The unknown power of the Zimbabwean consumer

'REDUCE PRICES OR DON'T BUY'

Every business that sets up has a target clientele or customers. It prices according to it's clientele's ability to buy and of course the goal of business is to make profit, especially to maximize profits.

Businesses are not and will never be charity organisations.

However, it is the customers who determine how high a business will increase it's price and continue to do so via their continuing to frequent the business. As a people, ZIMBABWEAN are unaware that the power is theirs so they look to government, to politics and all other funny places except where the actual solution lies: within us.

A person shouldn't just continue buying goods and products especially goods whose price one is complaining about. That doesn't make sense at all. To continue buying what u are complaining about  means you can still afford. When you can't anymore you will engage in a consumer boycott.

In Germany, to protest an increase in fuel prices, the people simply drove their cars, parked them along the road, left them there and used other means of transportation. They didn't run around looking for cheaper service stations or for fuel on the black market. No, they parked their cars. The result was the price of fuel went down for it was the businesses that had no one to sell to.

So its time our people learnt some new form of protesting price increase. Just don't buy the products that are expensive or pile trollies n leave them in the queue to the purchase point. Hapana kana need yekutenga what u can't afford. The reason these businesses are refusing to play ball on austerity and price accordingly is not what  they tell you but it's not simply  that there are consumers of their goods and services. So they are making sure make super-profits .

Their prices are not justified by anything else other than pure greedy and unfortunately Zimbabweans are not informed or as intelligent as they claim to be. They blame the government or ZANU PF for everything. They are definitely not aware of their power as consumers. They go into a shop, see goods, continue to buy, complain and blame government and say 'dai Government yadai.' When government takes that action and they see the repercussions they complain about that again.

I raised these issues with a certain colleague and he had this to say:; "Exactly why buy that which you can't afford? Today I went into a shop selling 300mls fizzy drinks for RTGS$3.50 and we were three of us. At the till I said Delta says it must be RTGS$1.25, why you over charging??? " Ndozviripo zvacho, kana musingade regai" was the response i got. I left the drinks but a friend wanted to pay for it 10.5$ ! I said no let's not drink it!

" Three more customers left their cokes too and I saw a lady who had bought about a dozen off loading. I don't buy water anymore. I package my waster in bottles when ever I travel to avoid buying at 2$. Consumer power Baba!!"

Where consumers to have this knowledge and become aware of the power they have, business will eventually resize and reprice. Why should business buy forex at RTGS$8.00 to import goods to sell at higher price? Because there are buyers! Simple! If there are no buyers, I tell you they wouldn't buy at RTGS$8 forex!

Prof. Mthuli Ncube is right, eventually consumers are going to resist and consequently business will resist increasing prices of goods and resist buying forex at higher rates, then that creates STABILITY! It will work! I heard beer is now $5 bond in other clubs it's $8! People buy! Why? They have money! The haves will soon be at the end!

So take charge out there! Do not be bullied into buying what you can not afford. You are as responsible for price increment by your behavior as everyone. In fact, u are the most responsible.

Instead of engaging in street protests and shutting down the country, just shut your wallet and do not transact. You will see these businesses playing ball.

'OPERATION DONT BUY FORWARD MESSAGE'