but the vast majority will choose to retrace the emotional path of consumerism. The whirlwind of brand happiness, of feeling recognized, of returning to the time of happiness and carefree. Or who wouldn't want to go back to 2006 or 2007 of consumerist happiness?

I have read that housing sales have grown by 29% in August compared to August 2009, that GDP will grow between 0.1%-0.2% this quarter compared to the versions of negative growth (BBVA says so, we will see) and What is clearer, there is already some positive headline in Expansión, that means that "the world" (given the parallelism for whoever catches it) is changing, for the better? We'll see.

Jordi Crespo
Hamilton Managing Partner