Consumerism

When I was studying in high school, I was taught consumerism. The teacher was talking about the definition and how to protect the consumer. By that time, he mentioned that consumers should have the rights
1) to inform; and
2) to choose.

He illustrated the loophole in packaging and product information in Hong Kong. He took an example of instant noodle with chicken flavour. The design was instant noodle with two pieces of chicken. Upon purchase of the instant noodle, we could not complain about no chicken was packed with noodle. It was no misrepresentation in Hong Kong. However, complaint could be lodged against misrepresentation in most foreign countries. He told us that consumerism in Hong Kong was illusion.

In 90s, I travelled Sweden and found the cost of living standard in Sweden was very high to compare with HK and UK. As a backpacker, every single penny was vital. Needless to say, I went to the supermarket to choose the cheapest canned baked beans to fill up my stomach. Net price comparison was not easy while various pack size and different net weight were available. When I looked into the price tag carefully, it also mentioned the price per kilogram. Yeah, it's quick to identify the cheapest one and to check out at the cashier. It was the first time I found the consumer could have better information to facilitate decision-making.

"Choice is available in Hong Kong." Is it fallacy? During economic downturn, we were experiencing deflation. According to the Consumer Council, the selling price in supermarket was not in line with deflation. Could it be the result of price-rigging among main supermarkets?

In 80s, supermarkets were running by different market players such as consortia, partners and individuals. When the consortia adopted cut-throat price, influxes of consumers bought the goods from the main supermarket chains. Eventuallly, small and medium supermarkets closed down. Obviously, the market structure changed, i.e., from perfect competition turned into duopoly. Once the consumers realised that low-price strategy was history, they were no chance to switch into the small or medium supermarket.

Imagine that there are some grocery shops/small supermarkets are available. Would you support them? Let them have sustainability and to continue the operation.