None of us knows how high gas prices might go, but we can be pretty sure that they’re not going down anytime soon; at the very least, we can assume some volatility in prices at the pump. That issue is impacting education in a big way, as many students are avoiding the idea of “going to school,” at least in the physical sense: Instead, more students are obtaining their education online.
According to a recent story in the New York Times, as many as 79% of U.S. college students live off-campus. With gasoline at or over $4 per gallon, economics is the driving force behind a jump in the number of students who are seeking to make their college education more cost-efficient.
Implications: Think of education as a product that is bought and sold, like any other. (Including the products sold by your company!) In what ways might people choose to make their use of your products more cost-efficient? If you produce a packaged food product, are they making fewer and larger grocery shopping excursions (reducing the number of miles driven back-and-forth to the store, but increasing the quantity of items purchase with each trip)? If you sell a complex product—say, appliances or automobiles—might your consumer be doing more research online, rather than going to the driving expense of traditional comparison shopping? In what way should you alter the design of your web site—or the way your product is displayed in-store—in response to these behavioral changes?
Mike Anderson
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