Inside Money: Return of the repo - US consumers go basic

New research show Americans are making their own lunch, buying generic brands and growing their hair long. Pictures: generic cola cans from the 1980s. Photo / Wikimedia Commons

The 1984 cult classic movie Repo Man was the first to take note of a new trend in the retail shopping experience.

As this somewhat generic counter-culture website Nerve records, Repo Man featured a "recurring sight gag of generic products (a can of beer labeled 'beer', a can of food labeled 'food', a drink labeled 'drink')".

Since the 1980s generic products have secured their place in the supermarket shelves - right at the bottom. Generic is generally code for cheap and nasty.

But, according to this new research that landed in my inbox yesterday, US shoppers are now more than ever before, despite their quality qualms, going generic at the store.

"Almost two-thirds of US (65 per cent) adults say they are purchasing more generic brands to save money, slightly up from February when 63 per cent said they were doing this," the Harris Poll notes.

According to the study, Americans are also: making their own lunch; not buying coffee; refilling water bottles; avoiding the dry-cleaner; cancelling magazines and pay TV subscriptions; catching public transport; restructuring phone contracts, and; car-pooling.

The survey suggests US society might be returning to the grim state depicted in Repo Man.

There is one exception - the Harris Poll notes US consumers are growing their hair longer to cut back on hairdresser costs; Repo Man was all short-haired punks.

So has the US consumer - once the driver of world growth - had enough?

"What happens in the future with these small changes will be interesting to watch," the Harris Poll says. "It could be that once these numbers start going in the other direction, the economy has turned the corner. Or, as some economists are saying, the culture of saving and cutting back will remain after the economic recovery."

According to Wikipedia , a Repo Man sequel was produced in 2009, "with the working title Repo Chick".

"The story will be set against the backdrop of the present economic downturn and a boom in repossession that extends far beyond cars and homes," Wikipedia says.

Can't wait to see it.


David Chaplin