| Contents |
1. The Age of Cheap : why (almost) everything is getting cheaper -- Why the trend towards low-priced good is changing our lives : the link between prosperity, democracy and price orientation -- The four stages of development in customer behaviour -- The panorama of cheap -- 2. The axis of evil in the economy : Wal-Mart, China and the Internet -- The first axis : trade, Wal-Mart and the message, 'demand more for less!' -- The second axis : the manufacturers, China and the possibilities of global sourcing -- The third axis : the customer, the Internet and the global customer cartel -- Which factors are accelerating the trend? -- The dream becomes cheaper, the bulldozer rolls on -- 3. The Wal-Martization of our society : how we are all becoming Wal-Mart -- Why Wal-Mart concerns us all -- What is Wal-Martization? -- 4. The models for present-day rationalization : Aldification, McDonaldization, Starbuckification etc -- The rationalization models -- Why are these models so rational and so successful? -- 5. Faster, better, cheaper : intensified time markets drive the Age of Cheap -- Time as an economic factor -- The logic of increase (logic no. 1) -- Real markets mimic financial markets -- The neglect of personal resources : the logic of increase means higher hidden costs for the customer -- Differentiation logic (logic no. 2) : what happens when uncontrollable costs of side-effects exceed costs -- 6. No frills : on the illusions of the service economy -- 'Outsourcing to the customer" : the myths of services -- Marketing means selling goods : the myth of customer orientation -- 7. What is worth what? : prices in the Age of Cheap -- 8. The next chapter : the new normality in globalizing markets. |
