Demand Project For Micoeconomics
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Demand & Elasticity Analysis Project
For my project, I have chosen a product that has been a part of my life since childhood, board games. In particular, a game called “Apples to Apples”. It is a game that appeals to a wide variety of ages, including children and families, but it also makes a great party game and can be popular with an alcohol consuming college crowd. I gathered information about this game from eight stores that carry Apples to Apples. The following is a microeconomic analysis of the demand and elasticity of the game Apples to Apples.
First, what is demand? Demand in economic terms, is a set of relationships showing the quantities of a good that consumers will buy at each of several prices within a specific period of time. There are factors that can have an impact on a person’s demand for a good. Such factors are called the Determinants of Demand, and they include: Seasonality, change in income, change in consumer tastes or expectations, change in population, and finally a change in price of a complimentary or substitute good. All of these factors can have an impact on what you are buying, how much you are willing to pay, and how many you are willing to purchase at a point in time.
What is elasticity? Elasticity is an estimate in consumer responses to price and other changes. While there are different kinds of elasticity, Price elasticity of Demand is an estimate of the rate at which the quantity demanded of a good changes in response to changes in its price. Basically, is there a relationship between the amount of Apples to Apples purchased and the price at which it is sold?
Apples to Apples was initially a small specialty store item. With an increase in popularity, larger stores have begun to carry the game. The stores that now carry the game are a mixture of the two. I found the location that was most concentrated with stores that carry Apples to Apples was the Northampton/Amherst area. In terms of geography, the two towns are a little less than 10 miles apart. There is a heavily trafficked main route to get to both locations, as well as numerous “back roads” to get to either location. There area is fairly populated, with five colleges between the two towns. These two towns are the only source of retail stores for those who live in smaller communities and hill towns that surround Northampton and Amherst.
I collected data on Apples to Apples from the following locations:
Store & Location
Price
Quantity Sold in 1 Month
Wal Mart, Northampton
$24.87
A2Z Science & Learning Store, Northampton
Store & Location
$34.99
Price
Quantity Sold In 1 Month
Modern Myth, Northampton
$34.99
Wal Mart, Hadley
$21.97
Barnes & Noble, Hadley
$29.99
Target, Hadley
$24.99
Worlds Apart Games, Amherst
$31.99
The Toy Box, Amherst
$31.99
In Northampton, Wal Mart and A2Z Science & Learning Store are on the same street, with Modern Myth being just around the corner from A2Z. All of these stores have free parking, and are easily assessable to just about anyone driving or walking. A2Z Science and Learning Store is very cozy. You are greeted when you walk in, and the staff if incredibly knowledgeable about the majority of the products they carry. Modern Myth has a cozy feel, with knowledgeable staff, but it is a comic book store that carries a few game companies. It isn’t well known, but like a lot of stores in downtown Northampton, word of mouth is their best advertisement.
In Hadley, (an extension of Amherst) Wal Mart and Barnes & Noble are in a shopping plaza, and are right next to one another. Again, they both offer free parking, and are easily assessable. Target is across the street from Wal Mart and Barnes & Noble in a mall. It has a separate entrance from the mall, but again, free parking, easy to get to.
In Amherst, Worlds Apart Games and The Toy Box are on the same street. There isn’t an easy place to park for either location. The Toy Box is very tiny, crammed full of stuff. While the staff is friendly, they aren’t very knowledgeable about the product. Worlds Apart Games is none other than a stereotypical gaming store. Creepy looking almost-too-old-to-be-hanging-out-at-a-place-like-this type of guys in black wearing capes and eating take-out stared at you from behind their Dungeons & Dragons battlefield. I felt incredibly intimidated walking into the store. However, once I began to speak with the owner, they were happy to give me what I was looking for. This store is not one whom I would have expected to carry a game like Apples to Apples.
Overall, most people I requested information from were incredibly polite and happy