The Marketing Behind the Resilient Consumer

Long before we called it capitalism, the system had a tell: when things go wrong, the burden rolls downhill. And at the bottom of that hill is the consumer - blue collar, white collar, doesn’t matter. We’ve been the shock absorber for corporate decision-making.

In theory, competition should push companies to lower costs and improve service. In practice, many firms have learned a more reliable playbook: identify how essential your product is, then price accordingly…and aggressively. Cost savings rarely flow downstream. Price increases almost always do (A real world example of this is currently being debated. Organizations during the liberation tariffs put the increased cost of shipments onto their customers. Now those same organizations are getting refunds plus interest, which is estimated to be $160B. However, the organizations will undoubtedly pocket the refund versus doing the work to pinpoint which consumers deserve a refund. After all it was the consumer who paid part of the “inflationary” fee.). 

Airlines are one of the clearest case studies.

Yes, it’s true that inflation-adjusted ticket prices have fallen over the long term. But that headline stat hides what actually happened. Airlines didn’t just “get cheaper” - they re-engineered the product and monetized everything around it.

• Planes became more fuel-efficient and faster, reducing operating costs per mile.
• Seating density increased, meaning less legroom, and more passengers per flight.
• Luxury was re-routed to the few first-class tickets 
• Routes and frequency expanded, improving asset utilization.
• Then came unbundling: baggage fees, seat selection fees, change fees, priority boarding, even fees to sit with your own family.

What used to be included is now à la carte.

The result? Base fares may look lower, but the total cost often isn’t and the experience is objectively worse. During the pandemic, ticket prices spiked alongside reduced capacity. Demand has since normalized, but prices have remained elevated.

And when consumers found ways to optimize and reduce their cost with sites like Skiplagged (think “hidden-city ticketing”), airlines didn’t improve pricing transparency. They restricted it. Not because it hurt passengers, but because it exposed inefficiencies in their own pricing models and cost them money.

Airlines aren’t unique. They’re just honest about the playbook.

You see it everywhere:

• Fees replacing prices. From flight surcharges to service fees, companies shift from transparent pricing to fragmented charges that are harder to compare and easier to increase.
• Costs pushed downstream. Small businesses now commonly pass along credit card processing fees, which were once absorbed as a cost of doing business.
• Wages lagging reality. Productivity has grown, but real wage growth has struggled to keep pace with inflation for large segments of the workforce.
• Debt filling the gap. Record levels of revolving credit balances, with many households carrying month-to-month debt just to maintain baseline consumption.
• Rising delinquencies. Auto loans, credit cards, and even rent payments are showing increased stress signals.
• Train and ticket hikes. NJ transit will charge 7x their usual rate during FIFA.

And somehow, while all of this is happening, the customer experience is deteriorating.

Longer wait times. Fewer humans to talk to. More friction to resolve basic issues. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, several major service industries, including airlines, have seen stagnation or declines in customer satisfaction even as prices rise. 75% of adults believe Health Insurers are crooked (not really, but 75% do disapprove of the long waits for reimbursement, or rejected services).

The justification is always the same: “We’re investing in a better customer experience.”

But consumers aren’t experiencing that investment. They’re funding it (refer to italicized Tariff debacle).

That’s the disconnect.

To be clear, this isn’t an argument against capitalism. Done right, capitalism is one of the most powerful systems for innovation and wealth creation ever devised. But what we’re seeing too often is a version that’s become extractive…optimized for quarterly optics, not long-term value.

It looks like:

• Underpaying the people who create the value
• Overcharging the people who consume it
• And calling the gap “efficiency”

That’s not capitalism at its best. That’s arbitrage on trust.

Good businesses create alignment. Where the company, the employee, and the customer all benefit from long-term success. Bad businesses create imbalance. Where one side wins by taxing the others.

Bad capitalism is like sitting in a boat with someone, noticing a hole on their side, and feeling relieved it’s not on your side.

Good capitalism is realizing you’re in the same boat and picking up a bucket with supplies to patch the hole.