What Types Of Products Are “Necessities” Among Today’s Consumers – And Why

Despite the fact that jobless rates are still high, housing prices and demand are still low, and world financial markets are wobbly, consumers still purchase products they feel are a necessity, rather than just a want or a “can live without,” Advertising Age reports. But purchasing a necessity – an iPhone, for example, among some people, or Internet connectivity – means that other products are not purchased. Consumers are rethinking spending, they are reprioritizing. And that presents both challenges and opportunities for marketers: how do you move a product from a "want" to a "need" and keep it from becoming a "can live without"? Ad Age presents the results of a survey it conducted among 1,000 Americans, asking them what products or services they absolutely can’t live without – and which ones they can.