Considering the current condition of our economy, we at West by Southwest Décor felt it was important to let you, the consumer, know how the 2010 Holiday season will be ‘different’ than before and how your shopping habits will be altered for the future.
Remember when the fuel prices rose to over $5.00 per gallon in some parts of the country a few years ago? As a result, we were all forced to change our driving habits. We looked for ways to conserve fuel by driving less, making our trips more efficient, buying less fuel guzzling vehicles, car-pooling, and the like. We made it through the fuel crunch with the result being the alteration of our driving habits. Then again, because the high fuel prices were taking a toll on our wallets, we were also forced to spend less in other areas of our lives and we began to ‘budget’ and plan for those other things by saving for them first and taking our time to make wiser buying decisions.
Since 2008, when the US and world economy started a somewhat ‘meltdown,’ for lack of a better term, many American companies did the natural thing to get themselves into a more stable financial situation – they did cut-backs. Although some did lay-offs, others just cut back on the hours of workers. However, most all of them cut their expenses by reducing the amount of stock in their warehouses as consumer spending overall was reduced. This practice has lead to a somewhat ‘shortage’ of items found on shelves for immediate delivery for those still living in an instant gratification state of mind. Now, with the reduced amount of products available on store and warehouse shelves, we, the consumers, are being forced to alter our shopping and purchasing habits too.
So you may ask, what does all this mean to me as a shopper now? How will this affect me for the Holiday shopping season of 2010 and beyond? Because we at West by Southwest Decor have begun focusing the products we offer on American Made in the USA products, which are now mainly being “Made to Order” in response to the economy, it is important that we retrain our shopping habits to allow ‘time’ for the items we want to be ‘made’ and shipped.
The upside to this change is beneficial to everyone as it allows our companies to only produce those items that are wanted, when they are wanted, thus reducing the amount of stock sitting on warehouse shelves keeping them from ‘getting old’ and/or out of date. However, it also means there will be fewer items on ‘sale’ (unless they were manufactured over-seas and bought in huge containers – something some companies are still doing).
Purchasing our quality, made in America to order products will allow you, the consumer to contribute to the well-being of the economy by keeping our American workers working. (Although some component parts of some of the products we offer come from other countries around the globe, the end products are still made and produced by Americans.) We believe that this will have an important impact on the future of our overall economy, and as demand picks up, these companies will increase their work forces. Regardless, you the consumer will mainly be benefited with getting a quality made item and it will be made to your liking as many items come with color and size options.
One final point well worth mentioning here is that as we at West by Southwest Décor increase our focus on American Made to order products, such as lamps and lampshades, throw blankets, decorative throw pillows, fireplace screens, dinnerware, shelving, bedding, bath sets, and more, remember that these beautiful products are produced by small to medium sized, family owned companies, as well as individual craftsmen and artisans. Therefore, an increase in demand will mean that production time may be increased because only so many pieces can be produced at a time. So please make sure you order early and allow plenty of time. Average production time currently ranges from 10 business days (2 weeks) to 4 weeks. Check the individual product descriptions on our sites for accurate production time frames.
So shop early, choose wisely, and have a happy holiday! We are thankful to all our customers that are aware of this new trend and support our efforts to keep the US companies and its employees working and thriving! Bless all of you and happy shopping!
We welcome your comments!
Remember when the fuel prices rose to over $5.00 per gallon in some parts of the country a few years ago? As a result, we were all forced to change our driving habits. We looked for ways to conserve fuel by driving less, making our trips more efficient, buying less fuel guzzling vehicles, car-pooling, and the like. We made it through the fuel crunch with the result being the alteration of our driving habits. Then again, because the high fuel prices were taking a toll on our wallets, we were also forced to spend less in other areas of our lives and we began to ‘budget’ and plan for those other things by saving for them first and taking our time to make wiser buying decisions.
Since 2008, when the US and world economy started a somewhat ‘meltdown,’ for lack of a better term, many American companies did the natural thing to get themselves into a more stable financial situation – they did cut-backs. Although some did lay-offs, others just cut back on the hours of workers. However, most all of them cut their expenses by reducing the amount of stock in their warehouses as consumer spending overall was reduced. This practice has lead to a somewhat ‘shortage’ of items found on shelves for immediate delivery for those still living in an instant gratification state of mind. Now, with the reduced amount of products available on store and warehouse shelves, we, the consumers, are being forced to alter our shopping and purchasing habits too.
So you may ask, what does all this mean to me as a shopper now? How will this affect me for the Holiday shopping season of 2010 and beyond? Because we at West by Southwest Decor have begun focusing the products we offer on American Made in the USA products, which are now mainly being “Made to Order” in response to the economy, it is important that we retrain our shopping habits to allow ‘time’ for the items we want to be ‘made’ and shipped.
The upside to this change is beneficial to everyone as it allows our companies to only produce those items that are wanted, when they are wanted, thus reducing the amount of stock sitting on warehouse shelves keeping them from ‘getting old’ and/or out of date. However, it also means there will be fewer items on ‘sale’ (unless they were manufactured over-seas and bought in huge containers – something some companies are still doing).
Purchasing our quality, made in America to order products will allow you, the consumer to contribute to the well-being of the economy by keeping our American workers working. (Although some component parts of some of the products we offer come from other countries around the globe, the end products are still made and produced by Americans.) We believe that this will have an important impact on the future of our overall economy, and as demand picks up, these companies will increase their work forces. Regardless, you the consumer will mainly be benefited with getting a quality made item and it will be made to your liking as many items come with color and size options.
One final point well worth mentioning here is that as we at West by Southwest Décor increase our focus on American Made to order products, such as lamps and lampshades, throw blankets, decorative throw pillows, fireplace screens, dinnerware, shelving, bedding, bath sets, and more, remember that these beautiful products are produced by small to medium sized, family owned companies, as well as individual craftsmen and artisans. Therefore, an increase in demand will mean that production time may be increased because only so many pieces can be produced at a time. So please make sure you order early and allow plenty of time. Average production time currently ranges from 10 business days (2 weeks) to 4 weeks. Check the individual product descriptions on our sites for accurate production time frames.
So shop early, choose wisely, and have a happy holiday! We are thankful to all our customers that are aware of this new trend and support our efforts to keep the US companies and its employees working and thriving! Bless all of you and happy shopping!
We welcome your comments!
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