Quote:
Originally Posted by elcreative
"We are better off when STORES can set pricing, not manufacturers." As fatuous statements go that takes some beating... all stores are of course altruistic with the best needs of their customers paramount... 
Consumers may benefit from cheaper prices but lose out on choice every time... supermarkets drive out small local shops, book chains destroy independent book stores and it's all done for altruistic reasons  not to get rid of competition by using loss leading selling to ensure small outlets can't compete... we now have cheap food (but factory farming), cheap bestsellers (but a loss of expertise and sellers interested in their stock) and these are all benefits to us all...  |
Yes, we are better off with stores setting prices. They react much more quickly to changing economic conditions, but more importantly, there is more price competition when stores compete against other stores with the same product.
If consumers truly valued eclectic local shops over chains, they would have paid the higher prices in aggregate. Because they didn't, we can surmise that a lower price point is more important to most consumers than supporting the local shop.
This in turn, leads them to having more money in their pocket which they can give to someone else for goods or services. Sounds like a win to me.