Poverty
It is every individual’s discretion how to deal with poverty. Likewise, when there is an economic meltdown, it is up to the people how to find ways in handling the crisis. Thus, no matter how much a company tries to bombard you with their flashy ads, coupons /discounts just to lure you in buying their product, if you don’t have anything to spend, then there’s no way you are buying.
Put your money in the kitty…money savings.
Take for instance, when gas price went up to $4 per gallon in the US, people cut back. They learn to be thrifty and just buy what is necessary. So, most companies are forced to lower their pricing, in effect - most of the businesses do not gain much profit and worse- they might close their doors.