Competition. How does it benefit you? |08 June 2015

Competition is the process of rivalry between businesses aiming to obtain sales, and profit hence customers by providing the best combination of prices and product quality.

Benefits of competition
Greater competition brings about so many benefits and it is the consumers who stand to gain the most. Below are some of the benefits of competition.

More choices
Every consumer feels contented when visiting their local supermarket and notices the array of products they can choose from depending on their tastes and needs and sometimes even budget. This is one of the great advantages when there is greater competition. Consumers have the ability to choose from a diverse range of products, and are not limited to only one or two varieties as the case would be when there is no or minimal competition.

Lower prices
As businesses view prices of goods and services as an important tool in attracting customers. Where greater competition exists, businesses compete for consumers hence lowering the prices of their products or services with the aim of attracting more customers. This is due to the fact that a decrease in the price of a good will lead to an increase in the demand for this particular good. In the end it is consumers who benefit by paying for goods or services at a lower or more affordable price.

Innovation
When competing with each other, businesses are driven to keep pace with or overtake their competitors. One way by which this can be achieved is by introducing new, modernised inventions such as products with unique features which were previously unavailable. This will in turn will improve their quality of life and most possibly simplify daily tasks and duties.

Accessibility
Competition also provides accessibility of information to consumers. In today’s world a consumer can obtain information on a particular product or company by the simple use of the internet. This is so because in order to stand out from the competition many businesses ensure that information about their products can be easily accessed by consumers and potential customers.

Better quality
Many consumers prefer quality products or services although prices may not necessarily be low. Competition encourages businesses to provide better quality products and/ or services in a bid to satisfy their targeted customers and retain their loyalty which is very important to businesses.

In a nutshell competition provides so many benefits to us as consumers, hence the need to advocate for greater competition in Seychelles.

Contributed