The Durable Purchasing Behaviour of the Individual Household

Abstract

Attempts to draw together some main implications arising from studying usage of survey data forecasting the demand for durables. Posits that re‐interview tests are important, shedding light on the influences on consumer demand, by perhaps identifying respects in which purchasers and non‐purchasers differ. Suggests that predictive models, which have some foundation, stand a better chance of confident usage. Points out that some studies appear to show cross‐sectional investigations perform reasonably well in explaining individual household behaviour, both in terms of level of outlay on consumer durables and in identifying purchasers of particular commodities. Aims to describe overall patterns of results in more general terms and to draw them together by focusing specifically on what they suggest about the nature of individual behaviour and decisions regarding consumer durables.