Answer to Question #288890 in Macroeconomics for didi

Question

How can the economic perspective help us understand the behavior of fast-food consumers? Explain several insights it provides about customer behavior.

Answer 1

How the economic perspective help understand the behavior of fast-food consumers? Explain several insights it provides about customer behavior.

When one decides to go to a fast-food joint one goes to gain marginal benefit from food.

When one goes through the fast- food joint door, the first thing that goes through one’s mind is to join the shortest line. This will enable the customer to save on the time cost being on the line.

Sometimes we join the line without knowing perfectly the outcome. Sometimes a line may be having few individuals on the line but those few on the line may be having several orders i.e.  Customer may be buying ten burgers instead of one.

When a customer is on the queue, time is involved which is a resource. Time is a limited resource and it should be used purposefully. The more we waste time on the line the more we forego time that should have been used to do other things. Opportunity cost.

In case a clerk opens up a new counter, customer who takes chance will join his line but other will look at the opportunity cost of joining the new line visa-vis being on their current line. Sometimes who hesitate to join that line lose.

Imperfect information sometimes tell us why some customers may fail to join the queue when they find the lines to be long. They lack of information on how long they should be on the line. It’s advisable for the fast- food joint to make it clear on how long they should be on the line. This will enable them to plan their time accordingly.

Finally when the customer arrives at the counter, one makes decision on the marginal benefit and marginal cost on what one will gain from the food.