The Economy

Nondurable and durable goods differ in a few ways:

Purchases during economic growth .During economic growth, consumers have more spending power and are more likely to purchase durable goods. However, during economic growth consumers usually purchase the same among of nondurable goods.

Purchases during an economic recession. During an economic recession, consumers will usually hold off on purchasing durable goods, but they will usually purchase the same amount of nondurable goods.

Reflection on economic growth. Due to the fact that purchases of durable goods increase during economic growth and decrease during recession, they are considered a reliable economic indicator.

However, because purchases of nondurable goods remain constant throughout growth and recession, they are not considered an indicator of economic wellbeing.

What Is the Place of Nondurable Goods in an Economy?

A significant portion of GDP. Nondurable goods are a significant portion of a country’s domestic product in categories of personal consumption, exports, and government purchases.

Stable figure in an economy. Nondurable goods are a stable figure in an economy because they represent necessary goods, like groceries, that consumers must purchase no matter the current economic situation.  This means that nondurable goods are not as subject to the business cycle or the cycle of economic expansion and contraction in the way that durable goods are.

Not considered an economic indicator. Since nondurable goods are a stable figure in an economy, slight increases or decreases in the purchase of nondurable goods are not considered an economic indicator, changes in the purchase of nondurable goods are more reflective of population change than of economic growth or recession.

How Do Nondurable Goods Impact Consumer behavior?

 Consumer behavior overall remains consistent toward nondurable goods, because they are necessary, like groceries, that consumers must purchase no matter the current economic situation. If an economy is in recession, consumers will usually forgo purchasing durable goods but will continue purchasing the same amount of nondurable goods, albeit sometimes opting for nondurable goods sold at lower prices.

Examples of Durable Goods

Durable goods categories

Capital Equipment, Machines, Tools, Appliances, Transport, Construction, Furniture, Electronics Computing and Networking, Energy, Sports and Hobbies, Toys, Books, Jewelry and Musical Instruments.

Durable goods descriptions

Capital Equipment
Machines used by businesses to produce products and services, such as an industrial robot or amusement park attraction

Machines
Other machines such as a consumer model of a lawn mower.

Tools
Products that are used by people to accomplish a task, such as a hammer.

Appliances
Machines used in the home such as a washing machine.

Transport
Transportation equipment such as a bicycle, train, aircraft or ship

Construction
Construction materials and equipment, such as a brick or dump truck.

Furniture
Interior furnishings such as a bed.

Electronics
Consumer electronics, such as a tablet computer or cell phone.

Computing and Networking
Computing and networking infrastructure

Energy
Energy infrastructure, such as propane generator, solar panels or pole transformer.

Sports and Hobbies
Sports equipment such as a kayak or canoe.

Toys
Toys designed to last more than two years such as a train set.

Books
Physical books such as paperback fiction.

Jewelry
Fashion is considered nondurable with the exception of long lived items such as jewelry and watches.

Musical Instruments
Musical instruments such as synthesizer or drum set.

NOTES:
Generally, durable products/goods last longer than 3 years. Durable products are interesting to economists because people and businesses stop buying them when they are not confident about the future.