Many low-income shoppers, a study finds, miss out on the savings that come with making purchases in bulk.Source: The Privilege of Buying 36 Rolls of Toilet Paper at OnceOne of the great ironies in modern America, writes Mehrsa Baradaran in her 2015 book How the Other Half Banks, is that the less money you have, the more you pay to use it.
Her pointthat when people dont have much, a single dollar in some ways doesnt go as far as it otherwise wouldextends to several other parts of Americans financial lives, including how they shop.
Two of American shoppers (and marketers) favorite money-saving strategies, the limited-time offer and buying in bulk, come with savings that are more accessible to some consumers than others. Choosing to buy things when theyre on sale or packaged in huge quantities is something lots of shoppers may take for granted as a matter of preference, but for many, these purchasesand the savings that come with themare out of reach.
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